A scene from Coronation Street starring Katie McGlynn, as Sinead Tinker, and Sam Aston, as Chesney Brown. (Granada Studios)
A scene from Coronation Street starring Katie McGlynn, as Sinead Tinker, and Sam Aston, as Chesney Brown. (Granada Studios)
A scene from Coronation Street starring Katie McGlynn, as Sinead Tinker, and Sam Aston, as Chesney Brown. (Granada Studios)
A scene from Coronation Street starring Katie McGlynn, as Sinead Tinker, and Sam Aston, as Chesney Brown. (Granada Studios)

Opinion

Is the UAE ready for its own Coronation Street?

A locally made soap opera could do wonders for the film and television industry

National Editorial

May 17, 2015

  • English
  • Arabic

For generations of Britons, Coronation Street has been must-see TV. Since 1960, the soap opera has told of the intertwined lives of residents in the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield. News that OSN will screen episodes in the UAE just 48 hours after they are shown in the UK will delight the show's fans, limiting their temptation to watch pirated episodes, and win over a larger audience. Perhaps those involved in UAE film and TV industry should tune in, too.

Coronation Street could serve as a model for a home-grown serial drama. With five half-hour episodes screened over three nights each week, year-round, the show has a highly disciplined production schedule. Unlike movies, which wrap within months, soaps provide full-time work and valuable expertise for writers, film crew and actors, many of whom go on to bigger things. And this could entrench and sustain a film industry in all its myriad forms.

Life in the UAE certainly lends itself to complex plots about families and friends. And Delma Street does have a nice ring to it.

UAE