The Bay Series 1 - TV Series
- Submitting institution
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Birkbeck College
- Unit of assessment
- 27 - English Language and Literature
- Output identifier
- 2005
- Type
- I - Performance
- Venue(s)
- ITV
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of first performance
- March
- Year of first performance
- 2019
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This output is the first of a multi-series ITV drama, in 6 parts (viewing figures 8M, bought by 95 countries; nominated Best New Drama, TV Choice Awards, 2019).
TV crime drama is genre based and often set in metropolitan locations. The Bay is an investigation into reimagining television genre and place to produce innovative televisual form and regional representation. In particular, it explores and experiments with the boundaries between the genres of family drama and police procedural by foregrounding the character of police Family Liaison Officer (or FLO) – the first British drama to do so – decentring the conventions of its two reference genres to explore the effect on form and geographical representation.
The Bay is the first drama series set in Morecambe Bay, and the process of investigation and creation sought to dignify this under-represented location, and its marginalised communities, without being exploitative. The research process involved rigorous engagement with locals and relevant professionals. I developed the central Family Liaison Officer character by interviewing real-life FLOs and police advisors. I also conducted research with local communities, via interviews and fieldtrips, and an open public meeting at Morecambe Winter Gardens; and via collaboration with directors, producers, actors, and locally recruited extras. As an Irish writer, I drew on the notion of Dinnseanchas (lore of places) to embed local specificity into my writing.
The process of writing and production revealed the capacity of genre drama to be remodelled and expanded within mainstream scheduling. It also revealed the importance of writing under-represented regional locations, including by showcasing Morecambe as an excellent place to film, with local talent. I discovered some of the needs and values of the Morecambe community, and the process of researching and making the work helped fortify local social and artistic networks.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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