Zen axed by BBC One | reviews, news & interviews
Zen axed by BBC One
Zen axed by BBC One
So goodbye then, Aurelio
Horror and dismay have greeted BBC One controller Danny Cohen’s decision to axe detective drama series Zen, after the network aired a solitary three-part series in January which pulled a very respectable 5.7m viewers per episode.
Some argued that the films failed to capture the authentic flavour of the late Michael Dibdin’s original novels, and a mostly British cast pretending to be Italians struck a few wrong notes, but the show possessed a wit and style absent from most home-grown dramas. Besides, BBC One was hardly to going to air a series in Italian with English subtitles at prime time on a Sunday night. theartsdesk is vastly not amused at the show’s disappearance, because our review of Zen drew a huge number of hits and readers were still adding their (mostly enthusiastic) comments about the series long after the third episode had been broadcast (Sewell with Caterina Murino, pictured below).
Danny Cohen has also terminated Lark Rise to Candleford and caused a bit of a stir when he appeared to say that the BBC makes too many middle-class sitcoms. At a time when the BBC Trust thinks that Radio 4 needs to expand its listenership and “should be promoted among minority ethnic opinion formers,” a groundswell of grumbling is becoming audible from those proverbial white middle class Zen-loving licence-payers.
Cohen himself mumbled some opaque evasions to Radio Times. "BBC Drama has a lot of very exciting projects in development,” quoth he, “and going forward we've taken the decision to look at some of these new titles rather than commission a second series of Zen."
All may not be lost, since Zen’s producers Left Bank (who also make the Kenneth Branagh version of Wallander) are now in discussions with other networks to find it a new home. Which would be great, as long as it doesn’t go to Sky Atlantic where hardly anybody can watch it.
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Perhaps it was the suits, but
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Another reason not to watch
Please B R I N G B A C K
Still waiting for the BBC to
I have completely enjoyed
This series was outstandingly
Keep Zen and get rid of that
So sad! We are disappointed.
Can't believe only 3 episodes
Now the Beeb has a new
I have just watched the DVD
I agree, Zen is one of the
Why does the BBC insist on
Apologies to all for the
It is now 2013, just seen Zen
A brilliant, classy bit of
Its now Christmas 2013 and we
Its now Christmas 2013 and we can see from the foreign made for tv detective series being shown all through 2012 and 2013 - just how POPULAR they are, & how INTERNATIONALLY POPULAR they have become as well (VIP cos they are "money spinners") ! I beg the BBC to " re-consider" returning to make more series of "ZEN" With Rufus Sewell. This series was infinitely well acted, well directed, well-produced - & I think, given that the aeries was "axed" by Cohen in 2011, to bring them back again NOW will prove a HUGE HUGE "coup" for the BBC! Montalbano & Borgen have been HUGE, haven't they? But they are finished now. We need ZEN back for another series.....its time is NOW! Please "re-consider"..... Thankyou.... :-)
I agree. More zen with rufus
Where is Zen - just
I'll preface this by saying I
Well said. As a fellow San
Well done J Gerber! You're
I was so sorry to see this
Re watched Zen on BBC
What a wonderful series - and
(writing from New Mexico).
Still miss Zen. Just enjoying
19th June 2017 and the whole
Zen was utterly stylish,
A tragically bad decision
Just stumbled across the
Like the previous comment I
Just watched the three
I’ve just binged watched Zen
Yes, classy, but Sewell
Just watched all 3 and I
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