Channel 4 has announced a host of new factual content, tackling questions of memory, identity and what it means to be a human being.
The new commissions include a documentary examining if neuroscience can explain the making of murderers, a documentary that follows the journey of an Olympic gold medallist embarking on a daring cycle across the English Channel, and an exploration into the untold stories of the Black Africans who died fighting for Britain in the First World War.
“These are programmes with impact at their core - the power to challenge and provoke, shock and inspire,” said Fatima Salaria, Head of Specialist Factual at Channel 4.
“From using cutting edge science to radically re-think criminality to campaigning for an overhaul of a hallowed institution, these are films that aim to the set the agenda.”
She added: “It’s especially exciting to draw on the multi-talents of David Lammy, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and many more- all with unique and audacious stories to tell.”
What Makes A Murderer? (w/t)
Three-part documentary series What Makes A Murderer looks into the inner-workings of murderers.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Vicky Thakordas-Desai and neuro-criminologist Professor Adrian Raine will team up to explore the lives and crimes of three convicted killers.
The series will be produced by Dragonfly and Underworld, a production company that allows convicted ex-criminals to collaborate with programme makers, to uncover the psychological, biological and sociology traits that may have influenced their behaviour.
My Grandparents’ War (w/t)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Fleabag) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) will be among the actors who will re-trace their grandparents footsteps to mark the 80th anniversary of the Second World War.
The four-part series will take a group of celebrities to historic locations, including the beaches of Dunkirk and the prisoner-of-war camps in Asia, as they explore the hardships their relatives endured and the life-changing decisions they would have made.
The series will also delve into how the six year conflict changed their family’s lives and the scars left behind in Britain.
Filming continues for the show next month.
The Unremembered (w/t)
Politician David Lammy MP will learn about the Black African soldiers who gave their lives for Britain during the First World War.
To mark Remembrance Day 2019, Lammy will travel to Africa and see the mass burial sites for the untold heroes.
The hard-hitting documentary will also question the war graves commission for their decision to not individually memorialise countless Black African soldiers and porters.
Seeing the mass burials first-hand, Lammy considers the measures needed to be taken to give these soldiers the same dignity as the soldiers who were given gravestones regardless of background, rank or creed.
Bradley Wiggins: Tour de Flight (w/t)
This one-off documentary sees cycling legend Bradley Wiggins attempt to break a world record, to pedal over the English Channel while operating a human-powered aircraft in the quickest time possible.
In an extraordinary feat of human stamina and engineering, Wiggins will embark on an intense training scheme to learn how to cycle lying flat, and lose nearly 20 kilos to be light enough to fly.
Bradley will be pushed past his limits mentally and physically for the hardest 22 miles of his career.
