Hot Picks: Once Upon A Time In Space

For the third part in its Once Upon A Time In… strand, Keo Films is moving beyond the geographical boundaries documented in its predecessors on Iraq and Northern Ireland to take an all-encompassing look at humanity’s relationship with space.

Commissioned by the BBC and PBS, the four-part documentary series will once again be helmed by James Bluemel. It will use archive as well as present-day footage, plus first-hand testimony from pioneering astronauts, visionary scientists, engineers, space tourists, maverick billionaires and astro-theorists to tell the story of humankind’s exploration of space since the last trip to the moon by the US in 1972.

The series follows the story from the last words spoken on the moon to the modern era space race, with China, India, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Japan all investing heavily in lunar exploration, asking, ‘What are the consequences for humanity’s future?’

Once Upon A Time in Space (OUATIS) is the first instalment of the doc strand that Fremantle has worked on, with the first two series handled by BBC Studios. Fremantle senior acquisitions manager of non-scripted Céire Clark played a key role in the super-indie boarding the project from the outset.

“This is a very fresh approach to the topic,” she says. “There are some brilliant engineering space stories, but I like that this is space with a focus on human stories.

“You don’t necessarily have to love space or be interested in space to enjoy this, or to be moved by the stories. I feel like it’s space for everybody, regardless of whether or not you’re into astronauts.”

One aspect of OUATIS that sets the series apart from other spacecentred programming is the “emotional” core of the documentary, she adds, noting it was this facet that initially drew her to the project.

“Often with this type of programming, you see something like ‘the wonders of science’ or ‘what went wrong in this disaster’ or ‘the engineering behind that’. And if you think about astronauts, they are traditionally very controlled, in order to do their jobs. These conversations will see them open up through the longer-form interviews James is so well known for. That approach to interview will really set this series apart.”

As well as the human stories, OUATIS’s breadth adds a layer of accessibility to the topic of space rarely seen before, says Clark, with many space-themed programmes focusing on an individual disaster or an aspect of astronomical science, rather than taking a comprehensive look at the subject.

The doc also complements Fremantle’s specialist factual catalogue, touching as it does on the past and the future, with Clark stating that the topic of space is a “rich” vein to tap into.

OUATIS is currently in production and is being launched at London TV Screenings. Clark anticipates there will be interest from a mix of buyers, and that the “smaller human stories” will appeal to many viewers who may not think they are interested in a doc about space exploration.

She adds: “It’s not just focused on the superpowers of space, it has the smaller stories too. It will have emotion and these incredible characters, so I think it will have wide appeal across the globe.”