Channel 4 Education announces tranche of commissions

Channel 4 today announced the latest tranche of commissions as part of the broadcasters education programming strategy.  Ordered by Education Editor Bec Milligan, these commissions offer multiplatform programming across four key areas: family and friendships; sex and relationships; online literacy and the online hub ‘Am I normal’, and are issues identified as worries for young people living in the UK today.

My Mental Friends (wt) will document the lives of a group of inspirational young people negotiating the typical challenges of being a young adult , whilst also managing a serious mental health condition. They all live in completely different parts of the UK and have separate diagnosis, ranging from OCD to schizophrenia, but they have found an unlikely friendship and support group, meeting regularly on online video forums to help each other through the highs and lows of their illnesses. The 1x60’ programme will be produced by Raw.

Across the UK young females are transforming into males with the help of testosterone and they are proudly broadcasting it to the world in online ‘Testosterone Diaries’. My Million View Sex Change (wt) will follow a group of females with gender dysphoria as they go through a process that will change their gender and their lives forever. Combining present tense stories with down-the-barrel interviews, the 1x60’ FirecrackerFilms programme will document every jab of testosterone administered, along with the gratifying, yet scary, changes as they occur. My Million View Sex Change (wt) will explore the physical and mental challenges faced by young people with gender dysphoria and the reasons why they are documenting themselves online.

Channel 4 Education will also launch an online hub called Am I Normal.  The site will host bespoke programming and content to inform  young people on issues that matter to them and affect their lives. The first programmes to be hosted on the Am I Normal hub will be short-form films, Online and Lying (wt), Gay Love: Sex and Apps (wt) and Selfies (wt).

Fronted by online sensation  Emily Hartridge, Online and Lying (wt) will explore the extent to which young people are lying online.  The series of 4 x15’ shorts, produced by Knickerbockerglory, will investigate the pressure people feel to portray an online life that is nothing like the one they actually lead. Online and Lying (wt) will also look at the darker side of social media, touching on the fraudsters and scam artists who break hearts and borrow identities, often with devastating consequences.

In January 2013, Young Apprentice candidate Harry Hitchens came out online. In Gay Love: Sex and Apps (wt) Harry will explore the often dark world of finding a partner using apps such as Grinder, Scruff and Manhunt. Made by Factory Films this short film will follow Harry as he experiments with gay online dating and meets a number of young men who have had both good and bad experiences in the world if gay apps.

Every day young people film themselves and share the footage online as they live through life defining experiences. Selfies (wt), a series of four shorts produced by Nerd, will paint a portrait of what it means to be a young adult in the UK using self-shot footage. In Selfies (wt), we follow young people as they take their first steps into adult life  - finding love,  dealing with serious family illness, forming romantic relationships and making life-changing choices about their own gender identity.

Of the commissions Bec Milligan said: “ We are commissioning in four key areas but a common concern of young people was how the internet has changed their social relationships. Much of the programming will look at how young people’s lives are affected by their online and social media activity in the UK today.  The commissions follow research carried out into the ways in which young people are connecting online and will explore the positive and negative sides of the internet for them.”

Bec Milligan recently left on maternity leave. The post of Education Editor will be covered by Emily Jones. Emily joins Channel 4 from Dragonfly where she was working as a development executive. Prior to that she worked in development at both Firecracker and Blast! Films. Her production credits include Jamie’s Ministry of Food, Fame Asylum and Faking It. Emily also was part of the team that created Secret Millionaire and Undercover Boss, and she produced and directed  the first episodes of both.

ENDS

Production Information:
Commissioning Editor, Education: Bec Milligan and Head of Formats, Dominic Bird.

My Mental Friends (working title)
Executive Producer:  Louise Norman
Production Company: Raw

My Million View Sex Change (working title)
Executive Producer:  Jes Wilkins
Production Company: Firecracker Films

Online and Lying (working title)
Executive Producer:  Jonathan Stadlen
Production Company: Knickerbockerglory

Gay Love: Sex and Apps (working title)
Executive Producer:  Lisa Fairbank
Production Company: Factory Films

Selfies (working title)
Executive Producer:  John Farrar
Production Company: Nerd