Asif Kapadia to Conclude Landmark British Docuseries ‘7 Up’

Asif Kapadia is about to full the final chapter in what has lengthy been thought-about a landmark and groundbreaking British TV docuseries.

The “Up” collection of movies launched in 1964 with “7 Up,” capturing the lives of 10 boys and 4 ladies in England all aged of seven at the time. Cameras then revisited the group every seven years to chart their journey from childhood to youngsters, to maturity, via careers, marriage, divorce, parenting, bereavement and more. 

Nine episodes have been made thus far, with famous director Michael Apted having directed all however the very first. Following Apted’s passing in 2021, Oscar-winning documentarian Kapadia — best identified for “Amy,” “Senna” and “Diego Maradona” — is taking over the reins for the final two-part instalment, “70 Up” for ITV (which has aired all however one episode in 1988). As per the description, the movies will meet up with the contributors as pensioners and retirees as they “reflect on their triumphs, their trials and tribulations, and what happened to their hopes and dreams.”

“In 2014 I named the ‘Up’ series as my favourite documentary of all time. Who knew that two decades later I would have the incredible honour and privilege to be asked to direct ’70 Up,’ the legendary documentary series,” said Kapadia. “I love the show! I have watched it all my life, first as a child with my parents and siblings, growing up in East London and then as an adult.”

Kapadia famous that he had been fortunate sufficient to meet Apted on a number of events, first when he was interviewed about “Senna.”

“He liked the fact I directed drama and documentaries, like him,” he said. “Directing ’70 Up’ has been a dream project for me, the ultimate portrait of human life, working with my amazing editors Andrew Hulme and Patrick Saxer, we had the challenge of cutting hours of archive material shot over decades, while also looking at the nature of documentary filmmaking itself. I hope the audience feel my team and I have done the epic series justice with the closing chapter.”

Alongside Kapadia and his producer George Chignell will likely be manufacturing government Helen Houston and Claire Lewis, the cautious custodian and producer of the casts’ tales since “28 Up.” The collection is due to air later in 2026. 

“70 Up” has been commissioned by Sue Murphy, head of factual leisure commissioning ITV and Jo Clinton-Davis, controller of Factual ITV. It will likely be produced by MultiStory Media, a part of ITV Studios, in affiliation with Lafcadia Productions. ITV Studios will also deal with distribution globally, excluding North America.