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Airdate: 56 Up

Legendary British documentary series 7 Up, by filmmaker Michael Apted, makes its return to television.

Legendary British documentary series 7 Up, by filmmaker Michael Apted, makes its return to television with the latest instalment.

56 Up will air in 3 parts on SBS ONE starting next week. First filmed in 1964, this has been a profound series and social experiment.

When a cross-section of seven year olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964, it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work.

This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed by director Michael Apted about the progression of their lives. Forty-nine years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives.

From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstances or self-determination.

Tuesday, 30 October at 7.30pm on SBS ONE.

10 Responses

  1. Sadly SBS made no mention tonight that the series continues over the next two weeks. No voiceover or promo. Thanks to this article, I know it continues. Shame most viewers won’t know.

  2. Carta, thanks for clearing this up. Every time a new one came out I would be doing sums in my head! I think the only disappointment is when people drop off. I would love to know what Peter and Simon are up to now.

  3. Menicci – the second series aired in December 1970, six and a half years after the first one. Although they’ve stuck to seven “calendar” years between each series since, sometimes, only six and a half years have elapsed since the previous series was aired (e.g. 28 Up aired in November 1984, but 35 Up aired just 6.5 years later, in May 1991). I agree that it’s a brilliant series. They made us watch it at uni (along with “A Clockwork Orange”, the month after it was taken off the banned list in QLD…..I’m still recovering!) and I finally saw the whole series when I got the boxed set four years ago.

  4. I think there’s a bit of Anthropologist in all us, which is what makes this series so fascinating to many. Thanks for the heads up David. Thanks also msd, watching the rest of the series as a lead up to the new oart is a great idea.

  5. I too have been eagerly awaiting this, I have the boxed set of all previous films. But I am a little confused, if the first series was filmed in 1964 at the age of seven then 56 up should have been filmed in 2013.

  6. The Other Adam

    SBS is replaying the whole series. 7 Up was on last night, 14 Up is tonight, 21 Up is tomorrow etc etc until the brand new installment next week.

    (Might be worth mentioning this in the article too?)

  7. I’ve been waiting for this one. Knew it was coning out soon. Thanks for the heads up. Been watching this series since the beginning. Fascinating stuff.

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