Channel 5’s Extraordinary People strand returns with three new docs as the broadcaster signs NBC Universal’s sci-fi drama Alphas.
Extraordinary People kicks off a short autumn run from 6 October with 3 x 60-minute docs, starting with The 8-Limbed Boy. The co-production with TLC is produced by Darlow Smithson and Barcroft Productions and follows six year old boy Deepak as he journeys from his village in northern India to Bangalore to have an operation to remove the extra arms and legs he was born with. Viv McGrath is exec producer.
Hayley – World’s Oldest Teenager produced by Rabbit Productions is C5’s fifth film following the plight of thirteen year old Hayley Okines who suffers from the genetic condition Progeria which causes her to age eight times faster than usual. It’s exec produced by James Routh.
Charla Nash, the American who was mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009 is the focus of The Woman Who Lost Her Face, which charts her story from the attack to having the facial transplant and subsequent recovery. It has been produced by Peacock Productions with Benjamin Ringe, Knute Walker, Aretha Marshall and Gretchen Eisele as execs.
The docs have been ordered by C5’s commissioning editor for factual John Hay who said: “The strand is called Extraordinary People for a reason: these are positive, inspiring stories of bravery and resilience in the face of challenges that would have defeated many of us”.
Channel 5 has also signed Alphas to run on digital channel 5* from October. The 11-part series, currently airing on Syfy in the US, follows the adventures of five people who benefit from extraordinary powers when they are brought together.
The series has been ordered by Paul Fagan, head of acquisitions for C5.
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