Plimsoll Productions: Diving into virgin territory

Having established itself as a natural history powerhouse with shows like Apple TV+’s Tiny World, Disney+’s A Real Bug’s Life and Netflix’s Night On Earth, it may come as a surprise that Plimsoll Productions’ latest series centres on a group of hot virgins looking for love.

But that is exactly Plimsoll’s strategy.

Aligning with its focus to create large-scale and “naturally entertaining” shows, the Hulu series Are You My First? is a bold dating experiment in which a group of attractive virgins assemble to explore intimacy and connection, embarking on dates and romance to fi nd ‘the one’. So what was behind the move?

“We’ve always had a multi-genre approach and we think that a lot of the skills we use in natural history, which is executing big, bold ambitious shows in difficult places, can be applied to other kinds of programmes,” explains Grant Mansfield, chief executive and founder of Plimsoll, which was acquired by ITV Studios for north of £103m in 2022.

Entering the dating game

This multi-genre strategy has been in play since well before that, however. Are You My First?, which was co-produced with ITV America, was first conceived back in 2020, with Plimsoll producing reality series such as ITV’s Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters in the meantime.

“We were brainstorming ideas and looking at trends of what was happening around the world when someone brought in a really interesting article about low fertility rates in Japan,” says Plimsoll head of development Becky Morrison of the genesis of the dating series.

“We looked into it and found that it was a broad, sweeping statistic, particularly with Gen Z,” she continues. “That made for a really interesting entry point for an adrenalised show with a surprising cast. We were blown away by the characters we found in preliminary casting.”

When they were first developing the idea, head of factual Karen Plumb says, “no one had done a dating show about virginity”.

“It raises the stakes,” she adds, “particularly as they are older virgins. And that makes for exciting storytelling.”

Plumb also explains that in the US – where the casting was done – virginity has a different societal connotation to the UK. “Virginity is worn as a badge of honour. These are proud, sexy, eloquent virgins. They’ll only have sex because they want to. They are virgins by choice,” she says, with Morrison adding that it “comes from an empowering place”.

When casting the show, the Plimsoll team hired a highly experienced agency that had worked on hundreds of dating formats. “We said we wanted sexy, hot, cool virgins. Just because they’re virgins doesn’t mean you have to alter expectations,” says Plumb, adding that they wanted the series to feel as aspirational as other dating series, like Love Island.

Emotive storytelling

The reasons the cast had for remaining virgins well into adult life differed greatly. For some, it was due to religion; for others, it came from not finding love; and for some, it was a result of physical difficulties. This allowed for a broad church of participants that could offer emotive stories for the audience.

This shaping of the cast filtered through to the formatting of the show, which Morrison emphasises was designed to be “a safe space for everyone to be in”.

Addressing the sensitivities regarding whether the cast were definitely virgins, Plumb says that the team conducted background checks but, in the end, they simply had to trust people. “We trusted them to tell us the truth in the same way they trusted us to make a show that represented their story in a way that wasn’t salacious or over-dramatised.”

Additionally, the cast were encouraged to take things at their own pace. “In other shows, couples are often quickly put into double beds together,” Plumb says. But in Are You My First?, participants were given single beds in their own single-sex dormitories, with a ‘love shack’ available to visit, but only if they chose to use it.

At first, this caused concern that it could potentially prevent the levels of drama audiences have come to expect in a dating format, but Plumb says “it quickly became apparent that you don’t have to force physical intimacy to create emotional drama”.

“A dating show about virgins has been one of the sweetest, most heartwarming shows you could ever do”
Karen Plumb, head of factual

Creating a space where the contestants felt safe to explore sex was paramount, adds Morrison, with Plumb agreeing: “The narrative is already elevated [due to them all being virgins], the stakes and emotions are higher, so we wanted them to feel comfortable because we’re conscious when you’re a virgin, you’re often ‘othered’ by the dating world.”

“People have said, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing a dating show about virgins’, but it’s actually been one of the sweetest, most heartwarming shows you could ever do”.

