Very British Cast
The majority of the cast is British, but I don't see anything to indicate it is a joint production with anyone in the UK.
shareJodie Whittaker's accent is good although some of it is a touch too flat and it slips a bit when she's getting emotional. The guy playing Aldrich Ames isn't as good though.
Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.
Paul Rhys' accent slipped early on--very distracting.
shareIt's probably filmed in the UK completely hence the very British cast.
shareI noticed it particularly in the scene where they were discussing how best to pay off their asset.
Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.
Shhhh. The British aren't as good at American accents as they like to believe.
:-)
Shoes are like crack to women - Sophocles
Yes, I immediately twigged that every actor I was seeing right off the bat was British. Rhys as Aldrich was the first one. Poor Rhys...he's always stuck playing the creeps.
It was a bit odd on an ABC show, given it had that feel and look of a British drama one often sees--the lighting, simple, gritty natural looks to the sets, etc. Not the unrealistic flash and botox and shambling skeletons required of strictly US productions.
Then saw it was filmed entirely in Vilnius and the light bulb went on. Costs?
Verisimilitude of an '80s setting? Also, British actors are closer by and, well, let's face it, cheaper than U.S. ones. Also they have the range to play period as well as U.S. accents.
So financially and setting-wise filming in Vilnius seemed right to capture the look they are after, especially of outdoor Soviet '80s.
And with the success of "The Americans," guess they thought there might be an appetite among viewers for Cold War drama, and one of the three networks, ABC, perhaps wanted to capitalize on that.
But I suspect that hope is not going to pan out. Am very glad they gave it a chance, but it's not going to fly on mainstream stations that produce crap all the time and draw their viewers who are drawn lowest quality programming around.
Just don't see the majority of ABC viewers as types who would want to watch something you might see normally on Channel4 or ITV in the UK.
It's a mismatch of audience and network.
I admire them for trying it; but cannot imagine it will be successful. It's too sophisticated and historic in nature--not enough sex and car chases.
That will never fly on one of the Three Drecks (ABC, NBC, CBS).
you forgot to add " but are not as bad as americans trying an english accent"
shareThe matter of accents could stem from a career issue. How important is it for an American to have a British accent for a project (in terms of affecting future career choices) than is it for a Brit to have an American voice? Or for that matter any non-American?
Many non-Americans try their hand at obtaining work in the US and many do it by using American or American-sounding accents. Some have pulled it off successfully, and some develop a mid-Atlantic accent that makes do, for example Patrick McGoohan, born in the US, raised in Ireland but developed a neutral accent for film and TV work when called upon to be 'American'.
On the other side of the coin, not too many North American actors/actresses expect to make as big a career move when doing work in the UK, so the matter of gaining a UK accent doesn't weigh as much. Some might do it fairly well but maintaining it convincingly would be something else, e.g. Gwyneth Paltrow.
As for perspective, I was born in the UK, raised in the Caribbean and live in North America. I can distinguish accents from both sides of the Atlantic and can reproduce them at will. The Brits in Assets do a fairly credible job and while many will nitpick over this detail, I tend to look at the acting first and these people can act.