U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 is stepping up its factual programming with two commissions and a recommission.
The broadcaster has has commissioned ITV Studios’ The Garden to make the first U.K. series of the international survival hit “Alone.” The six part series will see 10 contestants dropped into the remote Northern Canadian wilderness, where each must survive entirely alone, equipped only with basic tools, and must film their adventure themselves. Whoever lasts longest will win £100,000.
“Alone” is now in its ninth series on the History Channel in the U.S., and is a hit in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and globally on Netflix, with a further series in production in Australia. “Alone” is distributed worldwide by A+E Networks.
The U.K. series has been commissioned for Channel 4 by Ian Dunkley, commissioning editor, factual entertainment and will be executive produced by Nicola Brown and Rachel Bloomfield.
In “Rise & Fall,” a social...
The broadcaster has has commissioned ITV Studios’ The Garden to make the first U.K. series of the international survival hit “Alone.” The six part series will see 10 contestants dropped into the remote Northern Canadian wilderness, where each must survive entirely alone, equipped only with basic tools, and must film their adventure themselves. Whoever lasts longest will win £100,000.
“Alone” is now in its ninth series on the History Channel in the U.S., and is a hit in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and globally on Netflix, with a further series in production in Australia. “Alone” is distributed worldwide by A+E Networks.
The U.K. series has been commissioned for Channel 4 by Ian Dunkley, commissioning editor, factual entertainment and will be executive produced by Nicola Brown and Rachel Bloomfield.
In “Rise & Fall,” a social...
- 8/23/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Commission
Former “The Great British Bake-Off” host Mel Giedroyc is set to present a raunchy new show for Channel 4 featuring celebrities and puppets.
In each 30-minute episode of “The Really Really Rude Puppet Show,” Giedroyc will invite a different celebrity to read some erotic fan fiction written by viewers in which the celebrity is the protagonist – Giedroyc and her guest will then act out and voice the entire story with puppets.
“This is going to be a celebration of erotic fan fiction. With puppets,” Giedroyc said in a statement. “Imagine a world where Jackie Collins meets Thunderbirds. I’m so looking forward to a trip to Love Island… via Tracy Island.”
The show has been given a six episode order for Channel 4 and All 4 by senior commissioning editor for factual entertainment Vivienne Molokwu. Banijay U.K.-owned Rdf Television will produce while Maia Liddell, head of popular factual, will...
Former “The Great British Bake-Off” host Mel Giedroyc is set to present a raunchy new show for Channel 4 featuring celebrities and puppets.
In each 30-minute episode of “The Really Really Rude Puppet Show,” Giedroyc will invite a different celebrity to read some erotic fan fiction written by viewers in which the celebrity is the protagonist – Giedroyc and her guest will then act out and voice the entire story with puppets.
“This is going to be a celebration of erotic fan fiction. With puppets,” Giedroyc said in a statement. “Imagine a world where Jackie Collins meets Thunderbirds. I’m so looking forward to a trip to Love Island… via Tracy Island.”
The show has been given a six episode order for Channel 4 and All 4 by senior commissioning editor for factual entertainment Vivienne Molokwu. Banijay U.K.-owned Rdf Television will produce while Maia Liddell, head of popular factual, will...
- 6/24/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Channel 4 has greenlit formats on auctions and dogs in the search for its next Gogglebox-style international smash via the £30M (£37M) two-year Global Format Fund, which has kicked off its third funding round.
Responsibility for the fund has passed from Head of Factual Entertainment Alf Lawrie to Senior Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu, one of the architects of last year’s Black to Front day of programing, who unveiled The Dog Academy and The Greatest Auction to Deadline.
In the former, difficult dogs will be sent to an academy by their desperate owners and a crack team of Britain’s top trainers will help them in dog management skills and dog psychology. The show comes from former Channel 4 Head of Documentaries Nick Mirksy’s Five Mile Films shingle.
Meanwhile, Salvage Hunters producer Curve Media’s The Greatest Auction takes a competitive, youthful twist on the traditional auction genre...
Responsibility for the fund has passed from Head of Factual Entertainment Alf Lawrie to Senior Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu, one of the architects of last year’s Black to Front day of programing, who unveiled The Dog Academy and The Greatest Auction to Deadline.
