AS Media TV Dramas

Anything you want to challenge or correct in the way she characterizes this demographic and their relationship with, and attitudes towards, TV drama?
I think that although the majority of Youth is the type that goes out clubbing, drinking and partying; there is a minority of young people who don’t do these things and these people are never really taken into account and I personally think that certain TV programmes that despict all teenagers as people who have house parties, binge drink and have many one night stands such as 'Skins', create an image that some young people would not want associated with themselves.

Your own view of what the youth audience wants from TV drama
I think that Youth wants something that has an in-depth but fun story. For example, Eastenders uses small amounts of comedy mixed in with serious drama and it is one of the most popular soaps with young people.
Young people also need something that has many ups and downs in the storyline, so that even those with short attention spans (which many young people have) can even watch.

Examples of TV drama aimed at this audience which you think get it right
Misfits – It’s got a very unusual storyline and has certain amounts of comedy which add to, rather than hinder the drama.
Skins – Although, personally I do not like the image of Youth that Skins portrays, the layout and drama works on a good and interesting level (Although this has very much changed in the second series).

Examples of TV drama aimed at this audience which you think get it wrong
The OC – The characters and stories portrayed in this drama are very unrealistic and therefore the audience may find it hard to relate with and so not enjoy it.
One Tree Hill – It re-uses the same storylines very often and doesn’t really change its dynamic, making it uninteresting.

The dangers of trying to appeal to this audience
The dangers of trying to appeal to this audience are that you will always run the risk of stereotyping youth and falling into the same categories again and again. And after a while, young people won’t relate to characters that they’ve seen again and again and storylines that they’ve heard lots of times and so they’ll switch off.

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