Channel 4 has selected four production companies who will create brand-new digital content aimed at 13-16 year-olds for its Teens strand, to be shared across E4’s social platforms.
Following an open call-out last year for new, compelling and diverse digital content ideas, with teens at the heart of the brief, the production companies selected will be giving a platform to fresh, unheard voices from across the country, with at least 50% of the content produced by BAME and nations and regions led companies.
The initiative will be overseen by Head of Youth and Digital, Karl Warner and Head of Entertainment, Phil Harris and managed by Digital Commissioner, Navi Lamba.
Navi Lamba, Digital Commissioner said: “Engaging young people and allowing for the stories that impact their lives be heard is at the heart of our work and of this strand. The companies we are working with are already developing exciting propositions that we hope will resonate with teens in the UK.”
The Teens content is expected to land across 2021.
The Corner Shop’s content for The Teens strand will be led by Sindha Agha, an Emmy-nominated director and writer with a reputation for creating viral digital pieces with distinct and vibrant visuals. The content will be overseen by Cornershop TV MD, Anna Hashmi and Channel 4 Comedy Commissioning Executive, Laura Riseam.
For the Teens strand, The Corner Shop will produce a scripted comedy anthology series that hopes to tackle the trials and tribulations of adolescence and aim to give real teens their first co-writing credit with a collection of diary-style confessional short films.
Sindha Agha said: “I’m so thrilled to be working with these talented young writers to create a series that speaks to the teenage experience right from the eye of the storm and which I hope will be cathartic and relatable for people of all ages.”
Shortlisted for Small Indie of the Year 2020 at the Edinburgh TV Awards, The Connected Set is an independent producer with a relentless focus on young audiences, with half of its work spanning short form social content.
The Connected Set is the creative force behind Channel 4’s three-time Broadcast Digital Award nominated online comedy and animation channel Mashed, which has passed 2.5 million subscribers and 1 billion cross-platform views, as well as launching verticals on Facebook and Snapchat Discover.
The Connected Set’s vision for the Teens strand will see it producing a mixture of high volume short form and mid form fact-ent formats. These will dig into topics like how to unwind, how to navigate the world of work, and consumer affairs, through to outright silly comedic formats and animations.
Jason Mitchell, Creative Director at The Connected Set said “We are hugely excited to create a new era of digitally-distributed, broadly-accessible, fun factual and entertainment formats designed to help teens understand, decode and improve the wider world and adult life.”
