Gogglebox

Gogglebox
Genre	Reality Reaction
Created by	Stephen Lambert Tania Alexander
Directed by	Tania Alexander (2013–2020) Tom Hutchings (2013) Jon Cahn (2013) Kayleigh Damen (2013) James Bainbridge (2013) Mike Cotton (2020–present)
Creative directors	Tania Alexander (2013–2020) Tim Harcourt (2014–present) Mike Cotton (2020–present)
Narrated by	Caroline Aherne (2013–2016) Craig Cash (2016–present)
Opening theme	"Perfect World" and "Brand New Day" by Kodaline
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	24, including spinoffs
No. of episodes	284, including spinoffs (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Tania Alexander (2013–2020) Leon Campbell (2016–present) Mike Cotton (2020–present) Victoria Ray (2021–present)
Camera setup	Dual cameras
Running time	50 minutes (series 1–2) 60 minutes (series 3–present)
Production company	Studio Lambert[1]
Distributor	All3Media
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Picture format	16:9
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	7 March 2013 (2013-03-07) – present
External links
Website
Production website

Gogglebox is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt, and Tania Alexander, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for their observations and reactions to the previous week's television from their own homes. The first series launched on 7 March 2013, and the show is currently set to air its nineteenth series in February 2022. The show was narrated by Caroline Aherne from its launch until April 2016, after which Craig Cash took over.

The show has won numerous awards. In 2014, it won a BAFTA in the Reality & Constructed Factual category.^[2] From 2015 to 2018, and in 2021, it won a National Television Award. The success of Gogglebox spawned three spin-off series, including a version featuring children (Gogglesprogs), a version featuring 16 to 24-year-olds as they watch online content (Vlogglebox), and a version featuring celebrities (Celebrity Gogglebox).

History[]

The show was created by Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt, and Tania Alexander. Lambert is a media executive who is also responsible for the Channel 4 television shows Wife Swap, Faking It, Undercover Boss, and The Secret Millionaire. Alexander was a Director of Factual Entertainment at Lambert's independent production company Studio Lambert, who said the idea was for Gogglebox to be a mix of the ITV comedy show Harry Hill's TV Burp, which looked back at the previous week's television, and the BBC sitcom The Royle Family, which centres around a television-fixated family, but with real, ordinary people.^[3] Harcourt, a Creative Director for Studio Lambert, had the original idea for Gogglebox while watching the 2011 London riots,^[4][5] and along with Alexander, devised the format for the show. They wondered what people talked about while watching the news, and came up with the idea of cutting between people watching the same TV shows.^[6][7] Farah Golant, the boss of All3Media, said: "But the show isn't really about TV. The show is about people's lives, their relationships, their living rooms and the way children and parents talk about TV [...] That's quite priceless. It captures a cultural response to something that's happening in the world.^[1]

The show was picked up by Channel 4, which commissioned an initial series of four episodes.^[3] The first episode premiered on 7 March 2013; the following three aired later in the month. The show was a success, and Channel 4 gave the green-light to a second series which began in September 2013 and ran for thirteen episodes.^[3]

In November 2020, Alexander left Gogglebox after seven years to pursue a fresh challenge. She was replaced by Studio Lambert's deputy creative director, Mike Cotton, alongside Gogglebox executive producer Leon Campbell.^[8]

Production[]

The people cast on Gogglebox were found by the show, and the producers do not advertise for participants. Lambert said this approach is key to the show's success as it results in more likeable people and the audience can get to know the cast over time. From the beginning, Alexander did not want to feature people who wanted to be on television, and sought individuals "that had the ability to make us laugh very naturally and that's quite hard."^[9] One of the methods used to find participants is termed "street casting", whereby the show's team looked in everyday public places; Leon and June were found in a bridge club, and Stephen and Chris were found in a hair salon. In later series, members of the show's production team visited random houses and held up a card that contained something, such as a picture of the British Prime Minister or a Daily Mail headline, and noted how quick the person responded and any funny, interesting, or insightful comments they had. The show has also found participants through recommendations, which was how the Siddiqui family and couple Giles and Mary were found.^[9]

The programme is filmed in the viewers' homes using two small remotely controlled cameras, known as "hot heads", operated by a small team elsewhere in the home that set up a temporary production control room. This team consists of a producer/director, gallery operator, assistant, audio engineer, researcher for live logging, and a runner.^[10][11] Each episode of Gogglebox is made in two days, and Alexander said that people who assumed the show is cheap or easy to make makes her "blood boil".^[3] Filming starts on Friday and continues through the week, but most of the first four days are spent assessing the filmed material. Four-person crews circulate between the households two or three evenings each week, and the cast watch the same programs as each other, which can amount to as much as six hours of television. Alexander said that the biggest problem encountered during the filming stage is the cast forgetting that they are meant to be commenting and have to be given "gentle prompts".^[3] She added that "the craft happens over the last couple of days before it goes out on the Friday", which usually begins on a Tuesday afternoon or the Wednesday, with the production team working through the night to produce an initial cut. Lambert said the skill involved is "throwing away 99.9% of what people say".^[9] The team reviews the first edit on a Thursday afternoon, after which further cuts or tweaks are made before the narration is recorded and the episode is delivered for broadcast.^[9]

Cast[]

This is a list of cast members currently appearing in the programme.

Episodes[]

It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. (Discuss) (October 2021)

Awards and nominations[]

Spin-off series[]

A version of the show featuring children, titled Gogglesprogs, launched as a Christmas special on Christmas Day 2015, and was followed by a full-length series which began airing on 17 June 2016.^[14] In 2017, a spin-off show titled Vlogglebox aired on E4, which featured reactions from 16 to 24-year-olds as they watch online content on their smartphones, laptops or tablets.^[15] In 2019, it was announced that a celebrity version had been ordered; Celebrity Gogglebox began airing in 2019. It was later renewed for a second series, which aired in 2020, and a third series, which aired in 2021.

International versions[]

Australian version[]

An Australian edition of the programme debuted on 11 February 2015. It is a co-production between pay TV provider Foxtel and commercial Network Ten. It airs on Foxtel's Lifestyle Channel first and is repeated 24 hours later on Ten.^[16] The programme started its second season on 30 September 2015,^[17] and its third season in 2016. It is currently in its 14th season as of September 2021.

American and Canadian versions[]

Canadian (Bell Media),^[18] and American broadcasters. The American and Canadian versions, both called The People's Couch, premiered on Bravo on March 10, 2014 (although a three-episode pilot run was aired in October 2013) and Bravo (Canada) in July 2014.^[1][19][20]

A celebrity version, called Celebrity Watch Party, premiered on Fox on May 7, 2020.^[21]

Polish version[]

Polish version called Gogglebox. Przed telewizorem, premiered on TTV on September 6, 2014.^[22] It is currently in its 14th season as of June 2021.

Finnish version[]

Finnish version called "Sohvaperunat" (translated "Couch potatoes"), premiered in February 2015. The show started its 12th season in September 2021.

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Gogglebox at Channel 4
• Gogglebox at IMDb