Channel 4 Commissions The Gathering

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Channel 4 has commissioned the six-part drama The Gathering (w.t.) from writer and director Helen Walsh (The Violators).

The series centers around the violent attack of a teenage girl and the group of teens from disparate backgrounds who could have committed the crime. World Productions (Line of Duty, Save Me, Vigil), part of ITV Studios, is producing.

The series’ main protagonist and victim of the attack, Kelly, is an accomplished tumbling gymnast on her way to making Team GB but is at odds with her teammates and their ultra-competitive parents. In her free time, Kelly hangs out with a group whose reckless lifestyle and free-spirit is at odds with the discipline and restrictions she experiences in the world of competitive sport.

Caroline Hollick, head of drama at Channel 4, said, “We are thrilled to be working with the brilliant Helen Walsh and World Productions on this exciting series, which forms part of our strategy to commission drama that also appeals to younger viewers. Through this absorbing story, with Helen’s beautifully drawn, real and relatable characters, the series looks at how family, friendship and aspiration is influenced and shaped by the highs and lows of modern-day parenting. Exploring relevant and urgent themes around what it means to be a teenager, as well as a parent today, The Gathering (w.t.) is cleverly wrapped up in a compelling whodunit thriller, where the stakes are upped episode after episode.”

Walsh added, “I wanted to write a twisty, state-of-the-nation take on Philip Larkin’s notorious “they f*ck you up” observation about parents and kids. In an era where the micro-managing of children’s lives has become the new normal, The Gathering (w.t.) throws today’s surveillance parenting into sharp focus and asks who is really to blame when our kids f*ck up. I’m thrilled to be working with the excellent team at Channel 4 and World Productions and look forward to seeing the kinetic worlds of free-running and tumbling gymnastics brought to our screens.”

World Productions’ creative director, Simon Heath, said, “We’re thrilled to be back on Channel 4, working with Caroline, Gwawr and their team to bring Helen’s brilliant scripts to the screen next year. Through the unfolding whodunit of a violent assault at a teenage party, Helen unpacks the secret lives of teenagers and their dysfunctional modern parents.”