The British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced the line-up for BAFTA Television: The Sessions, supported by TCL, an annual event-series celebrating nominees and nominated programmes from the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and the British Academy Television Craft Awards.

Panels of nominees and industry experts will offer an insight into their craft and the nominated programmes they have worked on, including Chernobyl, Fleabag, The Virtues, Top Boy, The End of the F—ing World, Don’t F–k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer and Leaving Neverland.

BAFTA Television: The Sessions, supported by TCL, will take place online from Monday 13 July until Thursday 30 July and activity is open to industry and public guests, with tickets available now at events.bafta.org.

In previous years, The Sessions took place as a single day of in-person events and talks. This year, BAFTA is adapting the format to take place digitally, in-line with Government restrictions. BAFTA is using this new format as an opportunity to programme more events as part of The Sessions than ever-before, over a longer period of time. The series of events and social content is scheduled to take place throughout July in the lead-up to the British Academy Television Craft Awards on Friday 17 July and to the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards on Friday 31 July.

Open to the public, The Sessions allow audiences to delve into the world of their favourite shows, offering insights into the craft of television-making, with stories from behind the scenes. Guest speakers are invited to discuss their work and members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Current highlights from the event schedule include sessions featuring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Guz Khan, Jamie Demetriou, Suranne Jones, Jared Harris, Ncuti Gatwa, Samantha Morton, Stephen Graham, and Youssef Kerkour, as well as their show making colleagues from some of this year’s most nominated shows including Chernobyl (14 nominations), Fleabag (six nominations), The Virtues (five nominations) Top Boy (four nominations) and The End of The F—ing World (three nominations.)

Television Craft sessions include speakers discussing their work in Casting for Comedy and Drama, marking the addition of the Casting category to the Television Craft Awards for the first time this year. There are also sessions focussing on the nominations in hair and make-up, editing, and documentary.

Kam Kandola Flynn, Senior Manager of BAFTA’s Television Programme, said: “We are excited to be hosting The Sessions virtually this year for the first time, allowing us to deliver a larger programme of events than ever before to celebrate and showcase some of our Television and Television Craft nominees. It is a great opportunity to hear first-hand from the creative minds who make the TV people love, on screen talent and behind-the-scenes teams, in a series of online events throughout July.

“TV has played an important and joyful role in entertaining, informing and connecting the nation during these last few months and we are excited to bring this ambitious digital programme to TV fans, industry professionals and the creative talent we support. A huge thanks to all the talent who have agreed so generously to give us their time and expertise to make this series happen. Congratulations to all our nominees!”

The event schedule is listed below, with more activity to be announced. Tickets are available now from events.bafta.org.

BAFTA TELEVISION: THE SESSIONS 2020 Event Schedule:

TV Sessions: The Making of Chernobyl

Monday 13th July

17:00 -18:15

The gripping and ambitious mini-series flawlessly depicted Soviet Russia and the events surrounding the worst nuclear accident in history. Chernobyl kept us on the edge of our seats and picked-up 14 nominations in the process. Hear from the team who brought it to our screens.

Speakers:

Craig Mazin (Writer: Drama and Mini-Series)

Johan Renck (Director: Fiction and Mini-Series)

Jared Harris (Leading Actor)

Jane Featherstone (Executive Producer, nominated for Mini-Series)

 

TV Sessions: Creating the Visual World of Chernobyl

Tuesday 14th July

13:00 – 14:15

Focusing on Chernobyl’s technical craft nominations in costume design, hair and make-up, photography and lighting and production design, this session invites key practitioners whose efforts in shaping the visual style of Chernobyl have led the compelling drama to numerous nominations.

Speakers:

Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Costume Design)

Daniel Parker & Barrie Gower (Hair and make-up)

Jakob Ihre (Production Design)

Luke Hukk and Claire Levinson-Gendler (Production Design)

 

TV Sessions: The Making of Fleabag

Tues 14th July

17:00-18:15

Capturing (and breaking) the hearts of the nation, and landing 6 nominations in the process, series 2 of Fleabag was the comedy sensation that everyone was talking about. Hear from the team who brought us those perfectly flawed characters.

Speakers:

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Writer: Comedy and Female Performance in a Comedy Programme)

Sian Clifford (Actor: Female Performance in a Comedy Programme)

Harry Bradbeer (Director Fiction and Scripted Comedy Programme)

Gary Dollner (Editor: Fiction)

Sarah Hammond (Executive producer – Scripted Comedy Programme)

 

TV Sessions: The Craft of Casting for comedy and drama

Weds 15th July

13:00 – 14:00

In its first year of recognition as an award’s category, this will be a unique opportunity to explore the craft and collaborative process of scripted casting with some of this year’s nominees.

