Why has Masterpiece Theatre been largely British imports?
Follow the money. The financing of Masterpiece and Mystery! is probably the best deal in television. For about 10 percent of the total production budget, we used to purchase the broadcast rights to hours and hours of very expensive British drama. The shows were already made, mostly by the BBC. There isn’t a Masterpiece Theatre anthology in England 2 it’s only here. At first you sought and brought programming. What else does “producer” mean? Well, it doesn’t mean that I smoke a big fat cigar. Never? No, but I smoked a pipe briefly in the ’70s. Anyway, being a producer means doing several things: I am responsible for getting the money together. Then I have to be a negotiator and do the deals with the British broadcasters to license the programs or agree to co-produce them. I have to be a broadcaster, deciding in what order these programs will go out. I read books and have script conferences with writers about the programs that we co-produce, and I ‘m involved in casting sessions. I find
