From Bron to The Tunnel: localising international television formats

This article analyses the Franco-British series The Tunnel (Canal+, 2013-2017), co-produced by Sky Atlantic and StudioCanal, as an iteration of the Swedish-Danish series Bron/Broen/The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, 2011-2018). The author situates Bron within the global television format trade and argues that The Tunnel is best understood as a localised version rather than a remake or an adaptation. With six versions of the original series now available around the world, the author argues that Bron has become such a reproducible global television format because it offers a readymade co-production template in industrial, linguistic and narrative terms through its focus on crimes on and around national borders. The article then explores the specific localisation strategies used in the Franco-British version that employ social problems such as terrorism, human trafficking and immigration to position audiences within national and regional frames. Finally, the article discusses the complexities of situating The Tunnel within a nation-centred approach to French television.