"It was doing very well; it was doing particularly well outside of England. It was a very big seller for Carlton Television. But it was getting more and more expensive to do"
About this Quote
Derek Jacobi sketches the quiet paradox that drives much of television: popularity alone does not guarantee survival. He acknowledges a show that thrived, especially with international audiences, and that became a prized export for Carlton Television, yet he points to the escalating costs that ultimately undercut its future. The subtext is not complaint but an actor’s clear-eyed view of the marketplace that shapes creative work.
The reference almost certainly evokes Cadfael, the 1990s period mystery series that made Jacobi a beloved figure on both sides of the Atlantic. British commercial TV in that era relied heavily on overseas sales to finance ambitious dramas. Carlton, which absorbed Central Television and became a major ITV power, treated strong foreign demand as a crucial revenue stream. American stations, notably PBS, and continental buyers loved the production values, the medieval settings, and Jacobi’s gravitas. But period drama is expensive by nature: painstaking costumes, sets, horses, crowds, and location shoots push budgets up year over year. As expectations rise with success, so do line items for authenticity and scale.
That is the economic logic behind the pivot in his words. Even with healthy sales, margins can narrow if costs outpace what distributors can command from buyers. Co-production deals, currency fluctuations, and the need to shoot abroad for savings can only stretch so far. ITV’s commercial imperatives sharpened those calculations; unlike the BBC, ad-funded broadcasters can be quicker to end acclaimed shows when the budget math fails.
Jacobi’s tone implies acceptance rather than bitterness. He recognizes that a series can be loved and still be unsustainable. The remark also hints at a broader truth about British television in the 1990s: global success was both a lifeline and a constraint. International audiences helped make high-quality drama possible, but the very standard set by that success raised the cost of maintaining it, until the ledger forced a graceful exit.
The reference almost certainly evokes Cadfael, the 1990s period mystery series that made Jacobi a beloved figure on both sides of the Atlantic. British commercial TV in that era relied heavily on overseas sales to finance ambitious dramas. Carlton, which absorbed Central Television and became a major ITV power, treated strong foreign demand as a crucial revenue stream. American stations, notably PBS, and continental buyers loved the production values, the medieval settings, and Jacobi’s gravitas. But period drama is expensive by nature: painstaking costumes, sets, horses, crowds, and location shoots push budgets up year over year. As expectations rise with success, so do line items for authenticity and scale.
That is the economic logic behind the pivot in his words. Even with healthy sales, margins can narrow if costs outpace what distributors can command from buyers. Co-production deals, currency fluctuations, and the need to shoot abroad for savings can only stretch so far. ITV’s commercial imperatives sharpened those calculations; unlike the BBC, ad-funded broadcasters can be quicker to end acclaimed shows when the budget math fails.
Jacobi’s tone implies acceptance rather than bitterness. He recognizes that a series can be loved and still be unsustainable. The remark also hints at a broader truth about British television in the 1990s: global success was both a lifeline and a constraint. International audiences helped make high-quality drama possible, but the very standard set by that success raised the cost of maintaining it, until the ledger forced a graceful exit.
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| Topic | Movie |
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