Rob Watts

‘All those posh apartments. It’s a playground for the rich’: is Manchester turning into London? £6 a pint, £199 a month for gym membership, £1,200 to rent a studio flat? The Guardian’s former North of England editor asks if the city she’s worked in for 12 years is changing for the better – or wo...

A pretty good summary of where things are at in contemporary Manchester from @helenpidd.bsky.social - whilst central Manchester is startlingly changed the wealth (and health) inequalities within the city are worse than ever.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Loved taking part at #CSTconference with @corpusng.bsky.social

We were looking forwards to speaking and writing about it’s a sin ever since we watched the series. This was a perfect (and much appreciated!) opportunity

This was such a great time! So many fascinating panels and just a lovely bunch of people all round. Huge thanks to Elke and Dipali for making it all happen #CSTConference

Had a great time presenting at the #CST conference yesterday, looking at the rise of live broadcasts on streaming platforms. Saw so many great papers!

Today kicks off the Critical Studies in Television conference! I'll be watching online today (looking forward to Catherine Johnson's keynote) and heading up to Manchester tomorrow to present on adaptation and television.

Is UK HETV tax relief holding back regional production financing? Calls are growing to allow lower-cost dramas – with budgets between £750,000 and £950,000 per broadcast hour – to qualify for the UK's high-end TV tax relief scheme.

Torfinnur Jákupsson: “We need a system that better reflects how great TV is actually made in 2025. It is about backing those already doing more with less. High-end shouldn’t just be defined by how much money you spend. It should be defined by impact, artistry and ambition.”

tvos app text: Are you sure you want to exit HISTORY? Ok Cancel

yes i am sure

We need a better quality of conversation about education and the skills agenda for the screen industries Richard Wallis and Christa van Raalte call out the unhelpful mythology that has grown around higher education and the screen industries

This week on Wonkhe: Richard Wallis and Crista van Raalte call out the unhelpful mythology that has grown around higher education and the screen industries

U.K. Unveils $100 Million “Screen Growth Package” for Film and TV, $200 Million Creative Places Fund The U.K. government unveiled a £75 million ($100 million) “Screen Growth Package” for the film and TV industries on Saturday as the Labour Party administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer focuses on future upside in the sector as part of its bid to provide a boost to the broader economy.

The U.K. government unveiled a £75 million ($100 million) “Screen Growth Package” for the film and TV industries on Saturday as the Labour Party administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer focuses on future upside in the sector as part of its bid to provide a boost to the broader economy.

Instagram post from MUBI, image is a blue backdrop with white text reading 'OUR STATEMENT ON OUR INVESTMENT FROM SEQUOIA CAPITAL', caption is: Since our founding, MUBI has raised money from a number of sources to help us grow. Our decision to work with outside investors has always served one purpose: to accelerate our mission of delivering bold and visionary films to global audiences. This was the rationale behind our recent partnership with the venture firm Sequoia Capital. Sequoia has a 50-plus year history of partnering with founders to help turn their ideas into world-changing businesses. Sequoia’s investments span a range of founders, industries, and geographies. We chose to work with Sequoia because the firm, and our Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed, support MUBI’s mission and want to help us scale and bring great cinema to even more people around the world. Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners. The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI. We take the feedback from our community very seriously, and are steadfast in remaining an independent founder-led company.

the weakest shit I have ever read on this subject, kept trying to scroll thinking there must be more but no, this is it

A red banner with black cut out letters reading 'The future is another place. Allow yourself to believe a better life is possible. Say it loud, defiantly to everyone'

A grassroots movement like Arts Emergency rarely lasts or grows as we have.Our work changes lives, but we rely on monthly donations.Those donations are down £50k since 2021. We've cut all we can, now we're appealing to you for £2/month to plug the gap & go on www.arts-emergency.org/donate%F0%9F...

I'm happy to announce that the article Katie Crosson and I co-wrote/edited documenting the Play for Today Viewing Group has been published online today for the Critical Studies in Television journal!
doi.org/10.1177/1749... (1)

Just clarifying, though this is not difficult to grasp: Anyone working on an industry project with a notorious transphobic bigot is OK with transphobic bigotry.