In the former, difficult dogs will be sent to an academy by their desperate owners and a crack team of Britain’s top trainers will help them in dog management skills and dog psychology. The show comes from former Channel 4 Head of Documentaries Nick Mirksy’s Five Mile Films shingle.
Meanwhile, Salvage Hunters producer Curve Media’s The Greatest Auction takes a competitive, youthful twist on the traditional auction genre...
- 5/23/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and Motion Content Group have launched a multi-million pound fund to boost commissions from small and medium sized ethnically diverse-led production companies.
The Channel 4 and Motion Content Group Diverse Indies Fund will be editorially overseen by Channel 4 senior commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu and for Motion Content Group, the fund will be managed by head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Deep Sehgal.
The fund is designed to back and bring to life ideas from creative leaders who are from diverse ethnic groups and these ideas need to be “creatively exciting, entertaining and returnable,” Channel 4 and Motion Content Group said in a statement.
In 2021, Channel 4 pledged to tripling its spend with ethnically diverse-led indies by the end of 2023, and committed that every commissioning editor would have at least one ethnically diverse-led indie on their development slate as part of its Black to Front project.
A creative brief...
The Channel 4 and Motion Content Group Diverse Indies Fund will be editorially overseen by Channel 4 senior commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu and for Motion Content Group, the fund will be managed by head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Deep Sehgal.
The fund is designed to back and bring to life ideas from creative leaders who are from diverse ethnic groups and these ideas need to be “creatively exciting, entertaining and returnable,” Channel 4 and Motion Content Group said in a statement.
In 2021, Channel 4 pledged to tripling its spend with ethnically diverse-led indies by the end of 2023, and committed that every commissioning editor would have at least one ethnically diverse-led indie on their development slate as part of its Black to Front project.
A creative brief...
- 3/18/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions has set up a new unscripted label that has won its first piece of business with an eight-part Channel 4 series.
Hlp Studios has been set up to focus on formats and popular factual. The label has been commissioned by the U.K. broadcaster for a series that goes behind the scenes of eight of the world’s biggest brands.
Hosted by “Countryfile” presenter Helen Skelton, “Inside The Superbrands” (8 x 60′) looks at Britain’s most iconic brands, such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Guinness, and how they’ve become a part of the country’s cultural identity. The show provides behind-the-scenes access to the factories, boardrooms and development labs, and asks what the future holds in the brands’ respective markets.
“Inside The Superbrands” was commissioned by Vivienne Molokwu, commissioning editor for factual entertainment at Channel 4. It is executive produced by Nick Betts and...
Hlp Studios has been set up to focus on formats and popular factual. The label has been commissioned by the U.K. broadcaster for a series that goes behind the scenes of eight of the world’s biggest brands.
Hosted by “Countryfile” presenter Helen Skelton, “Inside The Superbrands” (8 x 60′) looks at Britain’s most iconic brands, such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Guinness, and how they’ve become a part of the country’s cultural identity. The show provides behind-the-scenes access to the factories, boardrooms and development labs, and asks what the future holds in the brands’ respective markets.
“Inside The Superbrands” was commissioned by Vivienne Molokwu, commissioning editor for factual entertainment at Channel 4. It is executive produced by Nick Betts and...
- 1/17/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Following the departure of Danny Horan, Channel 4’s head of factual, last year, the broadcaster has promoted Shaminder Nahal and Alisa Pomeroy to head factual roles.
Nahal will take on the role of head of specialist factual, reporting to Louisa Compton, head of news and current affairs, while Pomeroy, who will report in to chief content officer Ian Katz, has been appointed head of documentaries.
The two executives, who start immediately, will ensure that Channel 4 “maintains strong and creative relationships with independent production companies across the U.K.” and that the broadcaster “continues to identify, develop and produce the next generation of documentary and specialist factual programmes for the audience.”
“Documentaries and specialist factual programming have always been at the heart of the channel and these two appointments will ensure that Channel 4 remains the home of the most innovative, challenging and popular factual shows around,” said Katz.
“Alisa is...
Nahal will take on the role of head of specialist factual, reporting to Louisa Compton, head of news and current affairs, while Pomeroy, who will report in to chief content officer Ian Katz, has been appointed head of documentaries.
The two executives, who start immediately, will ensure that Channel 4 “maintains strong and creative relationships with independent production companies across the U.K.” and that the broadcaster “continues to identify, develop and produce the next generation of documentary and specialist factual programmes for the audience.”
