Biographical Television Drama

This book explores what happens when biography and television meet, in a novel fusion of the two fields of study. Andrews compares core concepts in biography and television studies such as intimacy, the presentation of the self and the uneasy relationship between fact and fiction. The book examines biographical drama’s generic hybridity, accounting for the influence of the film biopic, docudrama, melodrama and period drama. It discusses biographical television drama’s representation of real lives in terms of visual style, performance and self-reflexivity. Andrews also assesses how life stories are shaped for televisual narrative formats and analyses the adaptation process for the biographical drama. Finally, the book considers various kinds of reputation – of the broadcast institution, author, biographical subject – in relation to the ethics of televisual biography