“Old People’s Home for Teenagers” will premiere on ABC TV and ABC iView at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
The show is a new spin on the popular Emmy and AACTA Award-winning “Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds”.
The documentary will take teenagers to spend time with older adults, and see if it builds the youngsters’ confidence, gives them resiliences and creates a rite of passage into adulthood.
“Will they change their views on the older generation and help to dispel ageism throughout Australia? Will the teenagers bring back a sense of purpose to the lives of the older people and improve their overall physical and mental health?,” publicity for the show said.
The ABC noted the intergenerational experiment brought attention to the significant health risks of loneliness and isolation in both generations.
“Most Australians will experience loneliness at some point in their lives, with older people and teenagers particularly at risk,” the national broadcaster said.
“Half the population of older people living at home identify as lonely, but teenagers are also at risk of social isolation. Teenagers, who can often be perceived as just being ‘moody’, represent over a quarter of our population, but are arguably our most undervalued generation.”
The five one-hp=our episodes will be narrated by Annabel Crabb.
“Old People’s Home for Teenagers” is an Endemol Shine Australia production for the ABC. Executive producers on the series are Debbie Cuell and Tony De La Pena.
The original “Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds” premiered in 2019, with Season 2 airing in 2021. The format was created by CPL Productions and is distributed worldwide by Red Arrow Studios International.
In 2019, it won the AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program, and in 2020 it took home the International Emmy Award for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment.