Speakers:

Lauren Evans (Sex Education)

Nina Gold & Robert Stern (Chernobyl)

Yoko Narahashi, Shaheen Baig & Layla Merrick-Wolf (Giri/Haji)

 

TV Sessions: The Craft of Editing comedy and drama

Weds 15th July

17:00 – 18:15

A unique chance to hear from this year’s Editing nominees as they discuss their nominated work – spanning comedy and drama.

Speakers:

Dan Crinnion (Killing Eve)

Gary Dollner (Fleabag)

Simon Smith and Jinx Godfrey (Chernobyl)

Elen Pierce Lewis (Giri/Haji)
 

TV Sessions: The Craft of Make-up and Hair design

Thurs 16th July

13:00 – 14:15

A unique opportunity to hear from this year’s nominees in hair and make-up design as they discuss their nominated work.

Speakers:

Daniel Parker and Barrie Gower (Chernobyl)

Kristin Chalmers (Catherine The Great)

Inma Azorin (The Trial of Christine Keeler)

Kirstin Chalmers (Catherine the Great)

Loz Schiavo (Peaky Blinders)

 

TV Sessions: The Making of The Virtues

Thurs 16th July

17:00 – 18:15

At turns disturbing, emotionally raw and full of heart, join the writers, director, producers and performers in discussing The Virtues – a series that claims five nominations this year for its gripping meditation on trauma and redemption.

Speakers:

Shane Meadows (Writer: Drama; Director: Fiction; and Mini-Series)

Jack Thorne (Writer: Drama; and Mini-Series)

Stephen Graham (Leading Actor)

Helen Behan (Supporting Actress)

Nickie Salt (Producer – Mini-Series)

Mark Herbert (Producer – Mini-Series)

 

TV Sessions: The Making of: Top Boy

Friday 17th July

13:00 – 14:00

Garnering two nominations for its nuanced and tension-filled portrayal of life in an East London housing estate, this session explores the creative process behind the series— bolstered by a host of incredible up-and-coming UK talent behind and in front of the camera.

Speakers:

Aniel Karia (Breakthrough Talent)

Joe Anderson (Photography Lighting: Fiction)

Jasmine Jobson (Supporting Actress)

 

TV Sessions: The Making of: The End of the F—ing World

Monday 20th July

17:00 – 18:15

Hear from the team behind the much-loved show, which earned nominations for Drama Series, Supporting Actress (Naomi Ackie) and Writer: Drama. Series 2 picks up after one of the biggest cliff-hangers in recent memory and we’ll be discussing the challenges of revisiting the distinct and complex world of James and Alyssa.

Speakers:

Alex Lawther, Actor

Jessica Barden, Actor

Naomi Ackie, Actor

Charlie Covell, writer and executive producer

Lucy Forbes, Director

Destiny Ekaragha, Director

Kharmel Cochrane, Casting Director

Dominic Buchanan, Executive Producer

Ed Macdonald, Executive Producer

 

TV Sessions: The Making of Leaving Neverland and Don’t F–k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

Tues 21st July

17:00 – 18:15

Hear from the creative teams behind two of 2019’s most talked-about documentaries. Leaving Neverland and Don’t F–k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer captivated audiences and have earned 6 nominations between them across Factual Series, Director: Factual and Editor: Factual. We’ll be discussing the filmmaking journey from finding compelling stories, to building relationships and trust with subjects, to sharing these powerful and sensitive documentaries with the world.

Speakers:

Michael Harte, Editor – Don’t F–k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

Felicity Morris, Producer – Don’t F–k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

Jules Cornell, Editor – Leaving Neverland

Dan Reed, Director – Leaving Neverland

 

Actors in Conversation: Leading Actress

Monday 27th July

17:00 – 18:15

The nominees will discuss how they approached their performances, preparation for the project and the challenges in bringing these powerful characters to our screens.

Speakers:

Samantha Morton (I Am Kirsty)

Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack)

 

Actors in Conversation: Comedy Performance

Tuesday 28th July

17:00 – 18:15

A chance to hear from this year’s comedy performance nominees who will share their tips for preparing for their roles, shaping their characters, and getting those laughs. 

Speakers:

Sian Clifford (Fleabag)

Jamie Demetriou (Stath Lets Flats)

Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education)

Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam)

Youssef Kerkour (Home)

Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen)

 

Notes to Editors:

A limited number of press tickets are available for each Session. Please contact [email protected]k to register your interest.

The full nominations for this year’s awards can be found here.

Photography is available at www.bafta.thirdlight.com 

For further information, please contact: 

Will Wood, Managing Director, Multitude Media
M: 07817 014 515
E: [email protected]

Amanda Hearn, Publicity Director – Television at Multitude Media
M: 07950 803 771
E: [email protected]