Sam Talbot, executive producer of Jamie Johnson FC and co-founder of Strike, looks at how realism has informed the show’s success
In 2025, Gen Alpha is the first to grow up fully digital, fully connected, and fully fluent in both the creation and consumption of content.
They’ve had phones, feeds and have had on-demand for as long as they can remember. It’s easy to assume that makes them the ideal audience for any content they can consume quickly before scrolling on past. But engagement with long form sport productions like Jamie Johnson FC suggests something far more interesting - for this generation, realism and authenticity is what holds attention.
Recent industry insight supports this direction. Take Ofcom’s latest look at children’s media habits, which notes that many young viewers are drawn to content that relates and mirrors real life. A recently published Forbes analysis also emphasises Gen Alpha’s preference for stories that come across as genuine rather than overly manufactured.
What this research highlights is the same thing that was evident during the production of Jamie Johnson FC: you can’t fake sporting talent.
From day one, there was a commitment made that the football had to feel like actual football. The gameplay was done properly - real drills, real technique, real fatigue and real pressure. The actors are football players. When a ball hits the top corner, it’s because someone has kicked it there. When a player mistimes a challenge or loses control under pressure, it was used. Our audience watches football, they play football, and they follow players across platforms. They know authenticity when they see it.
That focus shapes how it worked on set. Hawx United may be fictional, but it was filmed at the Carnegie School of Sport in Leeds, where the pitches, training facilities and atmosphere carry the texture of real academy life, allowing the cast and crew to step into the world of Jamie Johnson FC. The talent actually commits to playing the game while acting. At its’ heart, the show is led by young players who’ve trained in academies just like the one being depicted. When a scene was being built, the team was working with genuine instincts and freestyling, alongside choreography. It brought a level of skill and in-the-moment, distinctive play that you only get from real football, to feed straight into the drama.
The same intuition for honesty guides the stories off the pitch. Gen Alpha face real pressures, whether that’s socially, academically, or emotionally - and they know immediately when a character’s experience reflects something they’ve felt themselves. Friendships shift, ambition has a cost, family life is complicated, and mistakes can’t always be fixed in a single scene.
The brilliantly talented cast completes this world. Combining grassroots talent by working with rising young actors and aspiring footballers, returning alumni and having real players step onto the pitch. Not as gimmicks, but as part of the football culture that Gen Alpha already live in. And of course having cameos from pro talent helps.
When a pro appears, young fans already know them from matchdays, interviews and their feeds. They arrive as part of the ecosystem, which strengthens the world rather than disrupting it. Leah Williamson, Jack Grealish and Declan Rice are just some of the stars that have featured in the show.
But this doesn’t only attract the likes of Gen Alpha, but also promotes co-viewing between children and their parents, as it leverages on existing fanbases. For parents, Jamie Johnson FC taps into nostalgia and credibility with household players entering the screen, whereas those same stars function as role models. Co-viewing is a strategic way to increase reach and retention, builds brand trust and audience loyalty as well as having immense capacity for commercial partnerships.
But for me, the real highlight is seeing art come to life. We were recently filming at the Man City Academy, working with the women’s first team. As we were wrapping, a group of under-11 players were getting on a bus to their next match and suddenly recognised Ella, who plays Charlie in the series. It felt like a full-circle moment - real life imitating art in the best way.
Jamie Johnson FC is a series young audiences recognise as “their” version of football, and the numbers reflect that - this year’s season has been our most popular to date.
All episodes of Jamie Johnson are available on BBC iPlayer
Sam Talbot is the executive producer of Jamie Johnson FC and co-founder of Strike
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