“Documentaries and specialist factual programming have always been at the heart of the channel and these two appointments will ensure that Channel 4 remains the home of the most innovative, challenging and popular factual shows around,” said Katz.
“Alisa is...
- 1/11/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
It doesn’t get more ironic than the hand that’s been dealt the U.K.’s Channel 4.
The publicly owned broadcaster set up by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — and known overseas as the creative incubator of shows like “Derry Girls” and “It’s a Sin” — is facing a potential sale by Boris Johnson’s government at the exact moment it delivers the highest content budget in its 39-year history and eyes a record-breaking £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in revenues for 2021.
Ian Katz, chief content officer, tells Variety that £700 million is ear-marked for new shows in 2022 — a cash infusion that will only build on what he brands as an auspicious “purple patch” for the channel.
The broadcaster has had a bumper year, delivering the hard-won free-to-air premieres of British tennis star Emma Raducanu’s historic U.S. Open win and Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 championship run, and airing shows like Peacock co-produced comedy “We Are Lady Parts,...
The publicly owned broadcaster set up by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — and known overseas as the creative incubator of shows like “Derry Girls” and “It’s a Sin” — is facing a potential sale by Boris Johnson’s government at the exact moment it delivers the highest content budget in its 39-year history and eyes a record-breaking £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in revenues for 2021.
Ian Katz, chief content officer, tells Variety that £700 million is ear-marked for new shows in 2022 — a cash infusion that will only build on what he brands as an auspicious “purple patch” for the channel.
The broadcaster has had a bumper year, delivering the hard-won free-to-air premieres of British tennis star Emma Raducanu’s historic U.S. Open win and Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 championship run, and airing shows like Peacock co-produced comedy “We Are Lady Parts,...
- 12/17/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4 has revealed several further steps to increase Black representation in the U.K. industry following its “Black to Front” day of programming on Sept. 10.
The measures include a dedicated fund for commissions from ethnically diverse-led independent production companies, tripling current spend to £22 million ($29.5 million) by 2023. Starting in 2022, each genre will also commission at least one new show with ethnically diverse talent and/or ethnically diverse stories at its heart every year. In addition, from January 2022, every Channel 4 commissioning editor will have at least one ethnically diverse-led indie on their development slate.
Further, supported and funded by 4Skills, Channel 4 will partner with We Are Parable to deliver “Momentum,” a mentorship and training program for Black talent that will run across six U.K. cities in 2022.
“Black to Front” was an industry-first event, where the entire Channel 4 schedule for Sept. 10 — including commercial breaks — featured Black on- and off-screen talent.
The measures include a dedicated fund for commissions from ethnically diverse-led independent production companies, tripling current spend to £22 million ($29.5 million) by 2023. Starting in 2022, each genre will also commission at least one new show with ethnically diverse talent and/or ethnically diverse stories at its heart every year. In addition, from January 2022, every Channel 4 commissioning editor will have at least one ethnically diverse-led indie on their development slate.
Further, supported and funded by 4Skills, Channel 4 will partner with We Are Parable to deliver “Momentum,” a mentorship and training program for Black talent that will run across six U.K. cities in 2022.
“Black to Front” was an industry-first event, where the entire Channel 4 schedule for Sept. 10 — including commercial breaks — featured Black on- and off-screen talent.
- 11/19/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The organizers of Channel 4’s Black to Front initiative have spotlighted the challenge of forging a project that attracted public criticism from the likes of comedian London Hughes.
C4 Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu, who oversaw the project with Shaminder Nahal and Kelly Webb-Lamb, said she understood some may have thought the initiative was “a gimmick” but the organizers were “united behind a clear vision.”
To Catch A D*ck star Hughes slammed the day of Black programming as “insulting” and “performative tokenism” in a set of tweets just prior to its September delivery, before subsequently saying she had communicated her concerns to C4 commissioners.
Speaking on a C4 Inclusion Festival panel, Molokwu said: “By its very nature you can see how easily people would think this was a gimmick and to ignore that would be insanity. It would have been tokenistic if it was only the day but the day was never the end.
C4 Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu, who oversaw the project with Shaminder Nahal and Kelly Webb-Lamb, said she understood some may have thought the initiative was “a gimmick” but the organizers were “united behind a clear vision.”
