BBC producer Sir Colin Callender didn’t mince his words as he aimed fire at Disney+’s popular new show Rivals.
Sir Callender is an executive producer behind the final series of Wolf Hall which returns to screens after more than a decade later this month.
The returning historical drama – adapted from the late Hilary Mantel’s 2020 novel The Mirror and The Light – follows statesman Thomas Cromwell (Sir Mark Rylance) who lived between 1485 and 1540 and became a trusted advisor of Tudor King Henry VIII (played by Damian Lewis).
The second season picks up after Anne Boleyn’s execution and introduces Henry’s beloved third wife Jane Seymour played by Kate Phillips.
There’s not much in common between Jilly Cooper’s 80s bonkbuster Rivals and Wolf Hall’s Tudor-era aesthetic although both address themes around sex and nudity.
But in a recent speech, Sir Callender made clear he was not remotely interested in shows such as Rivals which opens with a ‘mile-high club’ sex scene and a game of naked tennis.
The Disney+ series – starring Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, David Tennant and more – has already secured a whopping 94% on Rotten Tomatoes alongside rave audience reviews. Not that this impressed Callender.
‘The fact that something is successful is not necessarily the sole criteria by which I would judge whether it’s something I would want to make or not,’ he said at the Broadcasting Press Guild event in London, per The Times.
He continued: ‘What are the things that I look for in a show? Is there a big idea that underpins it, that makes it relevant and interesting to a contemporary audience? Does it have something to say?
‘Are the emotions expressed and the situations dramatised truthful? Are they entertaining? Or do they trade in clichés? All the sorts of questions I would ask of a show are such that [Rivals] is not a show I would make.’
And when asked why it was so successful, he added: ‘I’m not sure anything is surprising anymore. I don’t dismiss [looking away from troubling events] as an ambition.’
Sir Callender’s comments square up with Rivals producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins difficult experience trying to pitch the adaptation to traditional UK channels over the years.
He told Deadline at the time: ‘I had meetings with the BBC and ITV years ago and when I said, “Would you go for something like Jilly Cooper?” they would look at me like I’d farted.
‘There’s a snobbery about her. Throughout my career I kept mentioning Jilly and everyone sort of laughed at and ridiculed me.’
Callender’s mean-spirited remarks come after lead star Lewis faced backlash after storming out of an interview with Radio Times, as recounted by the publication itself.
Reporter Ginny Dougary wrote that he walked out of the call (which was meant to be one hour) ‘not in a flounce or in uncontrolled anger but dead casually, as though it’s no real biggy.’
After arriving late, the Hollywood actor reportedly got Dougary to adjust her camera and proclaimed he would be leaving 15 minutes early.
At another point in the interview, when asked about Henry VIII’s relevance today, he replied: ‘Well, I think that someone as historically significant as Henry VIII will always remain significant,
‘Unless your question is suggesting such an un-woke character as Henry VIII, shot through a sort of contemporary prism, should no longer be on TV?’.
The 53-year-old screenstar eventually exited the call after refusing to discuss more personal questions.
The first series of Wolf Hall was a major success, drawing in over five million viewers at its peak and securing a Bafta and Golden Globe win for best drama series. As well as several Emmy nominations.
No doubt the show will be hoping to emulate the same success for the six-part finale.
Watch Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light on Sunday, November 10 on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
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