Some British tv series....why so short?

can someone explain why some british series (hustle, respectable, suburban
shootout, etc...) run for only a few eps and they're done for the year?

thanks much.

that's just how our tv operates.

normally, only returning successful shows will be given a non standard run of 7+
episodes a season.

the usual outing for a show is 6 episodes, but can be as little as 2 long length
ones.

also uk tv producers/channels aren't prepared to invest into tv programs in
the same way that the us does ie studio 60 is reputed to cost $1m per episode.
that would be unheard of in the uk.

there's definitely an element of ' us tv shows do it so much better so its
just easier to buy them rather than try to compete '

also programs like ' extras ' prefer to do short-runs to keep the series fresh
much like faulty towers etc.

american standard run for a series is usually 12/13.
british standard run is usually 6. 4 eps are also not uncommon, though i don't
think there really is a common standard run like the us networks demand.

ie: wire in the blood started as a 6 ep series, then turned into a 4 eps a
series show.
though "teachers" strangely enough turned into a 13 eps series for one season
only. barking mad them brits... 😉

yer, there is lots of factors involved, don't forget that the uk has less than
1/4 the population of the us so we can't spend the big money like you guys.

the bbc tend to do shorter series and always have done, but don't forget, we
don't have adverts on bbc channels, so a 6 episode season works out at around
8 episodes if it had adverts.

it is very true that some of our producers would rather not compete with shows
like lost, prison break etc, so they just buy the right to air them here, so
the shows in the uk tend to be shorter to fight inbetween them.

also, i'd rather have 6 episodes of pure gold, rather than 20 of 'well it's
ok, but nothing special'.

basically it's because we here in britain .... we are all broke!

lmao, its more likely a short attention span, tv.. beer beer beer tv beer pub..

lol...thanks for the insight.

it's a shame though because the odder, darker sensibility in british dialogue
provide much needed variety to the user-friendly logic that
us shows pre-requires.

plus, seeing more of jaime "hustle" murray never hurts.

it's also partly because british shows tend to be written by fewer people - not
unusual for comedies for example to be written by just 1 or 2 people - rather
than a huge team of writers.

above all else.. it comes down to the fact that the us has hollywood..
the uk doesnt have a similar location dedicated to production studios...

things are harder to accomplish if the participants are not consolidated.
this applies to almost anything in life, not just television and films...

but there soon will be, sort of. in south wales they will be
building a huge studio complex nicknamed "valleywood" on a huge old opencast
mine. and a theme park, but thats o no interest here.

i am from america, so don't see so much british tv, but it seems like a smart
idea. this past year, invasion aired for 20 someodd episodes, left us at a
cliff-hanger, and got cancelled. in uk, a show tests the water before investing
all in. look at the office. ran 6 eps in teh first season and second and
cancelled. on the other hand, coupling ran 6 in the first and up to 9 in the
second, then 7 in the third seaso, and then the best character....ok, theyre all
good...jeffrey left, and the show ended.

a show, even after a successful first run, often still only has a short run in
subsequent seasons.
the office wasn't cancelled. ricky gervais decided to continue with the silent
tradition of 2 and out. he's repeating this with his new show, extras too.
it was quite a shock that little britain came back for a third, although it paid
off.

coupling again wasn't cancelled for a lack of viewers. it still performed
strongly in it's last outing. the reason for it not returning was the actors
involved wanted to move on like rick did.

you'll find that these are the usual reasons for shows only having short
outings. in the case of the bbc, a show has to do extremely badly in the ratings
for it to get yanked.

most us network shows follow a formula, roughly.
1 hour shows run from 20-24 eps
1/2 hour show run from 20-26

then you have new shows, which may start out as a mid-season replacement so get
an order for like 6-8 shows, then get picked up the next year at the normal
episode schedule.

some shows get an small initial order then get cancelled. some get a full
initial order then get cancelled. some get a full order then get cancelled early
and you have to dl any eps or wait for the dvd to see the unaired ones.

its all rather annoying, expecially when they don't give the shows you like a
fair shot... but can't really do anything about it =(


btw, speaking of brit shows ending early, is there ever going to be a 5th
episode of drop dead gorgeous? the bbc site said there was 5, but only 4 made
its way here, or anywhere that i could find, so i'm not even sure it aired.
thats almost worse than a show being cancelled... just not knowing =( lol

drop dead gorgeous only had 4 episodes on bbc three (according to the bbc
website anyway). i'm pretty sure it was only on for those weeks.