To Catch A D*ck star Hughes slammed the day of Black programming as “insulting” and “performative tokenism” in a set of tweets just prior to its September delivery, before subsequently saying she had communicated her concerns to C4 commissioners.
Speaking on a C4 Inclusion Festival panel, Molokwu said: “By its very nature you can see how easily people would think this was a gimmick and to ignore that would be insanity. It would have been tokenistic if it was only the day but the day was never the end.
- 11/18/2021
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Oven-shy celebrities are to be thrown into the dining deep end in an E4 celebrity cooking format from Sony Pictures Television’s Electric Ray and Motion Content Group.
Airing next year, Celebrity Cooking School [working title] will pit non-chefs against each other in weekly challenges, overseen by a yet-to-be-named chef who will teach them how to conquer the kitchen.
Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu called the format a “glossy new celebrity cooking show with a reality twist.”
It is reflective of E4 controller Karl Warner’s desire to order more factual-entertainment formats for the youth-skewing Channel 4 portfolio channel, which is having a strong year following the success of Married At First Sight UK and its Australian counterpart. Warner founded Electric Ray with Meredith Chambers in 2014 before moving to E4 in 2018.
The show is Electric Ray’s first revealed commission since the label was absorbed by Sony Pictures Television due to the impact of the pandemic,...
Airing next year, Celebrity Cooking School [working title] will pit non-chefs against each other in weekly challenges, overseen by a yet-to-be-named chef who will teach them how to conquer the kitchen.
Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Vivienne Molokwu called the format a “glossy new celebrity cooking show with a reality twist.”
It is reflective of E4 controller Karl Warner’s desire to order more factual-entertainment formats for the youth-skewing Channel 4 portfolio channel, which is having a strong year following the success of Married At First Sight UK and its Australian counterpart. Warner founded Electric Ray with Meredith Chambers in 2014 before moving to E4 in 2018.
The show is Electric Ray’s first revealed commission since the label was absorbed by Sony Pictures Television due to the impact of the pandemic,...
- 11/8/2021
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has made the first renewal from its groundbreaking Black to Front initiative in September, when all programs and commercials on the channel were led by Black talent.
Late-night chat show “Unapologetic,” presented by DJ Yinka Bokinni and social media star Zeze Millz (left), which was piloted as part of Black to Front has now scored a six-part series order. The show will continue to be produced by Sbtv and Cardiff Productions.
“Unapologetic” is billed by Channel 4 as a show “where guests will be encouraged to say what they want to say without apologizing for it.”
“This isn’t a show about Black people, this is the show where Black people talk freely about everything. It will offer new views on existing subjects as well as bringing new subjects and voices to the table,” reads an official description.
The show’s pilot in September tackled everything...
Late-night chat show “Unapologetic,” presented by DJ Yinka Bokinni and social media star Zeze Millz (left), which was piloted as part of Black to Front has now scored a six-part series order. The show will continue to be produced by Sbtv and Cardiff Productions.
“Unapologetic” is billed by Channel 4 as a show “where guests will be encouraged to say what they want to say without apologizing for it.”
“This isn’t a show about Black people, this is the show where Black people talk freely about everything. It will offer new views on existing subjects as well as bringing new subjects and voices to the table,” reads an official description.
The show’s pilot in September tackled everything...
- 10/28/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Channel 4’s groundbreaking “Black to Front” initiative, which sees the network’s entire schedule led by Black talent on and off screen for one day, has garnered mostly positive reactions despite concerns about tokenism.
Among the programs was a brief return for popular 1990s morning show “The Big Breakfast,” this time with comedian Mo Gilligan and presenter Aj Odudu slipping into original hosts Johnny Vaughn and Denise van Outen’s seats on the couch, and distinguished newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald taking over from Anne Robinson on “Countdown.” “Black to Front” will continue to air into primetime, with some of the specially commissioned shows like “Highlife” and “Big Age” premiering later on Friday.
There was some concern ahead of the broadcast that the initiative was tokenistic. “As a black person in the UK TV industry all i wanted was a fair and equal shot as my white counterparts..,” comedian London Hughes...
