Maverick Television
Maverick Television was a British-American television production company known for factual, factual-entertainment, reality and multiplatform programming.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Maverick Television was a television and media production company operating principally in the United Kingdom and, for a period, the United States. Its work concentrated on factual and factual-entertainment programming, including medical and health series, observational documentaries, makeover formats, reality television and children’s factual entertainment. The company became particularly associated with accessible programming that combined specialist or sensitive subjects with popular television formats. Among its best-known British programmes were Embarrassing Bodies, a Channel 4 medical reality series in which doctors addressed conditions and concerns that viewers might otherwise find difficult to discuss; 10 Years Younger and How to Look Good Naked, makeover and self-image formats; Operation Ouch!, a CBBC factual-entertainment programme about the human body presented by doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken; The Model Agency, an observational series about Premier Model Management; and Growing Up Down’s, a BBC Three documentary following young adults with Down syndrome as they prepared a touring production of Hamlet. Maverick also produced or participated in international reality and factual projects, including Chrisley Knows Best for the USA Network and work connected with Born This Way. A distinctive part of Maverick’s identity was its emphasis on multiplatform production. Rather than treating television as a self-contained product, the company developed companion websites, applications, social-media experiences, online video channels and interactive projects around its programmes. The Embarrassing Bodies digital service provided health information, video and interactive tools and became one of the company’s most visible online initiatives. Its health-related applications included My HealthChecker, My MoleChecker, My SelfChecker, My RiskChecker and My MindChecker. Maverick also worked with Channel 4, Cancer Research UK, Zooniverse and Chunk Digital on Reverse the Odds, a game that enabled players to help classify cancer imagery while progressing through a puzzle-based narrative. The company’s digital work extended beyond health. It developed interactive and educational material connected with A Field in England, supported social-media participation around the comedy panel show Was It Something I Said?, and created a transmedia project associated with the opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. It also developed YouTube-oriented brands such as The You Generation, Daily Mix and Body Talk. This focus contributed to recognition from organisations including BAFTA, the International Emmys, the Royal Television Society, Broadcast Digital and the British Interactive Media Association. All3Media acquired Maverick Television in June 2007, making it part of the independent production group’s portfolio. In 2012, Maverick expanded into the United States through Maverick Television USA, based in Los Angeles, with the aim of producing programmes and adapting the company’s formats for the American market. The American operation helped deliver Chrisley Knows Best, one of Maverick’s most prominent US projects. The British structure changed in 2022, when the London production operation was folded into Objective Media Group. A new label, 141 Productions, was established through Objective Media Group’s Scottish operation and took over the London base, while Maverick’s US arm continued separately for a time. In 2024, All3Media closed the American operation and retired the Maverick Television name in the United States. The later integration of All3Media into Banijay’s corporate structure further removed Maverick from independent operation as a standalone production brand.
History
Maverick Television developed as a British independent production company focused on factual and factual-entertainment programming. Its portfolio covered medical television, lifestyle and makeover formats, observational documentaries, children’s factual programming and reality series. The company’s approach generally paired recognisable television formats with subjects that could be socially sensitive or specialist, helping make areas such as personal health, disability, appearance and family life suitable for broad audiences. The company’s best-known early profile came from programmes such as Embarrassing Bodies, 10 Years Younger and How to Look Good Naked. Embarrassing Bodies in particular became a major platform for medical advice and public discussion of conditions that viewers might regard as embarrassing. The format used doctors and patient stories to combine practical information with reality television. Maverick also produced documentaries with a strong observational or human-interest element. Growing Up Down’s followed a theatre group of young adults with Down syndrome as they prepared a touring production of Hamlet, while The Model Agency examined the work of Premier Model Management and the pressures surrounding the modelling business. Maverick was acquired by All3Media on 21 June 2007. The acquisition made it part of a larger independent production group and provided a corporate framework for expanding its programme activity and international reach. The company retained a distinct identity within the group and continued to work across British broadcasters, including Channel 4, BBC channels and CBBC. A major feature of Maverick’s development was its investment in multiplatform production. Under the leadership of its multiplatform team, the company created websites, applications, online video, games and social-media experiences designed to complement television programmes rather than simply repeat them. Embarrassing Bodies Online combined health information, networked video, games and interactive guides. The company also released a group of health-checking applications linked to the programme, including tools focused on general health, skin marks, self-assessment, risk and mental wellbeing. Maverick’s digital work sometimes served an educational or public-interest function. For A Field in England, the company helped create a substantial online resource that accompanied the film’s simultaneous cinema, television, online and DVD release. The resource included additional video, production material, explanations of the filmmaking process and historical context. Reverse the Odds, made with Chunk Digital for Channel 4 and in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Zooniverse, used a free puzzle game to engage players in the classification of cancer slides. The project received awards and nominations across digital television, interactive media and advertising fields. The company also developed social and online-first formats. Was It Something I Said? grew from an online Channel 4 commission and incorporated audience participation through the Quotables website and Twitter. Maverick created a parallel social-media narrative for the Sky Arts project Mahagonny. Its online video work included The You Generation, a global talent-search project fronted by Simon Cowell, as well as Daily Mix and Body Talk, which targeted areas such as beauty, health, fitness, relationships, food and parenting. In April 2012, Maverick expanded into the United States by launching Maverick Television USA in Los Angeles. The US division was intended to produce local programming and adapt Maverick formats for American audiences. The company’s US activities included Chrisley Knows Best, a reality series centred on Todd Chrisley and his family. The programme became one of Maverick’s most prominent American credits, although it ended after the convictions and imprisonment of its principal subjects for financial crimes. The structure of the business changed substantially in 2022. All3Media moved the London-based British production operation into Objective Media Group. A new label, 141 Productions, was created through Objective Media Group Scotland in Glasgow, with Maverick creative director Hannah Brownhill and Objective Media Group Scotland executive Toby Stevens associated with its leadership. Maverick Television USA remained separate for a limited period. In 2024, All3Media closed the American operation and retired the Maverick Television name there. The British activities had already been absorbed into the Objective structure, leaving Maverick no longer operating as a standalone production company. The subsequent merger of All3Media with Banijay further integrated the former Maverick assets into the Banijay UK corporate environment.
