Maverick Television

Maverick Television

Industry	Television Media
Genre	Production company
Founded	1994
Parent	All3Media
Website	www.mavericktv.co.uk

Maverick Television is a television and media production company.

Notable Maverick programmes include the health brand Embarrassing Bodies, the make-over shows 10 Years Younger and How to Look Good Naked, and the documentary series Stephen Fry: Out There and Growing Up Down's. Maverick is particularly well known for its multiplatform projects: developing apps, websites and YouTube channels in conjunction with its TV content.

In 2007, Maverick was bought by independent production and distribution company All3Media. Maverick has offices in Birmingham, London and Los Angeles.

TV Shows

Maverick Television mainly produces factual and factual-entertainment shows.

Embarrassing Bodies

Embarrassing Bodies is a reality medical series broadcast by Channel 4. It is presented by a team of doctors who look to help people with ‘embarrassing’ body parts and so de-stigmatise medical conditions. Each series has its own health awareness agenda. In July 2014, the seventh series of Embarrassing Bodies began airing.

Operation Ouch!

Operation Ouch! is a factual entertainment show for kids about the human body. It is presented by identical twins Dr. Chris and Dr. Xand Van Tulleken and broadcast on CBBC.

Growing Up Down's

Growing Up Down's is a one-hour documentary which follows a theatre troupe of young adults with Down’s as they put together a touring production of Hamlet. For TV critic Keith Watson, the acting troupe was ‘in the perfect position to relate to ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’'.^[1] Growing Up Down's was produced and directed by William Jessop, the brother of Tommy Jessop who plays Hamlet, and broadcast by BBC Three in February 2014.

The Model Agency

The Model Agency is a seven part observational documentary series that follows the dramas of Premier Model Management, a world-famous model agency based in London.

The series sought the insights of both agency staff and the models signed with them. It covered such events as the attempts to launch the careers of two new models during New York Fashion week and the agency’s preparation for London Fashion Week. In the final episode, Premier staff reflect on their experiences of being caught up in the 2010 Blood Diamond scandal; Carole White, Premier’s co-founder, also reflects on her relationship with Naomi Campbell, who first signed for the agency.

Channel 4 claims that The Model Agency was filmed by a multi-camera documentary rig that was used in a commercial environment for the first time.^[2] The series was broadcast by Channel 4 in February–April 2011.

Chrisley Knows Best

Chrisley Knows Best marks Maverick’s first major American TV series; it broadcasts on the USA Network. Chrisley is a reality TV series that follows the lives of multi-millionaire Todd Chris, his wife Julie and their family. The final episode of the first series clocked an estimated 1.5 million viewers and was broadcast in April 2014.^[3] It is notable for having a young audience.^[4] A second series has been commissioned.^[5]

Born This Way

In 2015, Channel 4 is set to broadcast Born This Way, a series in which Dr. Dawn Harper and Dr. Ravi Jayaram investigate the medical and behavioural causes for the conduct of children brought to the show by worried parents.^[6]

TV titles

Multiplatform

Headed by Dan Jones, Maverick’s multiplatform products and innovations have won 4 BAFTAs, an Emmy, 5 Royal Television Society Awards, 2 Broadcast Digital Awards, 2 British Interactive Media Association awards, and a World Media Award. Multiplatform refers to the distribution of content across a range of media outlets and also to the development of the content for each of those outlets.

Maverick's involvement with the project A Field in England is a good example. The film was distributed in cinemas, on TV, online and on DVD, all on the same day in July 2013; the film was developed alongside an online "Digital Masterclass" which included extra videos, unedited rushes, available production documents, a crew who's-who list, a step-by-step guide to the advertising poster's development, commentaries from the creative team, a glossary of terms and a historical A-Z of the film's setting.^[7] As a result of these additional online developments, the film was able to be used both as entertainment content and as a very thorough educational resource for film-makers in training.

Apps

Maverick Television has launched a number of apps for download and use on tablets and smart phones. In conjunction with the TV series Embarrassing Bodies, Maverick has launched a suite of health apps: My HealthChecker, My MoleChecker, My SelfChecker, My RiskChecker and My MindChecker. In various way, the apps allow users to test their health, better positioning them to know whether they need to change lifestyle, visit a doctor or relax about what they perceive as symptoms. The data, collected anonymously, is also used to better inform researchers about public health trends.In addition to these medical tester apps, Maverick released a game app in 2014 in association with the same TV series called Angry Boils.

Maverick developed Reverse The Odds, a free puzzle game, with Chunk Digital for Channel 4. the game is a partnership with Cancer Research UK and Zooniverse. The smartphone game aids in the work of Cancer Research UK by analysing real cancer slides as they progress through the game story. The more people play the game, and the longer they play for, the more Cancer Research UK’s scientists are helped. In April 2015 the game won the ‘Digital Program: Children & Young People’ category in the 2015 International Digital Emmys^[8] at MIPTV’s Opening night festivities in Cannes. The game was nominated in the Digital Creativity category of the 2015 Television Craft BAFTAs^[9] as well as being on the official Shortlist for the 2015 Cannes Lions^[10] and winning Best Game and Best Content Partnership at the Broadcast Digital Awards 2015.^[11] Since it launched in October 2014 over 3 million slides have been analysed by players across the globe. The game was highlighted as an example of best practice by Baroness Martha Lane-Fox as part of the 2015 Dimbleby Lecture^[12] on BBC One.

Social Media

Maverick has also developed TV content best suited to the uptake of social media.

Was It Something I Said?, a comedy panel game, was the first TV programme derived solely from a Channel 4 online commission. The content for the questions was based around quotations provided to the show by the users of the website Quotables while the game could also be played via Twitter where the questions for the panel were also uploaded for Twitter users to answer without leaving their social media stream. Users of the Quotables website could contribute to the content of the panel show while users of Twitter received a scorecard which in turn led to online extras, such as extra videos from host David Mitchell. Finally, funny moments from the show were released in GIF form through Tumblr for re-blogging.

Mahagonny was a project for Sky Arts designed to run alongside the opera run of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin. Maverick created a parallel-running storyline with two new characters which unfolded across a range of social media websites and fictional webpages.

Fresh Meat Unlocked

Fresh Meat Unlocked and Fresh Meat House were developed to provide additional digital content for fans of the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Fresh Meat. Fresh Meat Unlocked provides access to the characters' smartphones in tandem with the narrative developments of the series so as to enhance those storylines.

Embarrassing Bodies Online

"Embarrassing Bodies Online" is a BAFTA-winning interactive website which offers a host of health information through networked video, games, applications as well as through easy-to-understand guides. The website has generated over 250 million page views from 25 million users; its videos have received 10 million views on the website (and a further 100 million views through YouTube).^[13]

YouTube channels

Maverick has developed a number of YouTube channels: The You Generation - The You Generation is a global online talent hunt, fronted by Simon Cowell and featuring a number of YouTube stars and celebrities.

Daily Mix
On Daily Mix, YouTube stars host videos offering a range of formats from beauty and make up to challenges and giveaways.

Body Talk
Body Talk is channel skewed towards young women and includes dating, sex advice, healthy eating recipes, celebrity chat, fitness, health advice, parenting, food for kids, yoga and pilates.

Branded Content

Maverick has produced branded content and videos for companies and brands including Skype, ASOS, Foot Locker, Gov.uk, M&S, the NHS, New Look, Shop Direct, Renault, Specsavers, Kelloggs, Unilever, Microsoft, Syco Entertainment, Renault TV, Act on CO2, and Virgin Holidays.^[14]

References