BBC America is still basking in the glow of its big Emmy win for Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany, who won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her multi-character role in the series about clones.
With the show’s fifth and final season teed up for next year, BBC America president Sarah Barnett hopes Maslany’s big Emmy win — after years of being snubbed for even a nomination — will help deliver a ratings and awareness lift. BBCA has run congratulatory spots on Amazon, where past seasons of Orphan Black are streamed.
“It’s great even beyond the show for a network to have this kind of positive glare of publicity, particularly at a time when there’s so much competition and everyone’s attention is so fragmented,” Barnett said. “To have this moment of a really positive spotlight shone on the network at a time when we’re actually doing some pretty exciting things is perfect timing for us.”
She stopped short of guaranteeing a ratings lift for Orphan Black or other BBC America series, such as the upcoming Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. But the buzz can’t hurt. “Ratings are such a difficult thing to predict for any executive in this linear environment, but having said that, there will be an excitement and sense of event and energy surrounding the network and this show that we will be highly pleased with,” she said
