Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds

Cameras Roll On The Most Heart-warming Show of 2019 – ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’ In Production

Filming is currently underway on the heart-warming factual series Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. Co-produced by ABC and Endemol Shine Australia, the series is based around a unique social experiment where a group of older retirement home residents are brought together with a group of pre-schoolers, to see if this inter-generational contact can improve the health and wellbeing of the older people, thus helping them to lead happier, and healthier lives.

Over a period of seven weeks, our two groups of ten elderly and ten pre- schoolers, will be brought together for planned, mixed activities each day in a specially designed nursery built within a care/retirement home. Here they will share a structured timetable that encourages physical activity, social interaction, learning and happiness.

This social experiment will be run by a team of geriatric experts and a child education expert, who will scientifically analyse and monitor the progress of both groups throughout, tracking quantifiable and measurable changes (both physical and mental) that results from the experiment to the health and wellbeing of the older group, and correspondingly, the developmental growth of the children (to chart the changes in language, cognition, movement, and emotional and social development).

Endemol Shine Australia CEO, Mark Fennessy said: “Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds is a carefully crafted mix of Science, Heart & Humour. With its unique cast of characters from two fundamentally different worlds it has the potential to be the most insightful, uplifting and talked about show of 2019”.

“Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds is another fine example of what the ABC does best – asking questions and finding solutions to important issues in our society. This clever and inspiring series does that with incredible warmth and great heart as it explores the increasing isolation and loneliness of older Australians.” said Steve Bibb, ABC Head of Factual.

This show sounds great.

Premieres Tuesday, August 27 at 8.30pm.

Screening from Tuesday 27 August, 8.30pm

Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds is a heart-warming documentary series, based around a unique social experiment where a group of older retirement home residents are brought together with a group of pre-schoolers, to see if this inter-generational contact can improve the health and wellbeing of the older people, thus helping them to lead happier, and healthier lives.

Over a period of seven weeks, our two groups of eleven older Australians and ten pre-schoolers, will be brought together for planned, mixed activities each day in a specially designed pre-school built within a care/retirement home. Here they will share a structured timetable that encourages physical activity, social interaction, learning and happiness.

This social experiment will be run by a team of experts in geriatric health and wellbeing, and an early childhood expert, who will scientifically analyse and/or monitor the progress of both groups throughout, tracking quantifiable and measurable changes (both physical and mental) of the older group, and correspondingly, the developmental growth of the children.

This show has been receiving an overwhelmingly positive reaction on social media tonight. I think it will be reviewed on Gogglebox next week, if not this week.


This show is one of ABC’s most successful stories of 2019, and could be in line for a swag of awards in the next 12 months.

The show won best documentary series and beat

Australia in Colour (SBS)
Employable Me (ABC)
Exposed: The Case of Keli Lane (ABC)
Gatwick – The Last Chance Hotel (ABC)

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Season 1 won twice at this week’s New York Festivals Television & Film Awards - Gold and United Nations Department of Global Communications Silver both in Social Issues category.

C21 reports the show has been sold to free TV channel Hong Kong Open TV.

Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds wins Emmy

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Heartwarming ABC series Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds has won an International Emmy Award celebrating the best programs from around the world.

The ABC was the only Australian winner at the annual awards, which recognised outstanding screen content and storytellers from across 20 countries.

Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds, produced by Endemol Shine Australia for the ABC, took home the Emmy for best Non-Scripted Entertainment for demonstrating the physical and mental benefits of bringing together the very young and very old.

Jennifer Collins, ABC Head of Factual and Culture, said the ABC was proud to lead the way for Australian content on the international stage. “ Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds combines the magical spontaneity and innocence of young kids with the wisdom and heart of older generations, in a way that has touched audiences here and overseas. Thank you to the incredible team at Endemol Shine Australia and ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna for making such a beautiful series that brought young and old ABC viewers together.

“There are very few programs that give a voice to our elders and this is a perfect vehicle for bridging the divide between generations, with humour and joy.”

The award win follows last month’s International Emmy Kids Award for ABC ME series Hardball.

The life-changing Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds also won gold at the 2020 New York Festivals TV and Film Awards for Best Social Issues Documentary and the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Documentary or Factual Program. The unique social experiment about the positive impacts of intergenerational contact also received a Silver Award from the United Nations Department of Global Communications in 2020, for exemplifying the aims and ideas of the UN.

