CRAIG: Will Gracepoint pop when it’s a show some people have already seen, as Broadchurch?
SHILO: While I don’t think the sheer number of people who have seen Broadchurch will have a negative impact on Gracepoint, I do think the British crime drama’s existence could play a role in its American counterpart’s success. Should Gracepoint not deviate enough from the source material or deviate in ways that make it creatively inferior, it could have an adverse effect on buzz and buzz is something that event series and serialized dramas in general thrive upon.
Television is an exceedingly crowded medium at this point and if you’re not going to offer something new, exciting, and distinctive, it can be difficult to break through and find an audience. If the word about Gracepoint grows to the point of “it’s exactly like the original” or “the original did plot points X, Y, and Z better,” it could turn people away and toward Broadchurch, as they liked the premise of the American version but found it lacking in some way. It’s risky to have critically acclaimed source material and should Gracepoint not find the proper midsection between honoring the original and forging its own path, it could end up being nothing more than a commercial for Broadchurch.
Navigate to read more below:
