The Specials (TV series)

The Specials is a 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
The Specials website banner featuring Lucy, Lewis, Sam, Megan and Hilly.
GenreReality television
Starring
  • Sam Powell
  • Lucy Hatfield
  • Lewis Carr
  • Hilly German
  • Megan Kenward
Narrated by
  • Sam Powell
  • Lucy Hatfield
  • Lewis Carr
  • Megan Kenward
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
Release
Original networkOWN
Original release
  • Web series:
    2 September 2009 (2009-09-02)
  • TV series:
    7 September 2014 (2014-09-07)

Originally made as a web-series, the show has since made the transition to television.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 been granted positive 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 and empowers 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 starts 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.

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 1 on OWN as a back-to-back marathon on September 7th, 2014. It picks up 2 years after the end of season 1.

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. (28 May 2011). "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 (2 June 2010). "'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". 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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