TV Home Forum

Unforgotten ITV

could it be dropped in light of Sarah Everard case? (March 2021)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MU
MrUdagawa
Don't know if anyone is currently watching Unforgotten on ITV, but it struck me that the latest series has striking similarities with what is unfolding in the current horrible Sarah Everard case. I wonder if ITV will be forced to pull it from the schedules.
EL
elmarko
It certainly has happened before, but it may be dissimilar enough to get away with it.
JO
Jonwo
The series is halfway through its run so the chances of its being pulled is zero not to mention, it’s a serialised drama so you can’t pull it and air it later in the year
SW
Steve Williams
Jonwo posted:
The series is halfway through its run so the chances of its being pulled is zero not to mention, it’s a serialised drama so you can’t pull it and air it later in the year


You absolutely can, various dramas have been dropped before the end of their run because they were too similar to news stories, and the last episode(s) shown several weeks, or months, later.

This was a famous example from a few years ago, you can see episode 4 was shown several weeks after episode 3 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szy7c - and I also remember Thief Takers, the nineties police series, having its final episode dropped because it was in the week of Dunblane and was considered too violent, and being shown a few months later as a "special".

It doesn't matter if it's halfway through its run or it's a serial, if it becomes offensive or inappropriate, they'll drop it regardless. Whether it does meet those criteria is another question, but they absolutely can do it.
MA
Markymark
Jonwo posted:
The series is halfway through its run so the chances of its being pulled is zero not to mention, it’s a serialised drama so you can’t pull it and air it later in the year


You absolutely can, various dramas have been dropped before the end of their run because they were too similar to news stories, and the last episode(s) shown several weeks, or months, later.

This was a famous example from a few years ago, you can see episode 4 was shown several weeks after episode 3 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szy7c - and I also remember Thief Takers, the nineties police series, having its final episode dropped because it was in the week of Dunblane and was considered too violent, and being shown a few months later as a "special".

It doesn't matter if it's halfway through its run or it's a serial, if it becomes offensive or inappropriate, they'll drop it regardless. Whether it does meet those criteria is another question, but they absolutely can do it.


Without getting into the morality of whether or not some dramas should be pulled because of current events, there are actually three
series where the plots have (arguably) similarities at present

Unforgotten
Bloodlands
Line of Duty
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Not quite the same but the current Harry Hill BBC Two series had an episode postponed as it had some reference to the Queen that they didn't feel comfortable showing while Prince Philip was in hospital.

Newer posts