LFTD's

• What is a Long Form Television drama?


  • A long form television drama is a series of audio visual connected narratives broadcasted on television.
• how have LFTD's changed?


  • technology: the development of streaming platforms and on-demand services has made it easier for people to watch television shows at their own pace.
  • audience demand: many viewers today are looking for more complex, nuanced stories that take time to unfold and develop, which long form dramas are well-suited to deliver. Audiences expect producers to challenge conventions of their genre and create more progressive and pluralistic representations.
• how has binge-watching changing LFTDs?


  • audience expectations of the quality of LFTDs has also risen, which then increases the pressure to provide dramas with high production values to stand out from competition.
  • traditional episodic formats often included recaps and cliffhangers to ensure audiences would return each week. Cliffhangers are still used but now with the aim to 'glue the viewer' to watch another episode.
  • stronger emphasis on serialised storytelling rather than episodic formats, as continued narratives benefit from the binge-watching model.
• Key LFTDs notes:

  • the opening to a long form TV drama usually begins with a hook or sets up an 'enigma' which the rest of the episode will aim to resolve - many open with a scene to immediately grab the viewers attention or introduce a significant event
  • title credits used in long form TV drama series usually incorporate thematic elements that convey the show's themes or mood.
  • storylines in long form TV dramas typically kickstart their storylines with an inciting incident that disrupts the status quo (disequilibrium)