Characters over plot

On the Broadcast blog, British director Jon Sen explains what he thinks gives US TV drama the edge over shows from the UK.

I think the real reason why American drama series manage to inspire such devotion is because of what the programme makers do before they start shooting. We've all heard about the huge writing teams and the triple-decker salaries and that's got to make a difference. But more importantly, American writers have always really understood that an audience is loyal to characters not to plot.