Unit information: Television Drama in 2026/27

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Television Drama
Unit code FATVM0001
Credit points 20
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Piper
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

Screen Forms and Analysis FATVM0016, or FATV10005 Introduction to Film and Television or FATV10011 Film and Television Forms and Practices.

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department Department of Film and Television
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

This unit will focus on the history, forms and genres of television drama. It will concentrate primarily on the contextualised study of British texts, drawing on historical, industrial, and audience research as appropriate to make a detailed examination of generic, formal and stylistic elements noting, for instance, the way these might arise from technological, economic and institutional practices and/or constraints. Sub-genres (such as the police series) may be used to explore critical debates about, say, realism or authorship, and/or to consider the relationship between television and the social contexts of production/reception. Although the focus will be on British television drama, students will be able to make comparisons with programmes from other countries.

Aims:

  • To explore the relationship between fictional television programming and its historic contexts of production and reception.
  • To introduce students to the development of given genres.
  • To interrogate a wide range of different aesthetic strategies and forms of fictional programming.
  • To introduce critical and theoretical approaches useful and appropriate for discussing specific genres, forms and programmes.

Your learning on this unit

Learning Outcomes:

  1. demonstrate advanced skills of written textual, generic and formal analysis.
  2. display critical awareness of the history of television and the development of textual forms in one particular national context.
  3. recognize the diversity of dramatic forms on television and their specific historical and political significance in a particular national and social context .
  4. make useful contributions to academic discussions and learning.

How you will learn

Lectures, seminars, screenings.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

In-class Presentation (Formative) [ILOs 2;3]

Essay (4,000 words) (90%) [ILOs 1-3]

Contribution Mark (10%) [ILO 4]

When assessment does not go to plan

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FATVM0001).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.

The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.