Programming Profile

The pandemic has led to a rise in demand for and production of programmes that tackle issues surrounding health and wellbeing. Karolina Kaminska looks into the trend and highlights some of the new shows hitting the market.

The importance of keeping healthy and maintaining general wellbeing has been publicised a lot in recent years and there has been a wealth of programming about this subject on TV. These range from shows about dieting, like UK broadcaster Channel 4’s series You Are What You Eat, to the medical reality hit Embarrassing Bodies from the same network.

But at a time when the world is battling against a global pandemic, health and wellbeing has become all the more important and many of the shows people are watching, and producers are developing, reflect this. Mental health, too, is certainly a hot topic at the moment, both on- and off-screen, as awareness around the issue increases and it becomes less of a taboo subject.

Consequently, more and more programmes about mental health are getting commissioned, both by broadcasters like the BBC and streaming services such as Apple TV+. The latter recently launched The Me You Can’t See, a docuseries from Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey that focuses on the mental health issues of high-profile people like singer Lady Gaga and actor Glenn Close.

UK-based distributor All3Media International has at least 40 programmes that fall into the health and wellbeing category in its catalogue, according to the company’s exec VP for EMEA, Stephen Driscoll. These range from lifestyle shows like Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger to documentaries that dig deeper into issues surrounding health and wellness.

One such series is the BBC’s The Truth About, which comprises docs including The Truth About Healthy Eating, The Truth About Getting Fit, The Truth About Sleep and The Truth About Stress.

One of All3Media International’s more recent health and wellbeing titles is A World of Calm, a series coproduced by Jane Root’s prodco Nutopia and sleep and meditation app Calm for HBO Max. Described as “the ultimate in relaxing viewing,” each episode combines mesmeric imagery and narration by A-list stars like actors Idris Elba and Nicole Kidman, designed to transform how viewers feel by transporting them into tranquillity through scientifically engineered narratives, music and footage to naturally calm the body and mind.

“A World of Calm is not the sort of thing you would have seen on mainstream television five or 10 years ago,” Driscoll says. “What’s interesting about it is that it launched during the pandemic but was commissioned well before the pandemic, so it seemed prescient. But it would have done well with or without the other events that were happening in the world.

“We’ve all been through periods where we feel we need to de-stress and calm down during our busy lives. I like the show because it is very innovative in that it isn’t just a programme that tries to help you de-stress, but the way it’s done, with the use of sound, narration and imagery, is very clever and sophisticated. That’s the reason it is a really good, successful show, but it’s also had the right timing, coming out a time when we crave that type of programming.”

A World of Calm represents how the health and wellbeing genre is evolving from general lifestyle shows to cover more complex issues like stress and maintaining a healthy mind, which links to more serious issues like mental health.

All3Media International also has a presence in this space, with docs like Nadiya: Anxiety & Me. The doc, which aired on BBC1 in 2019, reveals the truth about living with anxiety from the perspective of Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain. In the same category is Chris Packham: Asperger’s & Me, which follows the naturalist as he deals with Asperger’s syndrome in his daily life.

“The health and wellbeing genre began with people doing exercise videos and discussing how to live longer and how to eat better, and that’s how we interpreted health and wellbeing at the time. What’s become quite apparent in the recent couple of years is how we’ve moved from those niche occupations to mainstream TV and we’re now seeing people make programmes about mental health and anxiety,” Driscoll says.

“Having these on primetime TV shows a really interesting change in our society and the national conversation. People talk about what they see on TV, and whereas in the past people might have talked about a documentary about how to live longer or how to eat better, their water-cooler moment is now about a documentary on anxiety or mental health, and I think that’s really exciting.”

Elsewhere in the UK, distributor DCD Rights has also branched into the mental health space with documentaries including BBC1 two-parter Overcoming Depression: Mind Over Marathon. The doc follows 10 unlikely runners living with or affected by mental health issues as they train for the London Marathon. Helping them get across the finish line are Prince William, Prince Harry and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, who encourage the runners during their six-month training.

The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On, meanwhile, sees British presenter and actor Stephen Fry discuss living with bipolar disorder 10 years after he first spoke out about it.

