Mal Young
Encyclopedia
Mal Young is a British
television producer
and executive producer
.
soap opera
Brookside
.
Working on the show for nearly a decade, he worked his way up to become its producer in the early 1990s, although his tenure was criticised by some for taking the show away from its social realist roots towards a more sensationalist, ratings-chasing format. He achieved all time record ratings for the series and for C4. He also co-created and produced his own successful drama series for C4 And The Beat Goes On. He then moved on to become Head of Drama at the independent production company Pearson Television, where he oversaw work on ITV
police drama The Bill
and another soap opera, Channel 5's Family Affairs
, which he created, and was Executive Producer on C5's legal drama series, the BAFTA nominated Wing And A Prayer.
to become the Controller of Continuing Drama Series
for the Corporation's in-house production arm, a position he held until 2004. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all of the organisation's in-house continuing episodic drama series (as opposed to short-run multi-episode-storyline serials, which are handled by the Head of Serials). Programmes he oversaw for the BBC included the soap opera EastEnders
; medical dramas Doctors (which he co-created), Casualty
and the latter's spin-off series Holby City
, which he created; police dramas Dalziel and Pascoe
, Waking the Dead
and Merseybeat
; anthology shows The Afternoon Play
and Murder in Mind; legal drama Judge John Deed
; rural-set Down to Earth
; comedy-drama Being April and science-fiction series Doctor Who
.
, part of Simon Fuller
's 19 Entertainment
, Also from the BBC came former Head of Development, Serena Cullen, who is now 19 Entertainment
's Head of Development for Film and Television. They are charged with developing new drama formats for the UK and U.S.
markets. he now splits his time between the US and UK. He co-created, wrote and produced a drama pilot for Fox in March 2007, Born In The USA. He then co-wrote and sold another pilot, to The CW in the US - Austin Golden Hour - a real time medical drama series format for the 2008-2009 season.
, whom he met at a charity function in 2001. In September 1999 he gave the Huw Weldon RTS
lecture at their Cambridge Convention. In May 2005, he received a Special Award for his Contribution to Television from ITV's Soap Awards. In July 2004, in a poll of industry experts conducted by Radio Times
magazine, he was voted the 9th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
.
Background
His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
.
Working on the show for nearly a decade, he worked his way up to become its producer in the early 1990s, although his tenure was criticised by some for taking the show away from its social realist roots towards a more sensationalist, ratings-chasing format. He achieved all time record ratings for the series and for C4. He also co-created and produced his own successful drama series for C4 And The Beat Goes On. He then moved on to become Head of Drama at the independent production company Pearson Television, where he oversaw work on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
police drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
and another soap opera, Channel 5's Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, which he created, and was Executive Producer on C5's legal drama series, the BAFTA nominated Wing And A Prayer.
BBC
In 1997, he moved to the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to become the Controller of Continuing Drama Series
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
for the Corporation's in-house production arm, a position he held until 2004. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all of the organisation's in-house continuing episodic drama series (as opposed to short-run multi-episode-storyline serials, which are handled by the Head of Serials). Programmes he oversaw for the BBC included the soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
; medical dramas Doctors (which he co-created), Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
and the latter's spin-off series Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
, which he created; police dramas Dalziel and Pascoe
Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series)
Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
, Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead (TV series)
Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series...
and Merseybeat
Merseybeat (TV series)
Merseybeat is a British police procedural television series shown on BBC One, with a total of four series broadcast between 2001 and 2004. The series follows the personal and professional lives of one shift of police officers from the fictional Newton Park police station on Merseyside, England.In...
; anthology shows The Afternoon Play
The Afternoon Play
The Afternoon Play is a series of individual plays which sometimes appear on BBC One during weekday afternoons. The first series began on 27 January 2003, and as of 2008 there have been five series...
and Murder in Mind; legal drama Judge John Deed
Judge John Deed
Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove...
; rural-set Down to Earth
Down to Earth (UK TV series)
Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
; comedy-drama Being April and science-fiction series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
19Television
At the end of 2004, Young left the staff of the BBC to take up a new, position as Head of Drama at independent production company 19Television Limited19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
, part of Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...
's 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
, Also from the BBC came former Head of Development, Serena Cullen, who is now 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
's Head of Development for Film and Television. They are charged with developing new drama formats for the UK and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
markets. he now splits his time between the US and UK. He co-created, wrote and produced a drama pilot for Fox in March 2007, Born In The USA. He then co-wrote and sold another pilot, to The CW in the US - Austin Golden Hour - a real time medical drama series format for the 2008-2009 season.
Personal
He is engaged to the singer Mari WilsonMari Wilson
Mari Wilson is an English singer, best known for her sometimes quirky, early 1960s-influenced pop music songs, and her beehive hairstyle.-Career:...
, whom he met at a charity function in 2001. In September 1999 he gave the Huw Weldon RTS
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
lecture at their Cambridge Convention. In May 2005, he received a Special Award for his Contribution to Television from ITV's Soap Awards. In July 2004, in a poll of industry experts conducted by Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
magazine, he was voted the 9th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.