The History of TV Thrillers

 The beginning of thriller

During the 1940-50s, the thriller genre was just starting to gain attention. Many original thrillers for adapts of either radio shows or films and storytelling was usually based on film noir or detective fiction.

One significant show of the late 1950s was the twilight zone. Although more of a science fiction show, it included many thrilling mysteries, suspense and moral lessons. This allowed the show to explore many sub genres of thriller. Although, thriller was gaining more recognition with many programmes being released consecutively, only certain shows repeatedly gained the most popularity. This is because many shows were very low budget due to lack of technology and therefore could only adapt from radio or film. The twilight zone stood out due to their unique concept and creative writing.

The evolution of thriller in the 1960s

By the 1960s, the thriller genre had matured and gained worldwide popularity. Psychological thrillers, crime dramas, and suspenseful mysteries became the focal point of many TV series. For example, the fugitive, released in the early 60s consisted of a man wrongly convicted of murder trying to find his wife’s real killer. This compelling mystery made it a huge success.

Many shows in the 60s were influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s films. This involvement brought instant credibility to any show associated with him. His reputation as a master of suspense translated well into television.   

2000s to present 

In the 2000s, thriller became more prominent, focusing mainly of morally ambiguous characters. These shows also gained international attention, further being able to always view on many streaming services. Furthermore, with the rising popularity of social media in the 2010s, fans could collectively chat to one another about theories, content and new releases.    

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Statement of Intent

  For my thriller series posters, I will make sure that it complies with all the rules set out by the ASA. For example, I will not contain anything in my advert that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence to any audience, condone violence or anti-social behavior, or cause fear or distress to audiences. This includes harmful messages against race, age, gender or disability. This is highly important as the film posters will be shown on large screens at bus stops, which will be viewed by a large range of audiences of all social groups. This includes individuals who are not necessarily part of the target demographic such as very young children, in which they may feel the posters cause harm or are very distressing. This is why I need to consider all demographics when designing my posters. The broadcast time of my product will be after 9pm, as it is not suitable for a young audience. However, on ITX, viewers can always stream the programme. For the show to be highly successfu...
Read more

Ideas For My Thriller Series

  Idea 1: My first idea is to create a thriller poster based on a girl that went missing during her childhood and based on clues and evidence, her family is trying to find her. The plot twist is that her dad kidnapped her, but her family are unaware of this. My poster will include a missing poster on a lamppost near to a dark forest, with the dad behind with a secretive and sly facial expression. Key colours will include red for the ‘missing’ text with dim lighting. The title will be ‘lost’ and will be aimed at 16–25-year-old tv thriller fans. Idea 2: My second idea is to create a thriller poster based on a group of teenagers at a boarding school who keep receiving anonymous calls from a mysterious number. The calls start becoming scarier and scarier with the unknown caller exposing their darkest secrets. Their mission is to find this caller. The poster will have ambient lighting with the friendship group sat on a bed in a circle with the phone in the middle, an unknown num...
Read more