Also in DCD Rights’ catalogue in the mental health space is BBC3’s Ugly Me: My Life With Body Dysmorphia, which tackles the subject of body dysmorphia – a condition that affects 1 in 50 people in the UK – and BBC1’s My Baby, Psychosis & Me, which explores postpartum psychosis in two women who have recently become mothers.

“It’s hugely important to make programmes about mental health because there are so many people out there with mental health struggles who don’t necessarily have an avenue or an option to speak to other people about. So to be able to get storytellers to offer hopes and opinions to them is great,” says DCD Rights’ head of sales, Rick Barker.

“We took those docs on with that in mind, but also knowing that the health and mental wellbeing area is developing and opening up much, much more. We’re seeing so many more networks now asking us for topics in this particular area. Even the SVoD and AVoD platforms, who you would think would probably move away or not want to consider this level of content, are now all hugely interested in it and it’s getting up on to their platforms. It’s been uplifting to see how much of this content is selling internationally.”

Barker notes that he has seen an increase in acquisitions of health and wellbeing-related content since Covid-19 swept the world, particularly by networks skewing towards the younger demographic. With lockdowns ending and countries starting to open up again, the exec doesn’t think the desire for health and wellness programming will decline, however.

“Off the back of the pandemic we did see quite an increase in activity in acquiring the content that fits that mould. It really has exploded and opened up and there are a wealth of people now wishing to talk about it. Moving out of the pandemic, I can’t see it regressing back to where it was and people putting it back in a box and forgetting about it. It is now very much a subject that people are willing to discuss and get on TV channels,” he says.

The increase in health and wellbeing content is not exclusive to adult programming but has also made its way into the children’s space. Fitness coach Joe Wicks, who rose to fame on YouTube, has featured in a series of exercise shows during lockdown, not just on social media but on broadcasters like the BBC, and is now working on a kids’ series for YouTube.

Titled Workout Badges, the series sees Wicks and CBeebies preschool series Hey Duggee team up to encourage preschoolers to try out new exercise routines. Debuting this September, Workout Badges features a blend of animation and live-action to teach kids about the importance of physical exercise. Each instructional video is guided by Wicks and features a range of Hey Duggee characters copying the exercise moves.

In Singapore, children’s studio One Animation is also venturing into the health and wellbeing space with upcoming series Oddbods: Busy Bodies. A spin-off to hit preschool show Oddbods, Oddbods: Busy Bodies uses a live-action-animation hybrid format and is aimed at helping kids relieve stress, move their bodies and engage in imaginative play.

Consisting of 8×5-7’ episodes, the series is hosted by veteran yoga therapist and teacher trainer, Hersha Chellaram, who specialises in children’s and accessible yoga and guides viewers through movement, stretching and breathing exercises while encouraging pretend play. It will debut on streaming platform Kidoodle.TV globally in June.

Michele Schofield, senior VP of content distribution at One Animation says the decision to produce an Oddbods spin-off was a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “It really came out of what we were seeing happening with kids last year. Kids, to us, were the real unsung heroes of the trying times they were going through and we wanted to bring the Oddbods, who are already entertaining millions of kids around the world, to offer this body-mind connection and give children an outlet to express themselves and connect with themselves,” she says.

“Not only are the broadcasters looking at that [health and wellbeing content in the kids’ space] with a lot more importance, but parents are as well. They are realising that screen time is a reality but waking up to the fact that it is really important for kids that we don’t just entertain them with passive entertainment. It’s about finding that balance between letting them watch passive entertainment and engaging them in a fun way that shows them that entertainment can also be active and can help them calm down and take a moment for themselves.

“This whole mindfulness and idea of connecting with kids and giving them tools to deal with anxiety and stress and understanding how to maintain a healthy body and an active mind will become more and more important.”

TV has played an invaluable role in promoting general health and wellbeing and discussions around mental health. With more and more people opening up about issues they are experiencing, TV has a duty to increase awareness and educate viewers.

Driscoll says: “That’s the wonderful thing about TV – it gives people a cue to talk about stuff and engage in a topic because they’ve almost been given permission to do so, and then we all go and talk to our co-workers and friends about something we’ve seen and talk about that issue.”