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Has E4 cracked the formula for youth drama?

Source: The Guardian

Nov 06, 2009

Summary

Skins, Inbetweeners - and now Misfits. E4 is producing some brilliant drama. So why can't BBC3 do the same?

On Thursday night E4's latest bit of homegrown programming, Asbo sci-fi drama Misfits, debuts on Channel 4's yoof channel. The premise sounds ridiculous – a load of grotty kids doing community service get hit by an electrical storm and obtain superpowers (think Heroes meets Vicky Pollard) – but the first episode is very good. Like E4's other two big successes Skins and The Inbetweeners, Misfits strikes the right notes visually and in its dialogue. The direction is as good, if not better than, most terrestrial dramas – and the banter between the characters is raucous enough for teenagers to get that they're being talked to rather than at.

Compare and contrast with BBC3. The channel's breakout shows since Skins first aired in 2007 have been Gavin and Stacey, and Being Human. While liked by youngish audiences, neither are necessarily youth shows – and when BBC3 has tried specifically younger sitcoms, such as Coming Of Age or the recent Lunch Monkeys, the res

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