Jákupsson calls for new High-End TV threshold
June 2, 2025
As the inaugural SXSW London shines a spotlight on the future of creative industries this week, Nordic writer-producer and creator of drama series, Trom, Torfinnur Jákupsson, is adding a new voice to the ongoing UK industry debate by proposing a new Independent Premium Tier within the UK’s High-End Television (HETV) tax relief – designed to support scripted drama that is culturally ambitious, internationally co-produced, and sustainably made under the current £1 million/hour threshold.
“We need a system that better reflects how great TV is actually made in 2025,” said Jákupsson. “It is about backing those already doing more with less.”
In March this year Jákupsson launched his UK development company Red Herring Story, the UK affiliate of GRÓ Studios.
The proposal is offered as a grassroots contribution to the wider conversation following the recent UK Parliament Select Committee inquiry into British film and TV. While reforms such as AVEC and the new Independent Film Tax Credit have been welcomed by many, Jákupsson said the current HETV model still leaves a blind spot for a growing segment of high-end drama that falls just below the spend threshold but punches well above its weight in ambition and cultural value. “High-end shouldn’t just be defined by how much money you spend,”
Jákupsson added: “It should be defined by impact, artistry, and ambition.”
THE PROPOSAL
The proposal says a new Independent Premium Tier would introduce a dedicated support band within the HETV relief for projects with budgets between £750K and £950K per broadcast hour, providing they meet rigorous editorial, cultural and sustainability criteria. The idea is to support genuine independents as well as international co-productions in a fast-changing industry climate. The proposal also addresses concerns that lowering the threshold could lead to misuse or inflate costs as streamers swoop in.
Jákupsson offered a counterpoint: “Rather than a free-for-all, it’s a smarter framework. Tight criteria will protect the integrity and the intent. We’re just asking for smarter access. If we want culturally ambitious drama to thrive beyond the streamer system, we need a model that rewards quality and value, which doesn’t always require a higher spend.”
As the creator of Trom – the first series made in the Faroe Islands – Jákupsson helped shape the debate that led to the Faroese industry’s current tax rebate system.
“There, it was a matter of lifting the low ceiling of support. Here, it’s about making sure the floor doesn’t shut new and independent voices out. The current threshold for high-end drama in the UK was set over a decade ago. It blocks access for smart scripted drama that is independently produced, regionally based, and sustainably made under £1 million/hour. These shows are often critically and commercially successful yet can’t qualify for support,” saod Jákupsson.
Jákupsson believes the new proposal would encourage more editorial diversity and creative risk, expand regional and indie access, reward environmentally efficient production, strengthen UK drama’s global marketability, and back the kind of shows audiences love – without inflating budgets just to qualify as high-end.
“We’re proposing an evolution of the current model to redefine and better support high-end drama that is made independently, internationally, in a smarter, more sustainable way through a fairer, future-facing support system. This is about rethinking quality, not just quantity,” concluded Jákupsson.
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