Conclusion

This conclusion surveys the history and evolution of the spy and conspiracy dramas over the preceding decades, summing up the arguments from the main chapters of the book. This is framed by discussion of some of the most recent programmes in these traditions, most notably the BBC’s return to John Le Carre with their adaptation of The Night Manager (BBC 1, 2016). It explores how these are increasingly made through complex co-production arrangements, with both the independent production sector and transatlantic co-production partners playing more dominant roles. This is linked to shift in trends back towards a ‘novelistic’ serial form, and new moral ambiguity whereby it seems increasingly difficult to distinguish the spy and conspiracy genres. It argues that this this responds to the critical agenda set American ‘quality’ television, with discourses of ‘quality’ emanating from pay-per-view threatening to supplant those associated with public service broadcasting.