50's set drama grabs Brit audiences

'Call the Midwife' acquired better amounts in comparison to first season of 'Downton Abbey.'A TV drama about midwives, nuns and moms-to-be occur 19 fifties London has shown the surprise hit of the year in Blighty.The initial season of "Call the Midwife," which ended Feb. 19, attracted an average 8.7 million audiences -- a 30 audience share -- for BBC1, which causes it to be the channel's most broadly used new drama series in 10 years, and besting the debut season of "Downton Abbey" on ITV.After two episodes, the BBC commissioned another season, which will air next season.The six parter, each episode an hour or so approximately extended, remains known to by one rater becoming an "audiovisual cuddle." But that description doesn't do justice with a primetime series showing fairly realistic portrayals of home births -- and existence generally -- in the poverty-stricken district of East London near the docks.The show was professional produced by Pippa Harris, who setup shingle Neal Street Prods. with helmer Mike Mendes and creating partner Caro Newling in 2003. Before that, she was mind of drama commissioning within the BBC.The show, using the memoirs of best-selling author Jennifer Worth, is occur a convent that houses an order of nuns devoted to nursing, together with a team of youthful midwives.Many of the show's appeal arises from challenging viewers' anticipation, Harris states."One of the pleasures of Jennifer's writing is always that she frequently turns your presumptions about religion by themselves mind. And that means you frequently have situations where it is the youthful midwives that are shocked by people morals or their behavior," she states. "As well as the nuns -- that are a lot more understanding, simply because they have experienced everything before -- are unshockable."The show comes at any time when the funding of healthcare can be a hotly disputed subject inside the U.K., but viewers' reactions for the show relating to this score might be surprising."Just like many individuals think back getting a rose-tinted glow, and think what caring this kind of profession were then -- and basically as much people think back and think 'Gosh, just what a terrible time to have given birth,' " Harris states.The series was composed by "Cranford" and "Upstairs Downstairs" scribe Heidi Thomas and helmed by Philippa Lowthorpe, and accomplished good results within the mix-pollination in the different talents among Neal Street's partners. "Just like a company, we be employed in movies, TV and theater, as well as the three people -- myself, Mike Mendes and Caro Newling -- we've always labored (on) one another peoples projects," Harris states. "Mike was around to look into the first cuts of people first episodes, but Philippa found his notes most likely probably the most helpful if this involves shaping the finished episodes."This really is really the business's first drama series, undertaking a string of movies, including "Revolutionary Road," "Away We Go" and "Jarhead." It provides a first-look deal with Focus Features, it's developing "Middlemarch" and "Butcher's Crossing," which is developing a feature film version of Television show "Lost in Austen" for that new the new sony.Further Television show will be in the entire shebang, plus a U.S. remake of French cop series "Spiral" for L.A.-based BBC Worldwide Prods., being composed by Meredith Stiehm ("Homeland") and Paris-set hostage thriller "Grand Hotel" for Canal Plus. Are both being developed with French company Boy et Lumiere. Contact Leo Barraclough at leo.barraclough@variety.com