ITV Convenes 'The Assembly' After BBC Pilot Goes Viral
Michael Sheen in the BBC's pilot of "The Assembly"
(Photo: BBC/Rockerdale Studios)
ITV has officially greenlit an entire series of the unique interview program The Assembly, which began its life as a critically acclaimed BBC one-off earlier this year. An adaptation of the French series Les Rencontres du Papotin, which featured appearances from notable figures, including President Emmanuel Macron and Killing Eve star Camille Cottin, the format sees celebrities and other famous faces face what is likely the most unique interview experience of their lives as they sit down for a no-holds-barred chat with a group of autistic, neurodivergent, and/or learning disabled journalists. ITV has not announced the celebrities’ names but said, “Each of them has enjoyed illustrious careers in their respective fields.”
In an age of interviews where most celebrities are either asked questions they’ve fielded a million times before or forced to play bizarre games or read thirst tweets in the hopes of generating a social media “moment,” The Assembly is both refreshingly forthright and surprisingly unpredictable.
“The Assembly is such a distinct, clever, and authentic format, and one that we’re absolutely thrilled to commission for a full first series for ITV1 and ITVX,” Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime at ITV, said in a statement announcing the series. “I can’t wait for The Assembly interviewers to ask our brilliant cast of celebrities a plethora of burning questions, which will no doubt make for must-watch TV.”
Here's the series description.
Each episode of The Assembly sees a different celebrity forced to cast aside everything they were ever taught by their media trainers as they face their most honest, funny, chaotic – and heartwarming – interview yet.
If you feel like you've heard of The Assembly, it's a good bet that you probably have. The BBC aired a one-off pilot earlier this year featuring Good Omens star Michael Sheen, and it produced some of the most charming, utterly endearing moments that aired on U.K. TV this year, several of which went viral online. The questions ran the gamut from inquiries about the age of Sheen's partner Anna Lundberg to the identity of his first crush (Duran Duran's John Taylor) and the details of his on-screen kiss with Omens co-star David Tennant. (And it's honestly wonderful. There's singing. Sheen cries multiple times. So will you.)
“We’re absolutely buzzing to be bringing The Assembly to ITV and delighted that, just like us, the team there wants to see more of telly’s most mischievous cast putting proper famous types under the microscope." Michelle Singer and Stu Richards, Executive Producers for Rockerdale Studios, said in a statement. "This show will be funny and naughty and warm and smart and, bloody hell, we’ve got ourselves all worked up now… we just cannot wait to make it.”
The four-part first season is a Rockerdale Studios production for ITV. As yet, no American distributor has been attached, and whether the series finds one may well depend on the line-up of celebrities attached, so we'll have to wait and see. (Here's hoping said distributor also finds a way to bring the Sheen-starring pilot episode along. It's one of the most charming bits of television to have aired in the U.K. this year!)
The series will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV, and STV Player in 2025.
