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The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It's not tokenistic': how The Assembly became an international hit
It is an interview like no other. One which has seen Emmanuel Macron confronted over whether it was right to marry his former teacher and Danny Dyer probed about whether he has a joint bank account with his wife. Celebrities have been caught off guard, or left sobbing and laughing in equal measure. The Assembly, in which an audience of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled people ask unpredictable, probing and often remarkably direct questions of a celebrity, has won plaudits and rave reviews since launching in 2022. It has now become an international phenomenon. The show, which originated in France, had more international commissions than the all-conquering reality hit The Traitors last year. The format has already been commissioned across 19 countries, according to an industry report by K7 Media. Ten new versions have already been confirmed. Unusually for a new European format, The Assembly is already making its mark in Asia: it will launch in Singapore in January. It is heading into its fourth series in France and has been a hit in Norway, Australia and Denmark – succeeding on public and private broadcasters. Its producers say the authenticity of the show has created its universal appeal – while the clippable content is perfect for a social media age in which broadcasters are desperate to reach younger audiences glued to their feeds. Stu Richards, creative director of the programme's UK producers Rockerdale Studios, said it was crucial the show was billed as having broad appeal, rather than as a programme highlighting neurodiversity. 'It's not just representation for the sake of it – it's not tokenistic,' he said. 'We see this as mainstream entertainment.' The stripped-back look of the show – shot over three hours in natural light with the camera crew in full view – adds to the sense that viewers are getting an unfiltered experience. 'There's an honesty that you just don't get in other TV shows,' said Richards. 'It has non-culturally specific values like honesty and by extension, empathy. In shows with disabled people, you as a viewer are almost always asked to be sympathetic towards the people you're seeing. You're rarely asked to empathise. In this show, our cast have the authorship, they have the agency.' Richards said he was sold on the idea immediately after seeing Macron asked bluntly about the propriety of his marital relationship. 'When I saw that question, I thought: this is something unlike any interview format I've seen,' he said. 'We've had interview formats in the past, like Ali G, where people have tried to ask comedically funny questions. But the president of France asked about the age gap with his older wife? Boom, yes. I'm completely in.' For broadcasters desperate to reach new audiences to be found on social media, the format also lends itself to short clips, as an unsuspecting celebrity responds to a left-field question. Several of such clips, featuring Macron, Michael Sheen and the Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the Danish edition, have gone viral. 'That's the mother load for so many commissioners and broadcasters at the moment,' said Michelle Singer, Rockerdale's director of production. Coster-Waldau broke down when talking about the death of his alcoholic father. In the Australian edition, the Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill was similarly floored when asked about the best lesson he had learned from his parents. Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion The team distributing the show had a queue of potential takers after it aired in France. They said the dynamic between the cast and the interviewee meant it was unlike other chatshows or political programmes. 'It's the authenticity,' said Arnaud Renard, co-founder of Can't Stop Media, the programme's distributor. 'Everybody gets it. Everybody understands it's a show where we have people that are going to ask unexpected questions – but without bad feelings. We're not trying to trick people.' Despite the show's international success, it has had an unusual journey in the UK. A pilot featuring Sheen was made for the BBC, but the corporation is said to have concluded it did not have the funds to make a series. It has since found success on ITV, where the first series featured David Tennant, Jade Thirlwall, Gary Lineker and Dyer – who, among other things, was asked how much he was paid for presenting the Saturday night gameshow The Wall (about £100,000). Bigger names have been booked for follow-up series overseas, though producers are sworn to secrecy. To take it to the next level in the UK, fans are hoping a British politician might be brave enough to enter The Assembly should a second series materialise. 'It's interesting that the idea for this programme grew from the grilling of Emmanuel Macron.' said Tim Nicholls, assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society. 'Wouldn't it be great if we could see British politicians subjected to the same scrutiny by autistic interviewers?'
Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Assembly review: The only show in which an interview with Danny Dyer could move you to tears - in the right way
Danny Dyer (seated, centre) faces The Assembly in ITV's new interview show (Picture: ITV/Rockerdale Studios) As a middle-aged man with some 'life experience' behind him, I tend to cry at the drop of hat. And let's say there were a lot of titfers being spilled during ITV's new celebrity interview show The Assembly (ITV1, Sun, 10pm). Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... To call it a 'celebrity interview show', though, is to do The Assembly a disservice. It's not a 'tell us all about your new film' type thing at all. There is no gushing here, no expositions on the hidden depths of the latest Transformers movie, no marvelling at workout routines and no questions which lead to the interviewee dancing, singing or unveiling their party trick. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Okay, so David Tennant is asked about his skincare regime - 'pretty basic', as it turns out – but The Assembly goes where other shows fear to tread, and it's much more interesting as a result. David Tennant was one of the celebrities to be grilled by The Assembly on ITV (Picture: ITV/Rockerdale Studios) A pilot was aired on the BBC, with Michael Sheen as the interviewee, and for reasons known only The Rest is Entertainment and other network wonks, it has now found itself on ITV. A 'collective of autistic, neuro-divergent and learning disabled interviewers' come together to grill various celebrity guests – this week Tennant, and in the first episode, his Rivals co-star and all-round diamond geezer Danny Dyer. The celebrities are warned that 'no question is out of bounds, no subject is off the table, and anything might happen'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And while that third assertion might be a little bit of a reach, the first two are definitely adhered to throughout. David Tennant answers questions from The Assembly in ITV's new celebrity interview show (Picture: ITV/Rockerdale Studios) That means Dyer is questioned on his wife kicking him out and taking control of the joint bank account, therapy and his dad's secret second family. Tennant, meanwhile, gets a killer question first up, especially given he is the son of a Church of Scotland minister - 'Do you believe in God?' He's also asked about JK Rowling and his trans-allyship, as well as the a 'cancellation' of Neil Gaiman, creator and writer of his hit TV show Good Omens. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He dances around the edges of those questions, but can't escape the camera, which clearly shows how discomfited he is by the line of the interview. However, there is no doubt that Dyer is the best value, cheerfully admitting his wife 'had every right to kick me out', and revealing therapy helped him discover why he was so willing to self-sabotage his career as a younger actor. All the male role models in his life, he says – his dad, his grandfather, the playwright Harold Pinter, to whom he grew close - 'either left me or died', meaning he pushed everyone else away before they did the same. Along the way you learn about his favourite kebab and his hairy breasts, and how Tennant how Tennant deals with the legacy of Doctor Who. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The cynic in me wonders which questions might have been cut out, despite the opening mission statement, but the celebrities' willingness to put themselves through what must be one of the toughest interviews they've had wins you over. As do The Assembly themselves – who give such genuine heartfelt responses the stars in front of them you can't help but be carried along by the emotional tide as they all open up to each other. By the time The Assembly band start singing Sunshine on Leith to a clearly teary Tennant – a song which, by the way, always has me finding something in my eye – only those with the hardest of hearts would fail to be moved. The Assembly could be a gimmick, but it turns out it's one of the most surprising, emotional and uplifting half-hours of the week. At the end of his grilling, Dyer tells them: 'You'd better be prepared for a bit of fame, you lot, because this show's going to be massive.' And, through the watery eyes. you can't help agreeing.
The Herald Scotland
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Producers wanted to avoid being ‘unpleasant' to interviewers on The Assembly
Each episode finishes with a musical performance relevant to the celebrity being interviewed, and co-executive producer Michelle Singer, of Rockerdale Studios, said these were included to rectify what she saw as patronising flaws in the French programme it was adapted from, Les Rencontres Du Papotin. Danny Dyer will feature in the first episode of the new ITV show (Ian West/PA) She said: 'We made the decision that every episode concludes with a musical performance. It's not always a song, but a musical performance of sorts, which has relevance to the celebrity. 'We don't always explain that, it's not always necessary to, but there are reasons why we've chosen the specific songs we've chosen in each episode. 'How do I say this kindly? We were very aware that the French shows, sometimes they were a bit shit, just a little bit sort of, 'do you want a triangle and to clap along', and it's just unpleasant and just not good.' Speaking about the fear of the show being patronising, Ms Singer's fellow executive producer Stu Richards said: 'There's so many decisions you make along the way, right from pre-production to the shoot, and to the edit, and at each stage you have (to think) is this the right decision? '(We are) worried about being patronising, that's something that we think about all the time, and so we just hope that it comes off in the way we hoped, which is the way that people can see these guys the way they are – funny, smart, interesting.' Tennant's episode sees him being asked about an unnamed colleague who has been accused of sexual misconduct and being an ally to the LGBT+ community, before performing a scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth with one of the interviewers. Speaking about the performance, Mr Richards said the interviewer matched Tennant 'pound for pound'. The interviews are filmed for three hours before being cut down for the episodes, which are about 30 minutes long, meaning extra content will be available on ITVX as there was 'so much excellent stuff', with the production team saying they 'really struggled to cut it down'. Speaking about the filming format, Ms Singer added: 'It's a real leveller of an experience, and if you can get over that hurdle, we usually record for three hours and we usually watch that happen after the sort of 15 to 20-minute mark, sometimes it's earlier, sometimes it takes a little bit longer for people to sort of warm into it. 'But once that sort of facade is dropped, and people are just speaking frankly and honestly, and it becomes pure conversation, and there's nothing better than sitting and observing brilliant conversation.' The Assembly airs at 10.05pm on Saturday on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player with an interview with Dyer, and Tennant's interview follows the day after. The show will be available to stream on ITVX and STV Player from 7am on launch day.
