New TV drama

Two new big-budget dramas have made their debuts in the past week.

The Long Firm is adapted by Joe Penhall from the book by Jake Arnott. There's an interview with Penhall in The Stage in which he talks about the challenge of writing for TV rather than theatre:

"I think the hardest part of the experience was convincing people that complexity was a good thing. They didn't have a problem with scenes of raw violence or even mutual masturbation. What concerned them was the need, as they saw it, to simplify everything."

Island at War, written by Stephen Mallatratt, is a Sunday night drama combining the epic sweep of the Channel Islands' war-time occupation with personal stories and family dramas. ITV will be hoping that their investment is repaid with big ratings, and probably an award or two as well.