Michael Hogan
Why Sunday nights are the best for television
Rumours of terrestrial TV’s demise at the hands of new technology have been greatly exaggerated. And it’s Sundays that have saved it. BBC One thriller Bodyguard, which continues tonight with another talking point plot twist (no spoilers, naturally), was this week confirmed as British TV’s biggest new drama for a decade, with an astonishing 6.8million viewers tuning into the debut episode on the night (10.4million when you include catch-up).
Forget binge-watching, boxsets, Netflix and other such 21st-century phenomena. This is an old-fashioned, did-you-see-what-happened, gatheraround-the-water-cooler hit.
The BBC’s announcement of Bodyguard’s record-breaking ratings was followed by the corporation revealing the new-look Doctor Who’s launch date. The series will move to Sundays, starting on October 7. It all signals a seismic shift in the weekend TV landscape. Sunday, it seems, is the new Saturday.
Sunday evening has traditionally been a dumping ground for screen snoozefests: somnambulant sitcoms, twee rural romps ( Darling Buds of May), cosy period dramas ( Pride and Prejudice) or anything involving antiques ( Lovejoy). Undemanding post-roast programming to soothe our back-to-work blues and encourage us into bed at a decent hour. As Pride and Prejudice screenwriter Andrew Davies once said of his Sunday slot: “It is not really the time when you want to see something that’s going to alarm or shock you and think, ‘Good God, I’ve got to get something done about this before I go to work tomorrow’.” Not any more.
So how has Sunday shaken off its sleepy reputation to become the most thrilling night on TV?
The trend can be traced back to 2010, when the BBC unleashed Sherlock on summer Sundays. Benedict Cumberbatch and co pulled in 12million devotees and the game was afoot. Within two months,
ITV responded by flinging open the doors of Downton Abbey and watching 11million punters happily file in. Realising that Sunday drama was becoming big business, BBC One scheduled another blockbuster adaptation there, John le Carré’s The Night Manager, in 2016. An impressive 10million became hooked. This year began with gangland thriller McMafia in the same slot. Again, hefty ratings of nine million.
Sundays were no longer reserved for bonnets, breeches and barechested scything. They could also provide crime, action and intrigue.
At the same time, Saturday nights have become ever more dominated by talent contests and light entertainment. Under pressure to provide a distinct alternative, rather than more reality fare, the BBC last year launched a campaign to restore drama to Saturdays. It enjoyed some initial success with Tom Hardy’s Taboo but this year’s offerings – apocalyptic clunker Hard Sun and swords-andsandals shambles Troy: Fall of a City
– were flops. The channel’s prime-time Saturday audience fell to its lowest point since records began.
The experiment had failed. Sundays seem like a safer place for drama: its natural weekend home. Saturdays have myriad other distractions: not just the TV talent juggernauts but weddings, parties, bar mitzvahs. Sundays are quieter socially, thus more suited to snuggled-on-the-sofa communal viewing. And 9pm has become, in broadcasting lingo, a “landmark slot”. As the weekend comes to a close, it’s the terrestrial channels’ chance to steamroller ondemand services and unite the nation on the biggest viewing night of the week – be it cooing at Ross Poldark’s rippling abs or bodyguard David Budd’s bare backside.
Many of our most-watched, bestloved dramas now air on Sundays: Call the Midwife and Poldark on the Beeb, Victoria and Endeavour on ITV. Sure, they’re still period pieces but they follow the Downton model. Zipping along like superior soaps, they’re populist crowd-pleasers, unlike the stuffy, stately historical sagas of yesteryear. Even Channel 4 has started to put its flagship dramas on Sundays, with the likes of Homeland and The Handmaid’s Tale.
How will Sundays suit dear old Doctor Who? Rather well, I suspect. One of fans’ frustrations in recent years has been the show’s lack of a regular time slot. Family viewing thrives on habit and routine. However, Saturdays are a movable feast. There are sport fixtures to cover and Strictly shifts in the schedules as the contest progresses, the field shrinks and live shows shorten. It meant Doctor Who was shunted around, often finishing post-watershed. Flying the Tardis out of the Saturday bunfight brings a fresh start and could be the shot in the arm that the stagnating sci-fi franchise needs. It now has a new star in Jodie Whittaker, a new showrunner in Chris Chibnall and a new home in the schedules, too.
As for its precise time slot, that’s crucial but still unconfirmed. Early Sunday evenings on BBC One are currently settled, with Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow and, each autumn, the Strictly results show. An educated guess would say Doctor Who will fit in at 6pm pre- Countryfile (arguably too early for spooks and scares) or 8pm after the ballroom dance-off (arguably too late on a school night).
Either way, it will form part of a formidable BBC One line-up: Countryfile, Strictly and Doctor Who, all leading into the channel’s major 9pm drama. It means potentially huge ratings from 6pm to 10pm every Sunday and could prove the final nail in The X Factor’s coffin. After all, who’s going to flip to ITV for the padded-out results show of a moribund crooning contest when the main events are back-to-back on the BBC?