Among the programs was a brief return for popular 1990s morning show “The Big Breakfast,” this time with comedian Mo Gilligan and presenter Aj Odudu slipping into original hosts Johnny Vaughn and Denise van Outen’s seats on the couch, and distinguished newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald taking over from Anne Robinson on “Countdown.” “Black to Front” will continue to air into primetime, with some of the specially commissioned shows like “Highlife” and “Big Age” premiering later on Friday.
There was some concern ahead of the broadcast that the initiative was tokenistic. “As a black person in the UK TV industry all i wanted was a fair and equal shot as my white counterparts..,” comedian London Hughes...
- 9/10/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, a network set up in 1982 by Margaret Thatcher with a remit of championing unheard voices and taking “bold, creative risks,” is presenting an industry first on Sept. 10, when its entire schedule — including commercial breaks — will feature Black on- and off-screen talent.
Titled “Black to Front,” the initiative has taken a full year to realize since it was announced in August 2020, just months after the murder of George Floyd in the U.S. The idea emerged amid a disquieting period for the U.K. industry, which was reflecting, necessarily, on its own shortcomings around inclusion.
The major broadcasters committed an array of representation-focused talent schemes and funds and more than 5,000 people signed an open letter demanding an end to exclusive practices. The refrain, however, rang a little too familiar. “It felt like there were lots of conversations being repeated,” Vivienne Molokwu, a factual entertainment commissioner at Channel 4, tells Variety.
Titled “Black to Front,” the initiative has taken a full year to realize since it was announced in August 2020, just months after the murder of George Floyd in the U.S. The idea emerged amid a disquieting period for the U.K. industry, which was reflecting, necessarily, on its own shortcomings around inclusion.
The major broadcasters committed an array of representation-focused talent schemes and funds and more than 5,000 people signed an open letter demanding an end to exclusive practices. The refrain, however, rang a little too familiar. “It felt like there were lots of conversations being repeated,” Vivienne Molokwu, a factual entertainment commissioner at Channel 4, tells Variety.
- 8/24/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Channel 4 has confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in British TV — that The Circle is going to be renewed for a third season. It has also revealed there will be a celebrity version for charity Stand Up To Cancer, and the show will be tweaked because of the coronavirus crisis.
The Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group format will return to Channel 4 in early 2021, opening with a week-long celebrity edition, before everyday contestants enter the reality show, in which they catfish their way to a cash prize. It follows Netflix renewing The Circle for a second and third season in the U.S.
Production on Season 3 will begin in Salford, Greater Manchester, later this year, but it will all be pre-recorded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning there will be no studio audience or live shows. Emma Willis and comedian Sophie Willan will reprise their roles as host and voiceover respectively.
The Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group format will return to Channel 4 in early 2021, opening with a week-long celebrity edition, before everyday contestants enter the reality show, in which they catfish their way to a cash prize. It follows Netflix renewing The Circle for a second and third season in the U.S.
Production on Season 3 will begin in Salford, Greater Manchester, later this year, but it will all be pre-recorded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning there will be no studio audience or live shows. Emma Willis and comedian Sophie Willan will reprise their roles as host and voiceover respectively.
- 6/15/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Forget Baywatch, bring on Baewatch. Fremantle may have started discussing a reboot of the classic beach drama but in the meantime its UK production label Thames is putting its own spin on the title for its latest reality dating format.
Channel 4’s youth-skewing network E4 has commissioned eight-part series Baewatch (w/t) from the unscripted production company, which produces series including The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, and Love Island co-producer Motion Content Group.
The show sees a group of beautiful young contestants test their relationships in a luxury beach setting. The twist? It’s their in-laws that are setting them a series of tasks and challenges.
Each self-contained episode sees the unknowing couple fly out to a luxury villa where they believe they are taking part in a gameshow where they will be challenged to prove how strong their relationship is. While taking part in the fictional series,...
Channel 4’s youth-skewing network E4 has commissioned eight-part series Baewatch (w/t) from the unscripted production company, which produces series including The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, and Love Island co-producer Motion Content Group.
The show sees a group of beautiful young contestants test their relationships in a luxury beach setting. The twist? It’s their in-laws that are setting them a series of tasks and challenges.
Each self-contained episode sees the unknowing couple fly out to a luxury villa where they believe they are taking part in a gameshow where they will be challenged to prove how strong their relationship is. While taking part in the fictional series,...
- 11/29/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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