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ITV announces first tranche of factual commissions for ITVX
ITV Media
Commissioned by ITV’s Factual Entertainment department, ITV’s Controller of Factual Jo Clinton Davis explained:
“We’re excited about the opportunity ITVX presents for us and with our commissioning we want to broaden the palette of factual in very different and surprising ways. Documentary box sets with directorial ambition, on a diverse range of subjects, lead our developing slate; alongside series from new factual talent, including Laura Whitmore Investigates, which we are delighted to announce. This is just the beginning of a range of new opportunities as the world of Factual opens up on ITVX, with much more to come.”
Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight (w/t)
This unique documentary box set for ITVX will examine the shocking truth behind how former national treasure Rolf Harris betrayed the trust of the nation and hid in plain sight whilst sexually abusing children and young women for years.
Made by Optomen, the 2×60 series will speak to Harris’ victims, the police who investigated him and colleagues who worked alongside him to tell the story of his rise and fall.
Documenting Harris’ toxic double life, the series sets his public persona of a non-threatening eccentric devoted to his wife against revelations that, within the industry, Harris was increasingly known as a creep, molesting contributors and crew on the shows he worked on for years as his assaults became gradually more serious throughout his excelling television career in the 70s and 80s.
Exploring Harris’ wife and daughter’s decision to stand by him despite the discovery that he had abused the latter’s friend when she was just 13, the films seek insight into the nature of historical child abuse as well as questioning whether he have been uncovered were it not for the Jimmy Saville scandal.
Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight (w/t) is an Optomen Television, an All3Media Company, production. Executive Producers are Tina Flintoff and Nick Hornby.
The Royal Family [w/t]
The behind the scenes story of the world’s most famous family is told through the perspective of the major personal challenges that faced the Queen and the monarchy throughout her reign.
Rare archive footage is set against revealing new interviews with key figures – some of whom have never previously spoken on camera – to compelling effect as viewers see the images played out to the world during historic moments, while hearing the inside story offering insight into The Queen’s perspective at the time.
Produced by 72 Films, makers of the acclaimed Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty and 9/11: One Day In America, across five hour long episodes, this epic box set series will provide a rare insight into the Queen’s personal experience of navigating the events that shaped her family’s fortunes and the history of the United Kingdom over the decades of her reign.
The Royal Family [w/t] is a 72 Films production, produced in association with All3Media International, for ITVX. Ella Wright and Kate Quine are Series Producer/Directors and David Glover is Executive Producer.
A Year on Planet Earth
Showcasing the many wonders of the world, A Year on Planet Earth, will reveal the incredible ways in which all life is connected and how massive natural events affect the lives of individual animals as the earth makes its annual journey around the sun.
Filmed in over sixty different locations this epic documentary series will draw on the most spellbinding and dramatic stories from all corners of the globe.
Combining extreme weather, breathtaking landscapes, epic wildlife spectacles and fascinating animal families, this series reveals our planet in a completely new light, uncovering how animals react and adapt to shifting habitats and unexpected events.
Featuring a story arc across the seasons, A Year on Planet Earth, is set to draw viewers in over a number of episodes, unfolding like a drama.
Narrated by acclaimed actor, author and comedian, Stephen Fry, this unique series is produced by Plimsoll Productions for ITVX. The series is from a highly specialised and multi award-winning blue-chip natural history team, comprising Tom Hugh-Jones (Tiny World, Planet Earth II) and Dr Martha Holmes (Blue Planet, Hostile Planet).
A Murder In the Family
Each stand alone film in this new true crime series investigates three shocking murders, where the victim and perpetrator are family, telling stories of ordinary relationships that take extraordinary and ultimately tragic turns.
Using found footage – from victim’s social media videos and police bodycam film, text messages or call recordings, each story is pieced together from the victim’s point of view, without voiceover, allowing the victim, friends and family to tell their stories in their own immediate and intimate way.
From Knickerbockerglory TV, the makers of Netlix’s most watched documentary, American Murder: the Family Next Door, this new series for ITVX provides a vivid insight into the nature of murders committed within families and the impact on those left behind.
As the series will show, in some family’s lives, behind the veil of smiling social media posts and daily texts, a true horror story is brewing. These murders aren’t ‘crimes of passion’ but premeditated acts of control or revenge, leaving behind a family blown apart.
A Murder In the Family [w/t] is a Knickerbockerglory TV production.
Executive Producer is Jonathan Stadlen and Series Producer is Cathy Durbin.
Laura Whitmore Investigates
Laura Whitmore takes on a series of controversial issues in immersive, investigative films for ITVX, which will see her using her journalism skills to reveal new insights on each subject.
In this brand new series for ITVX, viewers will see a new side of Laura as she travels within the UK and further afield to delve into subjects that fascinate her and have an impact on our lives.
The first two investigations in the series will be produced by Rumpus Media. Executive Producer is Fintan Maguire.
Social Media Murders returns and Olivia Attwood back with new series
Following the success of the first series on ITV2, ITV Factual Entertainment have recommissioned a new series of Social Media Murders for ITVX.
This true-crime series exploring shocking cases that resulted in the murder of a young person, where in each instance, social media brought the culprit and the victim together, was ITV2’s biggest programme on ITV Hub after Love Island, in 2021.
Providing a compelling yet cautionary insight into the experiences of young people affected by disturbing 21st century crime, the initial three films put the victim at the centre of the narrative alongside material obtained from social media accounts and mobile phones which immersed viewers in the events as they unfolded.
The three films in the first series were made by Firecracker Films, Crackit Productions, and Knickerbockerglory Productions.
There will be five new films in the second series, which will premiere on ITVX.
Following the success of her recent ITV2 show, Olivia Attwood: Getting Filthy Rich, which explores online sex, and is the second biggest series on the ITV Hub in 2022 after Love Island, Olivia will now immerse herself in an even more eye-boggling and cash-crazed industry – and one which she, herself, is no stranger to.
In the age of the “tweakment”, the self-scrutiny of the Zoom Boom and the ubiquity of social media, Britain’s cosmetic surgeons have never been busier as one in three of us say we’d be up for a nip and tuck.
As a veteran of two boob jobs, a thread lift and multiple injectables, Olivia Attwood is not entirely new to cosmetic surgery. But, in this fresh and immersive series, Olivia wants to go way beyond her previous experience to find out how science and social media are redefining beauty as we all chase the perfect selfie.
In the hands-on style viewers of Getting Filthy Rich will be familiar with, Olivia will not flinch from delving into intimate areas to give viewers the inside track on the latest trends as well as the pitfalls to beware of as she sheds new light on cosmetic surgery’s winners and losers.
In each episode, Olivia will investigate a different part of the body, as she sets out to be the perfect guide to Olivia’s Perfect Vagina, Olivia’s Perfect Bum, Olivia’s Perfect Penis, Olivia’s Perfect Boobs and Olivia’s Perfect Face. Olivia will embed herself with patients and practitioners, discovering the astonishing range of procedures now available and why so many people are so keen to undergo them. She will hop on to the table to try some out for herself and perhaps even sample the other side of the syringe by administering treatments. Frank, funny and relatable, this series will lift the lid on our search for the perfect body.
The series is produced by Optomen Television.
