Hot Picks: Do You Want To Live Forever?

Delving into one of humanity’s most intriguing subjects, Australian series Do You Want To Live Forever? examines the latest scientific breakthroughs in human longevity. Blending science with experimental investigation, the four-part series, commissioned by Australian commercial broadcaster Nine Network, follows four pairs of ‘regular’ Australians through a series of medically supervised trials and health interventions to see if they can help them live longer.

The eight individuals all lead seemingly ‘healthy’ lives, but it quickly becomes apparent just how far along the ageing process they are, without realising, and how their biological clocks are running much later than their actual ages. The four-parter sets out to see if the pairs can reverse their clocks.

Hat Trick International director of sales Sarah Tong says the series taps into an “incredibly relatable” topic that will appeal to viewers across the globe.

Additionally, the docuseries responds to a global appetite for specialist factual, science-led series on health and wellbeing – Tong says there is “no way you can come away from Do You Want To Live Forever without having learned something”.

While wellbeing shows are not new to the distributor’s catalogue, with titles including Easy Ways To Live Well and Michael Mosley: Secrets Of Your Big Shop, Tong says the focus on the science behind ageing and longevity will be a crucial differentiator for this series at market.

A spokesperson for Nine Network tells Broadcast it is “always looking at trends and feels living longer, better and healthier is the world’s current obsession”. They add: “We decided to assemble Australia’s best investigative journalist, Tracy Grimshaw, and the man who became the nation’s GP during Covid, Nick Coatsworth, to really delve into the latest medical breakthroughs in our quest for greater longevity.”

Tong says the results of the experiment are confronting and compelling, with the advice given to each individual carefully tailored to them, but in a way that is accessible to a broader audience.

The series also incorporates science segments, from explorations of areas around the world renowned for long life – dubbed ‘Blue Zones’ – to interviews with pioneers in slowing the ageing process. Tong explains that these additional elements make it “not your everyday health and wellbeing show”.

The combination of social experiment and science has already caught buyers’ attention, she notes, with HTI launching the series at Mipcom both as a finished tape and as a format. “Buyers have told us this is what they want,” says Tong, who is optimistic about the longevity of the format itself.

The series is already under option in the UK with a production company, while other territories, such as the Netherlands, have picked up the series as a finished show.

“Out of the two conversations we’ve had [with buyers], both have picked it up,” Tong says.