Hollyoaks, the popular British soap opera, is set to take an unusual leap forward in time by a whole year. This plot twist allows the show’s producers to reduce the number of episodes and cast members amidst the latest cutback to TV drama in the UK. Hollyoaks’ executive producer, Hannah Cheers, came up with the innovative idea of the timelapse to avoid a “negative and grim” storyline. The show’s remaining cast members are said to welcome the change, with fewer episodes enabling the cast to “attack the storylines”.
The lead up to the time shift features a potentially explosive storyline: Cleo and her abusive boyfriend Abe. This week is also Hollyoaks’ annual “stunt week”, and marks the first week of several cuts to the programme, including the trimming of episode numbers and jobs lost behind the scenes on the Liverpool set. The channel behind Hollyoaks, Channel 4, has had to cut its programming budget due to a downturn in advertising revenue, leading to a funding squeeze across the TV industry.
While reductions in viewership and budget have hit other long-running dramas, Hollyoaks has taken the unusual step of resetting the show 12 months ahead, offering “new friendships, new romances, old relationships being rekindled, pregnancies, secrets, mysteries – all from moving a year in time,” according to Hannah Cheers. The show has been watched by around 600,000 people daily and budget constraints likely played a role in the changes.
Critics have warned of the detrimental impact on actors and workers in the TV industry, with concerns expressed by actors’ union Equity and broadcasting union Bectu. Channel 4 insists the changes are not part of a strategy of managed decline, but to ensure the show’s future. Channel 4 says the reduction in episodes is due to research suggesting that viewers typically only watch three out of the five episodes per week on average and reflects the changing nature of TV consumption
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