A+E Networks UK Orders Photos That Changed the World

Touchdown Films, a U.K.-based production company, has been commissioned by A+E Networks UK to produce the new factual series Photos That Changed the World.

Photos That Changed the World will give an in-depth look at iconic events in recent history through the lens of the photographers and images that made them famous. In six hour-long episodes, the docuseries will explore the stories behind a dozen photographs, with each installment covering two landmark images and stories, the people who captured them and the impact they had on culture and society.

Among the photographs in the series is that of astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon taken by Neil Armstrong. There’s also Ron Edmonds’ images of U.S. President Ronald Reagan as he and his staff came under fire, Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of “Napalm Girl” from the Vietnam War and Jeff Widener’s photograph of the “Tank Man” in Tiananmen Square. Photographs of SAS Soldiers on the rooftop of the Iranian Embassy in London, the torture at Abu Ghraib prison, a balaclava-wearing terrorist at the Olympic Games, Charles and Diana’s Royal Wedding balcony kiss and Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom” are featured as well.

The first episode of Photos That Changed the World will premiere on HISTORY on Monday, July 22 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing and the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. The full series, which is being distributed by Banijay Rights, will roll out in September.

Dan Korn, VP of Programming at A+E Networks UK, said: “In a world of ever-faster moving imagery and ‘fast-food’ news, it is poignant and enthralling to hear directly from the men and women who captured history-in-the-making and their subjects, as well as an influential handful of the millions who were inspired by them, to change the world.”

John Osborne of Touchdown Films added: “This factual series retells history from an exciting new perspective—through the eye of a lens. The stories behind these extraordinary photographs are told by those who were behind the camera and also by those who were caught in the frame. Viewers will get to appreciate the power of photography and also learn just how far some photographers are willing to go to get the perfect shot.”