Channel 5 Commissions New & Returning Factual Titles

Channel 5 has ordered two new factual titles and a second season of the historical series Endurance, all set to premiere later this year and into 2025.

Life & Death in Pompeii (w.t.) is a brand-new series fronted by Dan Snow and ancient world specialist Jasmine Elmer. The four-parter, produced by streaming service History Hit, will investigate a time capsule to reveal the daily lives of real ancient Romans.

The brand-new Emperor: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty will retell the stories of the cutthroat and turbulent years of the first five Emperors and the powerful women behind them. The brand new three-parter is an October Films and GroupM Motion Entertainment co-production.

The upcoming two-part Endurance: Race to the Nile follows the success of Endurance: Race to the Pole and will see explorers Ben Fogle and Dwayne Fields return. Co-produced by October Films and Krempelwood, the title will tell the story of the Victorian explorer Dr. Livingstone.

These three commissions follow the recently announced The Great Explorers with James May; To the Glory of God: Building Britain’s Cathedrals, with the Reverend Pat Allerton; and the Jason Watkins Tower of London special series.

Ben Frow, Paramount’s chief content officer for the U.K.,  said: “Premium factual content continues to attract strong audiences for us, and we are keen to offer our viewers more of what we know they enjoy. It’s particularly exciting to extend the relationship that we have with fantastic on-screen talent like Jason Watkins whilst working with new-to-tv talent such as the Reverend Pat Allerton. Who better to guide us around the magnificent architecture of Britain’s Cathedrals than someone who spends the majority of his time in such amazing buildings?”