The next category you voted in was ‘Best Limited Series’. We define a ‘limited series’ as a show which either is a short run, one-off production or has a storyline which completely changes from season to season, such as an anthology series. This was another category where there was a clear frontrunner from very early on. Much like the ‘Best Drama’ category, the winner here took a massive 40% of the overall vote and was also a BBC show.
Best Limited Series
Nominees: Black Mirror, Bodyguard, Maniac, Sharp Objects, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Trust
Bronze: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Silver: Black Mirror
And the Gold goes to …
Winner: Bodyguard
When a show is written and created by ‘Line Of Duty’ scribe Jed Mercurio, you know you’re going to be in for something good. However, I don’t think even the BBC could have predicted just how successful ‘Bodyguard’ would become. Set in and around the corridors of power, ‘Bodyguard’ tells the fictional story of David Budd (Richard Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch (RaSP) of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, is he actually her biggest threat?
The response to the drama was outstanding. Episode 1 had the highest launch figure for any new drama across all UK channels since 2006, with a consolidated figure of 10.4 million viewers, with a massive 40.9% audience share. The finale tipped over 11 million viewers, with a 47.8% audience share. It also smashed all iPlayer records, giving the streaming service its biggest ever day of over 12.6 million requests. It went on to become the most watched tv drama since records began in 2002, having been watched by 17.1 million people. That’s the highest viewing figure for anything outside of a live sporting event since 2010! What we’re saying is, it was somewhat popular!
Currently, there is no official announcement of a ‘Bodyguard‘ Season 2, hence the reason for being in the ‘Limited Series’ category. However, Mercurio has been in discussion with the BBC about a 2nd Season, but he needs to figure out what fresh hell he can put David Budd through. You can bet the Beeb will be extremely keen to see the drama return, so keep your eye on the site this year for more information.
