The Specials (TV series)

The Specials is a multi-award-winning reality television series about five friends with intellectual disabilities who share a house in Brighton, UK. [1]

This article is about the 2009 British TV show. For other uses, see Special (disambiguation).
The Specials
GenreReality television
Starring
  • Sam
  • Lucy
  • Lewis
  • Hilly
  • Megan
Narrated by
  • Sam
  • Lucy
  • Lewis
  • Megan
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Katy Lock
  • Daniel May
Running time21 minutes
Production companyKADA Media
DistributorElectric Sky
Release
Original networkOWN
Picture format
Audio formatStereo
First shown in
  • Web series: Worldwide
  • TV season 1: USA
  • TV season 2: USA
Original release
  • Web series: 2 September 2009
  • TV season 1: 7 September 2014
  • TV season 2: 7 September 2014
External links
Website

Originally made as a web-series the show has since made the transition to television.

The five housemates, Sam, Hilly, Lewis, Megan and Lucy, have been friends since childhood. Aged between 19 and 23, one person, Lewis, has Williams syndrome while the others have Down syndrome. The series was launched on its website on 2 September 2009 and ran until mid-November 2009 with weekly 10-minute episodes.

Created by producer/director Katy Lock and Daniel May, the series follows the independent living venture that arose when 20-year-old Hilly told her parents she wanted to live with her friends. Hilly's parents, Carol and Dafydd Williams, set up Small Opportunities, the company which runs the house where the housemates in The Specials live.[2]

The observational documentary series follows their lives and has won rave reviews for the insight it gives into inclusive, independent living for adults with intellectual disabilities. It was used in a Disability Studies course that focuses on media and disability at City University of New York in summer 2011.[3]

The series is ground-breaking in its empowering structure, by letting young adults with intellectual disabilities tell the audience about their lives through the narration in the series. Reviewers have compared it to MTV's The Real World, saying "inner-house romance and friendship rule, minus the evil."[4]

Web series

The show was initially launched as a web-series on The Specials website. Consisting of ten 10–15 minute episodes, the first episode was released on 2 September 2009. Subsequent episodes were released roughly every fortnight, with the 10th and last released on 7 December 2009.

The web series begins when the housemates are aged between 19 and 23 at the point where Megan moves into the house. During the course of the show, the housemates attend to their daily activities, like life skills classes, preparing meals, and working in a charity shop, as well as going on holiday, learning to surf, and competing in a Special Olympics equestrian event. This season also focused on the housemates falling in and out of love, going clubbing, and even learning about the Ladyboys of Bangkok.

Awards
  • Winner, Webby Award in the Reality Category, 14th Annual Webby Awards 2010.[5]
  • Winner, People's Choice Award in the Reality Category, 14th Annual Webby Awards 2010.[5]
  • Winner, Festival Cinema Tous Ecrans 'Prix Titra Films S.A.,' November 2010.[6]
  • Winner, Best Web Series, National Youth Disability Film Awards UK, December 2010.[7]
  • Finalist, Original Series category, Vimeo Awards 2010.[8]

Transition to television

The show's creators Katy Lock and Daniel May were contacted by Carolyn Strauss (executive producer of "Game of Thrones" and former president of HBO Entertainment). She had been introduced to the web series by D. B. Weiss (co-creator of "Game of Thrones"). Together, and with the help of Rosie O'Donnell they brought it to executives at OWN, including Oprah Winfrey. OWN acquired two seasons of the show. [9]

Season 1

Season 1 consists of the web series with some extra footage recut into six 21-minute episodes. It launched together with season 2 on OWN as a back-to-back marathon on 7 September 2014.

Season 2

Season 2 consists of seven 21-minute episodes. It premiered together with season 2 on OWN as a back-to-back marathon on 7 September 2014. It picks up 2 years after the end of season 1.

See also

References
  1. Mahtani, Shibani (2 September 2009). "'Friends meets Skins' with a difference". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  2. "About Us". Small Opportunities website. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  3. Haller, Beth A. "Images of people with intellectual disabilities in the community discussion paper". Disability & Mass Media syllabus, Summer 2012, CUNY master's in disability studies. Blogspot. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  4. Shaw, Michael. "'The Specials' Shows Life with Special Needs, Especially Watchable". Tubefilter. Tubefilter. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  5. "14th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners". The Webby Awards website. The Webby Awards. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. "Cinema Tous Ecrans". Cinema Tous Ecrans. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  7. "National Youth Disability Film Awards 2010". Funky Flamingo TV. Funky Flamingo TV. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  8. "Vimeo Awards 2010". Vimeo. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. Kiniry, Leigh (5 September 2014). "What makes 'The Specials' reality series so special?". CBSNews. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
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