Streamer collaboration

Are You My First? debuted on Disney’s US service Hulu in August and follows a long tradition by Plimsoll of securing high-profile series with streaming platforms. A global rollout in 155 other territories is also in the works via Disney+, and Plumb says that Hulu has been a strong supporter.

Audiences can expect more in this arena from Plimsoll. Plumb and Morrison tease that further dating shows are in development, declining to give details but adding that they offer “a unique entry point with broad appeal”, while Mansfield adds that these series will have a relationship with the natural world.

The chief executive and his fact ent team, co-led by Plumb and creative director Andrea Jackson, have also secured what is believed to be Plimsoll’s biggest-ever entertainment series for a major streamer, with a Hollywood A-lister set to star.

“Streamers almost singlehandedly re-energised the big documentary space and that’s been positive for us”
Grant Mansfield, chief executive

It points to an improving picture of commissioning from the US streamers, with which Plimsoll has a strong track record: it has had shows on almost all platforms, from Netflix to Disney+ and Apple TV+.

In fact, Mansfield tips his metaphorical hat in appreciation of the support from the streamers in the factual and natural history space. “Originally the streamers were almost fully scripted, but now they’ve almost single-handedly re-energised the big documentary space, and that’s extraordinarily positive for us.”

He adds that they also help producers make shows better. “They have money to spend and there is a relationship between how much money you spend and the quality of the show. That’s not to say you can’t make a great show on a budget, but the spend certainly makes a difference.”

Development chief Morrison agrees. “The scale is exciting. I’ve noticed that the UK PSBs are also going for that scale and high entertainment value, which I think the streamers have brought in, and it’s really exciting for us because that’s where we sit so well. It’s offered us a lot more opportunity to sell our ideas.”

However, challenges are aplenty in the current landscape, particularly amid shifting commissioning priorities and, in some cases, exec restructuring.

“One thing that has affected us is that everything is taking a bit longer to get into production,” says Plumb. “We’re a big company and we can sustain that but, for smaller companies, that speed to market is problematic. It does make things harder.

“Luckily, with Are You My First?, that trend towards virgin-related programmes has only got bigger. You have to make sure your ideas are timeless because things change a lot within two years of television.”

Strategic moves

Despite the current market turbulence, Plimsoll seems to have weathered the storm well. This, Mansfield says, is partly down to the fact that the Bristol, Cardiff and LA-based company operates in the large-scale, ambitious content space, which is the direction the market has headed.

“Everyone is aware of the squeezed middle,” Mansfield says. “The new appetite is for these big projects, which is where we’ve always been. We’ve been very strategic about it. We did do some daytime shows but I took the decision to shut our daytime department a year ago and focus on our factual entertainment efforts, and that’s working well for us.”

And in a fast-changing industry, Mansfield reflects: “I always say to our team, ‘play the game in front of you’. We’re there to provide a service to our clients and listen to what they want.”

That “want”, he adds, is informed by a huge amount of market intelligence from the streamers and broadcasters. “They know who their audience is, and we need to devise creative, noisy shows around that.”

Digital expansion

While Plimsoll’s slate may now run across myriad genres, its most recent expansion comes in the form of a nascent digital unit, launched in May and led by creative director, development & digital Ged Mansfield (Grant’s son). The focus is to develop digital formats and explore emerging technologies, as well as responsible uses for generative AI.

“The opportunities in the digital space are significant,” Plimsoll chief Mansfield says, pointing to the surging popularity and growth of YouTube. “We are working on that and have been commissioned to make a few things in the digital space.”

Looking to the future in digital, he says the major learning he and his team have taken from the division’s launch is “that there’s an almost infinite number of possibilities. The trick is to figure out which balls to chase”.

“It’s not unlike the conventional TV business,” he stresses. “There’s a vast market and you have to decide which bits of it you think you can best serve, and then super-serve those areas.

“We have a much clearer idea now of the areas in that space we want to add something to, and we already have a couple of really interesting commissions on the way.”