Hugo Blick Talks About Focusing on Love and Family in His New Series ‘California Avenue’ While Working with a Smaller Budget
Hugo Blick Shifts Focus to Family Drama in Upcoming Series ‘California Avenue’
Acclaimed British creator Hugo Blick has made his mark with thought-provoking shows about significant global issues, including the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Rwandan genocide. However, he recently expressed uncertainty about the impact of his previous works, questioning, “Did they make a spits bit of difference?”
In a notable shift, Blick has turned his attention to themes of love and family for his next project, the BBC series California Avenue. At a masterclass during the Series Mania forum, he revealed that this new show was produced for roughly a quarter of the budget of his earlier series, The English, a Western co-produced with Amazon.
“I decided after all this material and experience you gain in being a storyteller that I wanted next to do something straight,” Blick explained. “I wanted to tell a straight story about a family on the run from themselves and the past, who end up in a trailer park in 1975, and they have nothing.”
California Avenue features a talented cast, including Bill Nighy, Erin Doherty, Tom Burke, and Helena Bonham Carter. The series is set in a tranquil caravan park by a canal in the English countryside, where the arrival of Lela (Doherty) and her 11-year-old child disrupts the peace as they seek refuge after fleeing their past.
Amid recent industry disruptions, including a slowdown and labor strikes in the U.S., Blick noted that despite the impressive cast, California Avenue was produced without an American co-producer and with financial support from Mediawan, the parent company of his longtime collaborator, Drama Republic.
Blick commended Greg Brenman, co-founder of Drama Republic, for his exceptional ability to secure funding, stating, “Where I’d find 10p down a sofa, he’d find a million pounds, which is very useful in my business.” He emphasized that budget constraints should not preclude the telling of universal stories.
Focusing on themes of love and family marks a departure from his previous narratives centered on distant conflicts, such as The Honourable Woman and Black Earth Rising. “I’ve been in pretty intractable conflicts and then you think, ‘Have I made a spits bit of difference?’ Maybe I’ve opened people’s eyes to things. But have I made a change?” he reflected.
Drawing inspiration from his own family, Blick noted that Nighy’s portrayal resonates closely with his grandfather, explaining, “He could not have got closer to my grandad if he dug himself up.”
“The themes we explore are somewhat fictional and somewhat factual,” he added. “I turned the TV round so this was the view from the TV rather than my view towards it. Outcasts are an interesting breed to explore.”
Blick shared these insights during the first day of the Series Mania forum, alongside prominent figures such as Russell T. Davies, HBO’s Sarah Aubrey, and Disney+’s Angela Jain.
