Foreign drama thread (BBC4, C4's Walter Pres, Sky Arts etc)

There is a site called Viki that has bought worldwide rights to Korean and Taiwanese dramas and is streaming them legally with English subtitles for free:

http://www.viki.com/

I haven't watched any of it. It highlights the need for some sort of curator or gatekeeper that guides you to what's good before you invest your time.

I've watched the Korean film The Housemaid on Netflix. Viki, Amazon Instant Video or Netflix should be the future for these niche shows which may not be viable for linear television.

Or even more mainstream stuff. Myself and Mrs MarkyMark are enjoying House Of Cards immensely
on Netflix at present, rather too easy to 'binge watch', and it's very nice to unwind with 2-3 minutes of totally un molested end credits and music, to reflect quietly on what you've just watched. Something the 'linear' broadcasters have contempt for these days of course

SVT's Jordskott coming to ITV Encore:



http://www.a516digital.com/2015/03/itv-encore-to-premier-two-new-drama.html

Good spot. SVT also have the new Arne Dahl episodes going out at the moment, which are hopefully going to be on BBC Four.

Also be interesting to see if anyone picks up Blå Ögon.

Greetings from USA,

I stumbled upon this thread and decide to register an account to give my thought. First of all as an American, I'm happy for you guys in the UK to be able to watch non-English language dramas/shows without a dub and stooping downright remaking them (unlike how most UK shows and non-English language shows get in the US).

I'm seeing people bringing up Korean dramas and Asian dramas on this thread. OK as a big fan of Korean dramas (and other shows from East Asia), let me make it clear: Not all K-drama are romantic comedy, there are K-dramas with plot/story-line you can't find in European dramas . You're underestimating K-drama popularity and it's not in Asia and Latin America that are popular like in Eastern Europe (Romania, Hungary, etc...) they're very popular.



Don't forget Water Margin which BBC dub in English (remember this opening), RIP David Weirs. I wish he was still alive to see K-drama to maybe get broadcast on UK TV in the future.

But regarding K-drama in the UK: I think Korean dramas (and dramas from Hong Kong and Mainland China) could make it way to UK TV in the future . I'll tell you why:

1. K-dramas in the UK may have existed before. There was one British girl who was campaigning to have Dae Jang Geum/Jewel in the Palace broadcast in the UK, you can read her blog here.

2. Last year, there was an active campaign in the UK to get K-dramas shown on UK TV. The Korean cultural Center in London even held a K-drama week screening/showcases (and I read it that representatives from BBC, ITV, etc... attended these screenings/showcases). There are talks of collaborating between UK and South Korea. Here's a video trailer of K-drama Week:



3. Also during that same time last year, there was a Korea-UK Creative industries forum held and it was reported that TV is part of the segment talked at the forum.

So yes I think K-dramas could be shown on UK TV, seeing how non-English European dramas are being accepted in the UK tells me that you guys are ready for K-drama on UK TV.

If I have to put which K-dramas could appeal to the UK:

IRIS: I think this drama could appeal to a big fanbase in the UK.

http://www.hancinema.net/photos/fullsizephoto99425.jpg



EDIT: I found a video to showed you how much potential showing IRIS on UK TV can appeal to a UK audience:



Yes this drama has Lee-Byung Hun in it and given his appearance in Red 2 could help the drama do well in the UK. IRIS was shown in many part of the world like in Asia, it got dubbed in Spanish for Latin America. IRIS became the first K-dramas to be shown in Brazil. It was shown in Poland 3 years ago.



Also the drama had a spin-off and a sequel, IRIS 2:







So yes I think IRIS would get a high rating if shown on BBC4. If it does well, then BBC4 can broadcast Athena and IRIS 2.

Also I think a historical period K-drama would also appeal to the UK. I want BBC4 to broadcast The Princess Man.





I mean viewers in the UK would be amazed by these period drama from South Korea. So I hope this is enough to prove that K-dramas can break into UK TV.

EDIT: The BBC World Service has given K-drama some spotlight.

Jordskott starts on ITV Encore on Wednesday 10th June at 22:00

Beside the post above. I've been looking at more K-dramas (and other East Asian dramas) to see which one may appeal to the general UK audience. I've found couple more which might have strong appeal.