ABC vertical video series Content – the world’s first comedy show set entirely on a smartphone – was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Short-Form Series.

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Season 2

Is it possible to reduce age decline and the necessity of moving into Age Care Accommodation through the early implementation of Intergenerational Play? Can we relieve the stress on Australia’s aged care system by getting in early?

In Season 2 of Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds our goal is to switch the experiment in the name of early intervention by taking aging adults into the kids’ domain. An intergenerational play centre will be established in an area with a high percentage of isolated Older People struggling to stay connected to the communities they live in and maintain their independence.

As in Season 1, the experiment will begin with a baseline measurement of the Older Australian’s mental and physical state. They will be reassessed at the end of the experiment to show how the experience has improved their well-being & confidence.

Will our experiment find a way to keep the elderly out of a home for longer and more connected to their local communities in the process? Only time will tell.

5 x 60 episodes

PRODUCTION CREDITS

An Endemol Shine Australia production. Made in association with the ABC. Executive Producer: Debbie Cuell, Series Producer Bethan Arwell-Lewis, Story Producer: Kaite Milicich, Director: Nick Davies and ABC Executive Producer.

Welcome the new ‘classmates’ of Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, season 2

Season 2 - Tuesday 6 April at 8:30pm

The Emmy & AACTA award-winning Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds is back for a second season. Narrated by Annabel Crabb, this ground-breaking intergenerational experiment screens from Tuesday 6 April at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.

In the first season, Australia fell in love with the 11 residents of a retirement village and the 10 preschoolers who were brought together for daily activities. The aim, to see if uniting young and old could improve the health and happiness of older adults. This season we’ve flipped the tables, when a new group of older Australians join a bunch of lively 4-year-olds, in a purpose-built pre-school, for fun, games, learning and friendship.

Unlike last season, our new group of seniors all live in their own homes, but we find that loneliness and isolation don’t just effect those living in aged care. Like the 1.6 million Australians over the age of 65, who live alone at home, our participants find themselves at the crossroads of wanting to live in their own homes but needing help to remain healthy and happy enough to stay there.

With the care of older Australians more important than ever, could this simple idea help older people live a more fulfilling life?

The goal for Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds , season 2, is to switch the experiment in the name of early intervention, by taking aging adults into the kids’ domain, to reconnect them to their community to help them maintain their independence. With more opportunities for home visits, excursions and community building, this radical early intervention idea will build on the success of the original series.

Will our experiment find a way to keep the elderly living in their own homes independently while finding a greater connection to their local communities in the process? And can we relieve the stress on Australia’s aged care system by getting in early? Only time will tell.

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Latest version coming to 2022

OLD PEOPLE’S HOME FOR TEENAGERS

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The success of Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds has paved the way for a bunch of bigger kids to join a bold ground-breaking experiment as Old People’s Home For Teenagers debuts.

Presumed polar-opposites, older people and teens in fact have much in common. Both can experience loneliness and isolation impacting their health and wellbeing.

Having seen how intergenerational care can impact the health and happiness of older Australians, we will witness a new perspective, and test if casting aside pre-conceived notions and spending quality time together can help both teenagers and older Australians live more fulfilling lives.

Can sharing seemingly everyday tasks from cooking to technology build the connection needed to improve the overall wellbeing, confidence and mood of both age groups?

There will be frustrations and short fuses. Will the teens gain tools for resilience? Will self-esteem rise as feelings of loneliness fall?

This incredible social experiment is not to be missed.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

An Endemol Shine Australia production made in association with the ABC.

Series Producer Brooke Hulsman. Executive Producer Debbie Cuell. ABC Manager of Factual Julie Hanna. Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.

“Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds S2” - Endemol Shine Australia - Social Issues. Season Two of the award-winning series earned the Grand Award and showcased early implementation of intergenerational play by taking aging adults into the domain of 4-year-olds.

“Myself and the incredible team behind the second series of “Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds” (Series 2) are so grateful and honoured to be selected in the New York Festivals as Grand winner in the documentary social issues category. As Australian filmmakers we are so proud that for a second time, the series has been acknowledged at a global level, and also that we’ve shown the rest of the world how a group of 4 year olds can improve the lives of our elderly, hopefully this message will resonate beyond our shores," said Debbie Cuell, executive producer, Endemol Shine Australia.

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