Abrief word of advice: When approaching Michael Hirst -- the creator, writer and executive producer of Showtime's "The Tudors," avoid asking when Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays King Henry VIII, is going to get fat.
"I have a beef with people who say he should be fat or otherwise it's inauthentic," Hirst says. "It's drama. The criteria people use to judge historical drama is completely wrong. I don't think pretending that it's accurate -- that Henry looks like that famous painting -- gets you any closer to the truth."
There are a lot of contemporary dramas on network television, but for the handful of series that attempt dramatic historical readings (for various reasons, historical comedies are rare), the challenges are exponential. Putting one together requires show runners and staff to juggle additional balls -- including historical accuracy, unintended ironies, language, costumes, locations and even hairstyles, to tell their stories. And each show has its own twists in their tales.
ABC's "Lost" didn't start out in the past, but it's ended up there. The show's non-linear style of storytelling has consistently dazzled fans since nearly Episode 1, but has recently developed into something that, according to executive producer Carlton Cuse, "is a full-on time travel show."
Much of this season has taken place in 1977, which presents its own challenges. But having relied on numerous flashbacks to illuminate the stranded strangers' lives over prior seasons, Cuse and co-executive producer Damon Lindelof realized they'd written themselves into a corner.
"If you were to look at Andy Sipowicz on 'NYPD Blue' and list every horrible thing that happened to him over the run of that show, it's astounding -- but you believe it," Cuse says. "If you're moving forward narratively, you're not focused on what happened, only on what is happening. But when you flash back, the audience is contextualizing everything.
"That was one of the big reasons we pushed to announce an ending to our show three years out -- so we wouldn't be trapped by some of the perils that occur when you're telling past stories contextually through flashbacks," he adds.
CBS' "Cold Case" spends about 30% to 40% of each show on backward glances that explain the old, unsolved case being investigated in the present day. Writing those scenes provides them the ability to "visit a different world each week," says Greg Plageman, who is co-executive producer with Jennifer Johnson.
