[rex_lupi]

'Traditional british tv' has produced some of the best shows to be ever made. The writing, acting and production quality of the 70s-80s classic british shows surpasses anything being produced these days in 4k. Spent so many delectable hours watching old shows from that era, some of them quite obscure. Modern shows feel like mass-produced in an assembly line, devoid of what one would call 'class'.

[sunrunner]

It's also produced some of the worst. Other channels and services have also produced some of the best and some of the worst. Because it's fairly subjective and there's no accounting for taste.

It feels a bit disingenous to compare a limited number of already very well known classic programs that have survived the test of time against the entire breadth of newer programs (of which there are vastly more in number, so the likelihood of even being seen is much lower).

[permo-w]

this kind of take is usually the preserve of nostalgic old men who've just discovered YouTube comments, so I'm surprised to see it rephrased so many times here. if you aren't finding high quality modern British-made TV shows it's because you're not looking or you're unwilling to try new things. Wolf Hall, Line of Duty, Slow Horses, Rivals, Fleabag, Adolescence, Inside no 9, Veep, etc etc etc etc. I could name 10 more. TV is more stratified and yes there are a lot of worthless filler game shows and talk shows, but just as it was in the 70s and 80s, there are plenty of stand-out shows that will last the test of time

[mellosouls]

Wolf Hall - originally a great adaptation of a superior book but the last series terribly constrained by budget and cliche background music.

Line of Duty - decent procedural but increasingly bonkers stories and hammy script/delivery.

Adolescence - well produced but liberal scare story. Netflix!

Haven't seen the others.

Hardly in the class of historical Beeb let alone contemporary US brilliance.

[permo-w]

>Wolf Hall ...

you're nitpicking. it's a high class, well-produced, well-acted, British-made TV show, by the BBC, of a very high quality that would be well-regarded in any era (if you ignore the weird racial thing they did in S2)

>Line of Duty

your opinion is absolutely in the minority, which isn't to say it's wrong, but it's a very well regarded, high class show that's widely seen as well above "decent procedural"

>Adolescence

whether it's liberal or paid for by Netflix is irrelevant to whether it's a high quality British-made tv show

>you haven't watched the others

then you're going to struggle to give a useful opinion on this matter, aren't you?

>Hardly in the class of historical Beeb

every historical BBC show you can name will have myriad minor subjective criticisms of the like you've just produced

>let alone contemporary US brilliance.

if you think US TV is even remotely comparable with UK TV, you're not paying attention. the US is long since out of its golden era, which pretty much died with Game of Thrones. US media has an order of magnitude more financial means than that of the UK, and yet what have they created of any real quality in the last few years besides White Lotus? they repeatedly fail to even remotely approach the class and quality of our TV. on the rare occasions they do get close, it's on the back of British actors or British production

[sarchertech]

> and yet what have they created of any real quality in the last few years besides White Lotus?

Now you’re just acting like the OP. There’s plenty of highly regarded us shows from the last few years. Just go look the highest rated current TV shows on rotten tomatoes.

[permo-w]

well you're right. admittedly I haven't watched much recently besides White Lotus. on the other hand, it is true that most very highly regarded American shows have British actors in key roles, or creatives in production

[TMWNN]

... because American shows are where the most money and best scripts are, luring British talent there. I.e., the point of the discussion at hand.

[hgomersall]

I tried watching wolf hall because I love historical novels/shows, but I really struggled with it. Though I also struggled with the actual book so maybe it's something more fundamental.

[arp242]

Everyone dislikes some things. Not everyone likes classics such as Monty Python or Only Fools and Horses either. You're confusing "I don't like it" with "it's bad".

[mellosouls]

Confused? You've misread.

I didn't dislike any of them, all are fine at least; the first series of Wolf Hall is particularly good.

[cadamsdotcom]

Is it fair to compare 20 years' worth of TV to the past few years' worth?

Survivorship bias is also likely involved.

[socalgal2]

i think you'd find lots of people disagree. Were there some great BBC shows in the 70s and 80s? Sure.

I think you'd find lots pf people who find some relatively recent streaming shows to be amazing. You may not like them but there are many fans of shows like Stranger Things, The Crown, The Handmaid's Tale, The Queen's Gambit, Silo, Severance, Succession, ....

[gadders]

The class it is missing is the working class:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8xjvzx5zno