The end.

Netflix and co should pay levy to fund crisis-hit UK drama sector, say MPs British stories risk disappearing from small screen as public broadcasters struggle to compete with streaming services

Finally!! The streamers are to our UK TV industry as private healthcare is to the NHS. They must contribute to the fundamental infrastructures and culture of the industry they profit from and lower budget TV must be protected.

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Adolescence team to remake Threads nuclear attack epic Sheffield-based Warp Films firm plans to turn the 1984 movie Threads into a TV series, it says.

Nice little palate cleanser to take the edge off after watching Adolescence

Opinion | The Tech Fantasy That Powers A.I. Is Running on Fumes (Gift Article) A.I. is just what we need in the post-fact era: less research and more predicting what we want to hear.

This piece from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social starts with a bang and just gets better and better. Gift link.

River City is Scotland's only serial drama. It has been running since 2002 and not only provides a much-needed regionalised drama series, but also serves as a vital training ground for actors, production and crew.
The BBC is a public service broadcaster, not a commercial entity... 1/

Can anyone help? It’s a great organization helping young people in a practical way.

‘Adolescence’ Writer Jack Thorne: UK Government Must Help Avert “Devastating” Crisis In TV Drama Jack Thorne has warned that shows like 'Adolescence' will become extinct unless the industry solves a "devastating" funding crisis.

So good to see Jack Thorne speaking out about the crisis in TV, talking solutions like levies and ring-fenced support for UK stories and writers. We need more folks with his level of clout to speak up and find a sustainable way forward for the industry 👏

deadline.com/2025/03/adol...

How Streaming Is Making Us All Cinema-Illiterate The oldest title available on Netflix last month was 1973’s 'The Sting.' Where does that leave the next generation of film lovers?

"the streaming revolution has been something of a disaster for classic movies. It has, in fact, been slowly and methodically wiping the collective culture’s memory of anything made before … well, 1973"

IN CONVERSATION: TELEVISION AND GOVERNANCE by David Levente Palatinus and Elke Weissmann

https://cstonline.net/in-conversation-television-and-governance-by-david-levente-palatinus-and-elke-weissmann/

Absolutely unforgivable how THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, which is truly one of the great masterpieces of 21st-century cinema, was just dropped onto Amazon’s content conveyor belt and instantly disappeared from the conversation.

Just what is Shoegaze Horror? Shoegaze Horror is perhaps as elusive as it is immersive—a cinema of ghosts, memories, and slow-burning dissolution where horror is less about what happens than how it feels, vibrating out through …

What is Shoegaze Horror?
A Ghost Story, We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, Skinamarink and beyond… a horror cinema of ghosts, memories, and slow-burning dissolution, dislocation, dissociation, depersonalisation & derealisation.
I take a walk through 17 films…
📽️👻
whitlockandpope.com/2025/02/23/j...

If you make it possible for working class people to tell stories to the nation, you reduce the openings for despair-driven far-right populism. This would seem a cost-effective investment.

British TV Dramatists Lament “Austerity” Era As They Navigate Funding Crisis With No Easy Solutions British TV drama is entering its “austerity” era amid a funding crisis for BBC and ITV series with no easy solutions.

A bleak look into the UK TV drama market, where the streaming boom has given way to a perilous time for local stories. Will similar stories emerge from other major hubs for the global platforms? deadline.com/2025/02/brit...

I am really appreciating all the tributes to David Lynch I'm seeing everywhere. Imagine inspiring such creativity and energy in others in your lifetime and beyond that. I think he'll last forever.

This whole thread is worth reading, but I love this idea for getting more British stories on screen via 30 TV pilots distributed to production companies across the country.

Issue 51: David Lynch Archives - Bright Wall/Dark Room September 2017

A truly awful day for movies and art, losing one of the most singular and brilliant voices to ever make them.

We've unlocked our full David Lynch issue from 2017, which is now entirely free to read.

R.I.P. Mr. Lynch, and thank you forever for the work and example you left us.