I've forgot to mention that there are way to watch K-dramas in the UK. One of them is KBS World's Youtube page, they do upload some of their selected dramas. I'll give you some first episodes of some of their full-length dramas (they're all subtitled in English, so there shouldn't be any issue watching these):

You're the best, Lee-Soon Shin (Wikipedia information on the drama):



KBS Daily drama: Eunhui



My Daughter, Seoyeong (Wikipedia information):



Hi School Love on:



KBS World does have some good drama specials you can watch on there (again with English subs, and no region restriction), I would recommend this 4-episode drama special:



and this horror drama special (if you're fan of J-horror and K-horror):



Oh, and here's 3 other dramas I think could appeal to BBC 4 watchers:

The Blade and Petal:



Jingbirok-Memoir of Imjin War:



Detectives in Trouble:



I hope these dramas could have enough appeal to be shown on BBC 4. But that's enough from KBS World. I've seen other dramas from other Korean channels that might have strong appeal. Like these period drama from MBC:

Here's Gyebaek (13 min preview of Episode 1, with English subs and in 1080p HD):



The Night Watchman's Journal:





There's another K-drama that got my attention, here's Heartless City (aka Cruel City), a 20 episode drama. If you're fan of gangster films or Korean gangster films in general, then this drama might appeal to you . I like the plot of the drama, if the UK want to remake any K-drama, I think this one may have remake potential:



There's also The Virus, a 10 episode K-drama:



I think that's enough K-drama, I've also been watching dramas from Hong Kong also. I found some which might appeal to both fans of Hong Kong cinema and general audience in general. How many of you know are familiar with TVB (they do have a European branch)? For those of you that don't know TVB, they made a lot of well-known dramas and before K-dramas, their drama are well-known, even their classic Kung-fu dramas are well-known among East Asian watchers. I mean let me show you:





Here's The Bund , a 1980 gangster drama with Chow Yun Fat (this drama was very famous in East Asia):



There was also the 1989 drama, Looking back in Anger which was a critically acclaimed HK drama:



I read an interesting article from this one and The Guardian about the subtitled dramas being shown in UK back in 1980's.



So after reading that part, I realized there was a missed opportunity for UK to show dramas from Hong Kong. If these kung Fu dramas, The Bund, and Looking back in Anger had been shown in the UK at the same time Heimat and Maharabhat was shown, then many of the HK stars like Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, and Andy Lau could've became household names in the UK and they could've expanded their showbiz career to the UK (meaning you could've seen these HK actors/actresses in British dramas). Chow-Yun Fat may have not went to Hollywood, he could've broken into the UK entertainment industry if his drama was shown. It's very sad the UK didn't take advantage of HK action (and Kung Fu) film popularity to show these dramas. It's also sad that TVB didn't even thought about showing these dramas in UK in the 80's when BBC was showing subtitled dramas during that time.

But I still think HK dramas today may have some entertainment value for UK audience. I've been watching some of recent TVB dramas on streaming sites in US (Hulu, and Dramafever), I think I know which one might have appeal:

Beyond the realm of Conscience:



Here's another drama from TVB, it's a cop drama called Tiger cubs (aka SDB), I don't have a trailer but I do have the theme song (you'll like it, it's badass):



Tiger Cubs had a sequel, I do have a trailer and a 18 minute preview for that drama, no English subs however:





I hope these help and maybe these show could find it's way to UK TV.

I'd love to see Unité 9, a French-Canadian women's prison drama set in Quebec on British TV (which you can watch on Netflix Canada), grittier than Wentworth, yet I don't think they'd air it here. However, the Canadian broadcaster which airs the French version has commissioned an English version.

I found another drama from TVB which may appeal to Kung fu fans in the UK. Check out Grace Under Fire:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/GraceUnderFire2011TVB.jpg

I don't have a trailer, but this video of the drama's fight scenes should be convincing:



Here's another K-drama which I think could appeal to the UK (and I think it has potential for a UK remake if the original drama could achieve high ratings):

Here's The King 2 hearts:

http://www.koreandrama.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/The-King-2hearts-Wallpaper-1.jpg

Here's the English sub trailer of the drama from Dramafever (I don't know if it's region lock):



In case if the trailer above is region locked, here's this one but without the subtitle:

An article about German TV drama in the Economist, of all places:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/05/german-televisions-new-dawn

It's interesting to note that while the successful Scandi-dramas have been largely funded by German broadcasters, their own offerings tend to be rather bland and safe. ARD and ZDF both produce large amounts of TV drama, yet very little of it gets exported to other countries.

That's a pretty interesting article. Also does anybody know about the London Korean film festival? Last year, it attracted 10,000 audience doubled from 2013. Here are the LKFF in review

2011:





2012:

Korean Film Shows Off Its Charm in London

Korean film new-Hollywood Stars Out in Force for MASQUERADE

BBC- The Thieves opens doors to Korean cinema in UK

Here are some video:











2013:

President Park attends 2013 8th London Korean Film Festival

BBC-Korean film festival brings box office successes to London

8th London Korean Film Festival report: London as Base Camp for Korean Films in European Market



2014:

London Korean Film Festival to showcase 55 films

The 9th London Korean Film Festival Successfully Closes



So given how much hype Korean films are getting in London, I would say K-drama could maybe be shown on UK TV one day.