World Productions
Encyclopedia
World Productions is a British television
production company
, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett
. The company's first major series was the police drama Between The Lines (BBC1
, 1992-94), and throughout the decade they went on to produce a succession of highly successful drama series. The most notable of these include This Life
(BBC2
, 1996-97), a successful drama about a group of young law students in London
which became cult viewing; vampire-based thriller Ultraviolet
(Channel 4
, 1998); and another police series for the BBC, The Cops
(BBC2, 1998-99), which was so controversial in its depiction of the police force that official police advice was withdrawn for the second series.
More recently, the company has found success with the series No Angels
for Channel 4
(2004-2006), a drama based around the lives of young nurses, and was hoping for similar success with the new series Goldplated
and for Channel Five
its produced the Perfect day :Trilogy and Tripping Over
a co production with Network Ten
. It also co-produced, with BBC Wales
, a one-off This Life reunion special, transmitted in early 2007.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett is a film producer who has worked in feature films and on British television. He was born in Birmingham, England, and studied psychology at the University of London....
. The company's first major series was the police drama Between The Lines (BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, 1992-94), and throughout the decade they went on to produce a succession of highly successful drama series. The most notable of these include This Life
This Life
This Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
(BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, 1996-97), a successful drama about a group of young law students in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which became cult viewing; vampire-based thriller Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (TV serial)
Ultraviolet is a 1998 British television serial written and directed by Joe Ahearne and starring Jack Davenport, Susannah Harker, Idris Elba and Philip Quast. It was produced by World Productions for Channel 4.-Synopsis:...
(Channel 4
Channel 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...
, 1998); and another police series for the BBC, The Cops
The Cops (TV series)
The Cops is a British television series made by World Productions for the BBC.The production, set in the fictional town of Stanton in Northern England, was noted for its documentary-style camerawork and uncompromising portrayal of the police force...
(BBC2, 1998-99), which was so controversial in its depiction of the police force that official police advice was withdrawn for the second series.
More recently, the company has found success with the series No Angels
No Angels (TV series)
No Angels is a critically acclaimed British television comedy drama series, produced by the independent production company World Productions for Channel 4, which ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2006. It was devised by Toby Whithouse.-Premise:...
for Channel 4
Channel 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...
(2004-2006), a drama based around the lives of young nurses, and was hoping for similar success with the new series Goldplated
Goldplated
Goldplated is an eight-part drama series from World Productions which made its debut on Channel 4 on Wednesday 18 October 2006 at 10.00pm. It follows self-made businessman John White , as he struggles to complete a business deal that could be compromised by past indiscretions...
and for Channel Five
Channel Five
Channel 5 is a television network that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010...
its produced the Perfect day :Trilogy and Tripping Over
Tripping Over
Tripping Over is a British/Australian six-part drama series. Its first episode aired on Network Ten in Australia on 25 October 2006, and in the United Kingdom on Five on 30 October 2006. In the UK Tripping Over is repeated on Five Life....
a co production with Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. It also co-produced, with BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
, a one-off This Life reunion special, transmitted in early 2007.
Filmography
- UnitedUnited (TV drama)United is a British television film directed by James Strong and written by Chris Chibnall. It is based on the true story of Manchester United's "Busby Babes" and the aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster...
(2011) (TV) ... Production Company - Saddam's Tribe (2007) (TV) ... Production Company
- Party AnimalsParty Animals (TV series)Party Animals is a British television drama series screened on BBC Two in 2007. It was produced by World Productions, the makers of No Angels and This Life....
(2007) ... Production Company - This Life + 10This LifeThis Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
(2007) (TV) ... Production Company - LiliesLilies (BBC TV series)Lilies is a British period-drama television series, written by Heidi Thomas, which ran for one eight-episode series in early 2007 on BBC One. The show's tagline was "Liverpool, 1920...
(2007) ... Production Company - Tripping OverTripping OverTripping Over is a British/Australian six-part drama series. Its first episode aired on Network Ten in Australia on 25 October 2006, and in the United Kingdom on Five on 30 October 2006. In the UK Tripping Over is repeated on Five Life....
(2006) (TV) ...Production Company - Perfect Day: The Funeral(2006) (TV) ... Production Company
- Perfect Day: The Millennium (2006) (TV) ... Production Company
- Rough Diamond (2006) ... Production Company
- Perfect DayPerfect Day (TV film)Perfect Day was a two hour television movie, initially broadcast on Five in December, 2005.Centered around a group of university friends who reunite five years later for the wedding of Tom and Amy , it tells the story of old loves rekindled, marriages falling apart and the problems of career women...
(2005) (TV) ... Production Company - Ahead of the ClassAhead of the ClassAhead of the Class is a 2003 book and 2005 dramatic television film based on real-life events.-Plot:Marie Stubbs is a diminutive Glaswegian headmistress who is close to the age of retirement. After being Head teacher at The Douay Martyrs School, Ickenham, she takes on one last challenge: to improve...
(2005) (TV) ... Production Company - Murder PreventionMurder PreventionMurder Prevention was a British police drama inspired by the real-life Homicide Prevention Unit within the Metropolitan Police. It was produced for Five by World Productions who previously produced the television series The Cops. The series consisted of three two-part stories...
(2004) ... Production Company - Outlaws (2004) ... Production Company
- No AngelsNo AngelsThe No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
(2004) ... Production Company - Love Again (2003) (TV) ... Production Company
- BuriedBuried (TV series)Buried is a British television drama series, produced by World Productions for Channel 4 and originally screened in 2003. The programme starred Lennie James as Lee Kingley, who is serving a long prison sentence in order to protect a member of his family from a violent criminal...
(2003) ... Production Company - Table 12 (2001) ... Production Company
- Trance (2001) (TV) ... Production Company
- AttachmentsAttachments (TV series)Attachments is a BBC TV Series that ran for two seasons from 2000 to 2002, a total of 26 episodes. It focuses on a group of young professionals in London that work for an Internet startup company called "seethru" during the dot com boom...
(2000) ... Production Company - Rough Treatment (2000) (TV) ... Production Company
- Black Cab (2000) ... Production Company
- The CopsThe Cops (TV series)The Cops is a British television series made by World Productions for the BBC.The production, set in the fictional town of Stanton in Northern England, was noted for its documentary-style camerawork and uncompromising portrayal of the police force...
(1998) ... Production Company - UltravioletUltraviolet (TV serial)Ultraviolet is a 1998 British television serial written and directed by Joe Ahearne and starring Jack Davenport, Susannah Harker, Idris Elba and Philip Quast. It was produced by World Productions for Channel 4.-Synopsis:...
(1998) (TV) ... Production Company - Hostile WatersHostile Waters (film)Hostile Waters is a British 1997 television film about the loss of the K-219, a Yankee I class nuclear ballistic missile sub. The film stars Rutger Hauer as the commander of K-219 and claims to be based on the true story. The film was produced by World Productions for the BBC and HBO, in...
(1997) (TV) ... Production Company - The Heart Surgeon (1997) (TV) ... Production Company
- Beautiful ThingBeautiful ThingOriginally Beautiful Thing is a play written by Jonathan Harvey and first performed in 1993. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 Films, with a revised screenplay also by Harvey. Initially, the film was only intended for television broadcast but it was so well-received...
(1996) ... Production Company - This LifeThis LifeThis Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
(1996) ... Production Company - BallykissangelBallykissangelBallykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...
(1996) ... Production Company - ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
(1996) (TV) ... Production Company - Between the Lines (1992) ... Production Company