The creators of Mr Bates Vs the Post Office and Dr Death, which are among the most meaningful TV dramas of recent years, have outlined the secrets behind their series.
During a panel session at the Berlinale Series Market chaired by Deadline, Mr Bates Vs the Post Office executive producer Patrick Spence outlined the weight his production team felt during the making of the ITV drama, which laid bare the story of the biggest legal injustice in British history.
He revealed the show’s 12 lead actors, who include Toby Jones as the real life campaigner Alan Bates, worked for “in some cases, a fifth of what they could normally get” because the story had affected them so deeply. “They did it because they were angry. They had to buy in,” he added.
The drama, from ITV Studios and Little Gem, told the story of how more than 800 sub postmasters, who ran post office branches for the service, were wrongly convicted of stealing money due to a faulty computer system. It has since emerged Post Office bosses were aware of the technical issues, but chose to ignore the scandal and continued to prosecute people using arcane British law, leaving many bankrupt or in jail.
Most are still waiting for compensation despite widespread public anger and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing legislation that will fast track payments. Some 13.5 million people have watched the series in the UK, making it commercial net ITV’s biggest drama in 22 years. Masterpiece will premiere it in the U.S. in April.
“It was a passion project for everyone,” said Spence. “Our guiding light was us saying that if we were this angry, and the story had been out there for ten years, why wasn’t everyone else? That’s the role of drama — and for the first time in 30 years of producing I felt I had a purpose that was bigger than just entertaining.”
Spence also noted how producers had rigorously kept Mr Bates so accurate to on-record events, with writer Gwyneth Hughes even only making Post Office bosses use words from in their real-life emails. This ensured broadcast regulators greenlit the use of an opening card reading ‘A true story,’ which is rarely afforded to TV dramas. “You have to jump hurdles to prove it is as accurate as it can be,” said Spence.
‘The greatest burden’
Patrick Macmanus, creator of Peacock‘s drama Dr Death and Hulu’s The Girl From Plainville said making drama series from real-life tragedies with deeper societal meanings was “the greatest burden” a storyteller can experience.
“I don’t mean that in a holier than thou way,” he told an audience at the CinemaxX cinema. You have to figure out this high wire act between entertaining people and ensuring that you know what you’re doing. There are people out there who are still victims of that and you know you could retraumatize them.
“All you can do as a storyteller is reach out and ensure what you are presenting these people as humans and not numbers, and are not paying lip service to their histories. If you can achieve that, you’re hopefully going to widen the aperture on the themes and systemic failures you’re talking about.”
Dr Death explored how rogue surgeon Christopher Duntsch was able to maim and kill patients on the operating table over several years in Texas, where suing doctors for negligence is very difficult. Duntsch was ultimately convicted of maiming an elderly patient and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Berlinale Series Market is running a series of content showcases and panels this week. The event is part of the EFM, the industry event that runs in parallel with the Berlin Film Festival. Deadline is the media partner.
