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Neurodivergent chat show to be made for Virgin Media Television by Kite

Gogglebox Ireland maker will produce Irish version of hit French interview format featuring well-known personalities

Michael Sheen took part in The Assembly, the BBC's version of a French TV show. Photograph: BBC/Rockerdale Studios

Laura Slattery
Mon May 13 2024 - 06:00

Virgin Media Television has commissioned Kite Entertainment to make an interview series based on a French hit that will see some of Ireland’s most famous personalities asked questions by a group of about 30 neurodivergent people.

The broadcaster has ordered four episodes of the Irish version of The A Talks, with Ireland joining a growing list of countries to adapt a format that has been praised for its refreshing and thoughtful approach.

A pilot episode for a British version, retitled as The Assembly and featuring Welsh actor Michael Sheen, was shown on the BBC last month during Autism Acceptance Week.

“Every now and then, you come across a show that has both a proper entertainment punch and a real purpose,” said Kite Entertainment managing director Darren Smith.

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Gogglebox Ireland and Ireland’s Fittest Family maker Kite “knew it was one of those shows and instantly wanted to make it” when it was shown the format by its distributor, Can’t Stop Media, Mr Smith said.

The show, which is not yet in production, will likely air in 2025, with interviewees still to be confirmed.

Mr Smith said the strength of The A Talks lay in the preparation work with its participants, who become journalists for the series as they devise often blunt and sometimes surprising questions for their interview subjects.

During the recordings, care is taken to ensure the environment does not prompt sensory overload among autistic participants, who may experience difficulties processing sensory information.

The series, created by Quad+Ten and Kiosco TV and initiated by French film-makers Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, has aired on French public service television as Les Rencontres du Papotin since 2022.

French president Emmanuel Macron was the interviewee on one episode in early 2023, attracting a live television audience of 4.6 million viewers to the channel France 2.

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Local versions have been launched in Denmark, Poland and Spain as well as the UK, with Sweden and Australia among those to follow.

The format, distributed by London and Paris-based Can’t Stop Media, has been commissioned in the Irish market by Virgin following the backing of Coimisiún na Meán, which awarded it just under €400,000 in the most recent round of the licence fee-financed Sound and Vision scheme.

Inclusivity and representation is “at the core of our commissioning strategy”, said Virgin Media Television’s director of programming, Anthony Nilan.

“The A Talks is a television show that empowers and celebrates its participants and challenges viewers’ perceptions in a positive way. It also gives us a chance to discuss topics and stories through a different lens that we hope will spark further conversations and debate.”

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics

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