Some opinions about new tendencies in TV programmes for women: In an interview with The Independent on Sunday, Hurford-Jones said she wanted to move away from the notion that a female-orientated channel should be dominated by those very traditional and slightly old-fashioned subjects. We really need to broaden it out to fit with todays women, who have very broad interests, she said. Just like men, we like lots of things – sport, politics, Homeland and Graham Norton. Living will relaunch next month with a blue and silver livery and a slate of new programmes that include crime dramas, female-slanted comedies and a lavish remake of Bram Stokers Dracula, produced by the makers of Downton Abbey and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Research conducted with the channels viewers (Hurford-Jones made some of the calls personally) revealed that the traditional pink branding could be a problem for women who wanted to watch shows with their partners. We are moving away from pink literally as well as metaphorically, she said. Pink ... could be a keep out message for men – and for quite a lot of women as well. Hurford-Jones, who has completed her first year in the job, said the channels most successful show was Elementary, a crime drama inspired by the Sherlock Holmes stories, which skews perfectly to a 60 per cent female audience. She believes that while men watch the series in a comic book, geeky way, piecing together the clues, women viewers tend to study the relationships between the characters. Hurford-Jones said that shows on dieting were not something I am going to go out and ask for, although if a format on losing weight was of high quality she would consider it. She also warned the television industry against seeing female channels as a dumping ground for cheap formats. I use the word quality a lot, because I think there was a tendency for people not to use the same production values. Appearing before delegates at the Edinburgh International Television Festival yesterday, she appealed to production companies not to pitch niche, girly formats to her. That not only alienates men but it alienates a lot of women, too. She said she was sent far too many programme ideas featuring men with their tops off. Anne Mensah, Skys head of drama, was sent ideas for girly drama when Living has in fact commissioned a series of one-off productions that includes courtroom, supernatural and crime stories. One, Psychopath Next Door, stars Anna Friel. The channel is also introducing a range of comedies including Doll and Em, a best-friends series starring Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells; Give Out Girls, showing the escapades of a promotions team; and Trying Again, a relationship sitcom starring Chris Addison and former EastEnders actress Jo Joyner, and created by Simon Blackwell, writer of The Thick of It. Another Hurford-Jones commission is The Face, a modelling show which pits the extraordinary and fabulous Naomi Campbell against fellow catwalk stars Erin OConnor and Caroline Winberg. Hurford-Jones said she was only interested in casting celebrities in shows if they were credible and absolutely at the top of their game. Although Living already broadcasts Britain & Irelands Next Top Model, Hurford-Jones denied that she was putting pressure on women by obsessing over the fashion industry. We know that modelling works for us and our customers love it, she said, comparing The Face to The Voice and The X Factor. Its about people – its not really about how people look, she said.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 19:49:55 +0000
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