Publication details
„We are not HBO, We are Television": A Post-socialist Writers' Room
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This paper focuses on the differing expectations and authorial subjectivities of the agents and institutions involved in the production of The First Republic - a melodramatic historical crime drama that provides a lens to examine how the development and production of Czech television series has changed since the mid 2000s. The series exemplifies a shift away from the longstanding Czech tradition of having one or two writers pen six- or thirteen-part screenplays as one whole in favor of having a writing team collaborate on dozens of screenplays. The First Republic also illustrates the emergence of family entertainment as a ČT programming slot to compete with private companies for the primetime soap opera audience, as well as a greater effort to follow trends in American and, to some extent, European quality television. The initial conception of the series posited a complex, gritty historical drama, but this idea gave way to what many critics saw as a high-end soap. Shifts in power between ČT, its independent production partners (together with the series’ director), and head writer were symptoms of the changing position of public service television on the Czech market and ČT’s relationships with private producers. This paper sheds light on the social logic that drove this collaborative effort. It focuses on two-way “mediation” at different stages and sites of the production process; on the institutional frameworks, social relations, and aesthetic conditions that mediated the text during its development; and, to some extent, how the text mediated social relations between those involved in its production. Research for this chapter is based on Eva Pjajčíková’s experience as a writer intern on The First Republic, her nine-month participant observation of the writing team, and interviews both authors conducted with participants in the series. |
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