The Canada Media Fund has unveiled its latest report, “National Fictions on the Small Screen,” which examines the performance of locally produced drama series in small markets.

The report examined the domestic and international performance of dramatic series produced in nine television markets, all with populations less than 10 million: Austria, two Belgian linguistic markets, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and French- and German-speaking Switzerland.

The goal was to determine whether it’s possible to produce quality dramatic series in a language other than English and make them profitable on the international market. While the findings are geared more toward producers of non-English content, it also offers producers of English content a look at what is and isn’t working for international producers.

“National Fictions” first found its nine markets were split into two economic models: “primarily public,” where the public broadcaster is the dominator originator of content (Scandinavia, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria), and “mixed,” where public and private broadcasters both acquire and commission content, essentially behaving like large markets (Netherlands, Israel, and it should be noted, Quebec and Canada).

Regardless of the model and the mandate of the broadcasters, the report found local success and representation of local cultural values and norms were key to international export. “Nordic series continue to win first place in terms of audiences and market share in their niches. With these successes, they have been able to conquer international markets and inspire adaptations,” the report states. It gives the example of Swedish drama Wallander, which was produced by Stockholm-based Yellow Bird and later adapted by the BBC.

Other keys to international export: stick to mini-series and sub-genres. The report found series with shorter episode orders and longer running times perform well internationally. Furthermore, sub-genres, including detective/police and espionage series are more readily exportable to international markets, with the obvious example being the Israeli series Hatufim, adapted as Homeland for Showtime in the U.S.

“National Fictions” also delved into what it dubbed, “The Netflix factor,” or, the pros and cons of partnering with the U.S. streamer. It gave the example of Lilyhammer, which was commissioned by Norway’s public broadcaster NRK. Netflix acquired season one and later signed on as a coproducer of season two and three. “The success of Lilyhammer finally allowed Norwegian talent, on camera or behind, to be exported,” the report states. On the flip side, some of the producers, distributors and associations the report authors spoke to argued that Netflix and other SVOD services should be required to contribute to the funding of domestic productions – an argument often made in Canada, as well.

The report concluded with a few important findings, including the need to explore a possible role for regional funds in series development. Stating that the development process could benefit from more diverse sources of funding, the report argued funds from organizations and institutions that have an interest in attracting productions to their territory should be explored.

It also suggested that collaborative scriptwriting has proven successful in other territories, with the majority of the series studied having at least three or four scriptwriters.

Lastly, the report stressed that public broadcasters must take risks and doing so should be encouraged and supported, stating that domestic and international success is owed to complex characters who are “rooted in the reality of the territories where their stories unfold.”

The study was financed by the CMF in collaboration with the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec (SODEC). It was authored by Francis Gosselin and Frédéric Guarino of FG8. Access the full report here.

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