The Resilience of Small Television Markets to COVID-19: the Case of Lockdown

This article presents a case study of Lockdown, an anthology series developed by two production companies under strict COVID restrictions in Flanders, centred on a prison visiting space. Every episode is written and directed by different screenwriters and directors. The case study clearly shows how a combination of creativity of Flemish independent producers, a felt need to counter the damaging effects of COVID on Flemish audio-visual industries, and the need to produce under strict hygienic and social distancing rules, resulted in a unique creative concept, that, ironically, might not have been achievable under normal circumstances. The analysis shows that the smallness of the Flemish market, which over the past decades resulted in an industry dynamism characterized by improvisation, voluntarism, high dependency on collaboration and short term financial planning, is precisely what might have provided the ideal backdrop for the production of this unique series.