The Missing Series 2 (Industry and Audience) - A1

The Missing was financed by several international companies, including Playground Entertainment, Company Pictures, New Pictures and Two Brothers Pictures, as well as the Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organizations and the Belgian national public service broadcaster. Its production was shaped by the fact that the production received tax incentives from the Belgian government. The second series is set in Germany but some of the filming locations were in Belgium. The German setting, the casting of a French actor in the role of the police investigator/detective and the use of British actors as the family at the centre of the narrative conflict reflect the fact that the episode was funded by various international sources. 

The audience is able to see through the main characters/narratives’ point of view, which offers them a sense of community or engagement. The Missing allows the viewers to explore and experience raw, dark emotions, behaviours and motivations of the characters. As a result, the audience would be drawn into an emotionally traumatized world of distraught parents. The idea of a cruel, violent and disrupted world would be reinforced by the program’s genre and way of telling the story. Moreover, according to Dyer’s utopian solution theory, the audience often purchases products that make up for the lack of help, support or temporary solutions to their problems in real life. The Missing Series reinforces the audience’s viewpoint of the mean world people are living in. This would help media producers with their marketing of the show. 

The Missing is broadcasted on BBC1, the primary British mainstream BBC television channel. It is also available on the BBC’s streaming, catch-up service, iPlayer. The fact that it is based in the UK indicates that the main audience would be British. To appeal and draw attention to itself, the information about the series was released on different media outlets. The BBC offered press releases and packs that provide appealing and interesting details of the program for the audience.  The second series was marketed with trailers and promotional interviews, though less extensive than the first series, the addition of two famous and well-known English actors, David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes, attract the UK audiences. Additionally, as stated above, the German setting, the casting of a French actor in the role of the police investigator and the use of British actors as the main characters will help to create a more global appeal for the program. 

With the help of modern technology, The Missing Series 2 became a successful television program. Since almost every viewer has technology devices and access to the Internet, the series could be promoted effectively. Information about the series was communicated to other media channels and included in press releases and packs which can be reworked into articles and blog posts. The release of the information would create awareness and encourage social media discussions and viral communication among the audience on the Internet. Trailers of the program were also used and shown on television, the BBC website and YouTube, as well as embedded in online articles and blog posts. For this particular series, the BBC extended the webpage by providing specific content, such as character and episode summaries and clips, interviews with the actors and writers and the script could be downloaded or read online. Furthermore, the program was promoted on different social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. 

The BBC website for The Missing Series 2 attracts and maintains the audiences by providing intriguing information about the characters and short clips from various episodes to give an insight into the content of the program. The audience could access the scripts, read interviews and Q&A with the actors and writers of the series. The program offers many entertainment gratifications from the character summaries and clips on the website, encouraging the audience to engage. They also add to the enjoyment of the TV program as the audience would have the chance to briefly read through the main characters that are affected by Alice Webster’s disappearance and engage with the content within the website before watching the episode. By expanding the website with a wide range of appealing content and attentive details, BBC1’s brand image is reflected and defined.  

In the first episode of The Missing Series 2, entertainment gratifications are offered in the way the product is constructed, in its use of genre codes and conventions, in its ability to convey an engaging story and in its use of interesting representations. Vicarious and visceral pleasures are also offered by pulling the viewers into another world of devastated and distressed parents, as well as giving them an exploration of their own fears and concerns. The Missing’s crime drama genre offers many gratifications from the intellectual engagement with twists and turns of the mystery and the ultimate reveal to the reassurance of the myth “good overcoming evil”. Additionally, cliffhangers and plot twists within the program could encourage the viewers to join social media discussions.