Broadchurch.

Broadchurch is a UK crime drama series following the murder investigation of a child, Danny Latimer, in a small fictional seaside town. I wanted to research this show because of the writing and also the producing.

Writing

The show reflects a realism in the writing whilst also maintaining the drama of the story. It also is representing a subject that could be triggering to some viewers and so to understand the way that the programme addressed the subject is also useful. It will link to what we should be asking of the actors and the scenes when we shoot them to make sure that we don't cross any moral boundaries.
The show also tries hard to skew the viewer's opinion of who was the murderer and this is an interesting method of telling the story.
Unfortunately, I've not been able to find a copy of the script for the show, only transcripts which are taken after the show has been filmed. I wanted to look at the script to assess any changes from script to screen but I'll have to leave this part out. I'll try and find an example from another drama programme maybe in another post.

Crime as a subject

Crime TV is incredibly popular. It's the genre of some of the longest running series' such as Law and Order, and has a huge audience. Crime as a subject of a TV show is incredibly normalised because of this, which I feel suggests an element of controversy around the subject. This brings me onto the CSI Effect. Although this isn't necessarily relevant to Broadchurch itself, my concerns about the morals of crime TV are supported by this theory. The theory suggests that the way in which real crimes are processed by a jury, as well as how crimes are committed, are affected by the crimes that are depicted on TV. One example of this is Jermaine McKinney and his murder of two women in their home. He was a fan of CSI, and went to 'unusual' lengths to conceal his crime with methods he had seen on the show. [source]
Broadchurch does have some unrealistic depictions of a case. Miller (Olivia Colman) has a personal connection to the victim, him being her son's best friend. If this was a real case, this could affect how the evidence is collected and used. However, this does highlight how the programme is set in such a small town that everyone knows everyone, making the investigation and the blaming more personal and controversial within the town and being an effective plot device.

Misdirection

Another plot device heavily used by the programme is misdirection to the audience. The show only reveals the suspect in the last episode, and from the beginning frames Susan Wright (Pauline Quirke) as the suspicious and solitary woman who avoids the authorities and hides evidence (Danny's skateboard). However, she is later revealed to be innocent and her dubiousness is put down to a distrust for authorities and a desire to be left alone.
The element of not knowing who the murderer is keeps the viewer gripped and involved throughout the whole series, as it leaves them guessing and is the simplest way to keep them coming back each week (as the show initially aired on broadcast TV).
Although this might seem like a method that I'd have to think about in the pre-production stage, in the context of Broadchurch, this element of the show is heavily portrayed by the shots and music used. Although our film is more about the relationship between the two main characters, there is also the element of curiosity where the viewers don't know what Martin did until near the end.
Also related to this is the aspect of keeping the script a secret from everyone, including the cast. This risky method of keeping the plot outcomes a secret actually benefitted the cast, in the words of David Tennant. 

Producing

The show is produced by Richard Stokes, who also worked on Silk and Law & Order: UK. It was created by Chris Chibnall, whom I wrote a post about in first year. The show's locations are beaches, cliffs, and a seaside town, which was chosen for a reason and I'll research into this in more detail. The casting is also really important for this show.
One of the ways that they kept the outcome of the investigation a secret was by keeping the script hidden from cast, which is another methodology that I'll look into.
I have also made contact with the publicity team for the show to ask about their methods and the show itself so if I get a response I'll update this post.

Richard Stokes

Stokes produced series one and two of Broadchurch. He had worked with director and creator Chris Chibnall since their work on Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, and so they had that advantage of knowing each other well.

Locations

During the creation/ writing stage of Broadchurch, Stokes lived with Chibnall in Dorset, so that they could walk the cliff side together and get ideas for locations. [source] This reminded me of the visits that myself and Esme (director) took to Herne Bay, so that I could write to the specific locations and she could better understand my vision. 

Cast

One of the press packs for Broadchurch reveals the ideas behind the casting for each character. The main characters are DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant), DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), and the boy's parents Mark and Beth Latimer (Andrew Buchanan and Jodie Whittaker respectively). All of the characters are important to the plot of the show, which is quite a unique element of Broadchurch. This accentuates the idea of everybody knowing everybody with making each person just as important to the development as the other.

Overall the show is inspirational to our project and my working methods from this point forward. The way in which Stokes managed the production from the start shows similarities in the way I've produced the show in the pre production stages and so to follow through in a similar way, with a somewhat similar style to the show as well, gives me confidence for the rest of production.