- 2024
US operation closes
[1]Maverick Television USA was closed and the Maverick Television name was retired in the American market.
- 2022
UK production operation transferred to Objective Media Group
[1]All3Media reorganised Maverick’s British production activities within Objective Media Group and established the 141 Productions label.
- 2015
Reverse the Odds wins an International Digital Emmy
[1]Reverse the Odds won the Digital Program: Children & Young People category at the International Digital Emmys.
- 2014
Reverse the Odds launches
[1]The company released the cancer-research puzzle game Reverse the Odds in partnership with Channel 4, Cancer Research UK, Zooniverse and Chunk Digital.
- 2013
A Field in England multiplatform release
[1]Maverick supported a simultaneous cinema, television, online and DVD release with an extensive digital masterclass and educational resource.
- 2012
Maverick Television USA launches
[1]The company established an American production division in Los Angeles.
- 2011
The Model Agency broadcasts
[1]Channel 4 broadcast The Model Agency, an observational documentary series about Premier Model Management.
- 2007
All3Media acquisition
[1]All3Media acquired Maverick Television, making it a subsidiary of the independent production group.
Products and positioning
A factual and factual-entertainment producer that combined accessible television storytelling with medical, social and lifestyle subjects, while treating websites, apps, games and social platforms as integral parts of programme development.
Medical reality television
Embarrassing Bodies
A Channel 4 medical reality series in which doctors meet people seeking help for intimate, unusual or otherwise difficult-to-discuss health concerns. The programme combines consultations, treatment and public-health explanation, using personal stories to reduce stigma and encourage viewers to seek appropriate medical advice.
Children’s factual entertainment
Operation Ouch!
A CBBC factual-entertainment programme about the human body, presented by identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken. It uses demonstrations, experiments and accessible explanations to introduce younger audiences to anatomy, illness, treatment and medical science.
Documentary · 2014
Growing Up Down’s
A BBC Three documentary following a theatre troupe of young adults with Down syndrome as they develop and tour a production of Hamlet. The film focuses on rehearsal, performance and the participants’ individual experiences while challenging narrow assumptions about disability and artistic ability.
Observational documentary · 2011
The Model Agency
A seven-part Channel 4 observational series set at Premier Model Management in London. It follows agency staff and models through scouting, career development and fashion-week preparation, while also examining the agency’s history and the pressures surrounding the modelling industry.
Reality television
Chrisley Knows Best
A US reality series following Todd Chrisley, his wife Julie and their family. Broadcast by the USA Network, it was one of Maverick Television USA’s most visible productions and helped establish the company’s American production profile. The programme was cancelled after the legal convictions of its principal subjects.
Mobile and social-impact game · 2014
Reverse the Odds
A free puzzle game developed with Chunk Digital for Channel 4 in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Zooniverse. Players analyse real cancer-slide imagery as part of the game experience, contributing classifications that can support researchers while they play.
Interactive health website
Embarrassing Bodies Online
An interactive extension of Embarrassing Bodies offering health information, video, games, applications and plain-language guides. It illustrates Maverick’s strategy of making programme subjects available through a wider digital service rather than limiting them to broadcast episodes.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2014Reverse the Odds
International
A game-based public-engagement campaign invited players to classify cancer imagery while completing a narrative puzzle game.
Outcome. The project received an International Digital Emmy and additional digital-media awards and nominations.
- 2013A Field in England Digital Masterclass
United Kingdom
Maverick developed an online educational companion to the film A Field in England, including extra footage, production documents, crew information, creative commentary and historical material.
Outcome. The project extended the film into an educational resource for aspiring filmmakers and demonstrated Maverick’s simultaneous, cross-platform release model.
- Embarrassing Bodies digital health service
United Kingdom · International online audience
Maverick developed a broad digital service around Embarrassing Bodies, including interactive health information, video, games and self-assessment applications.
Outcome. The service became one of the company’s most prominent digital projects and was recognised with a BAFTA for interactive work.
- The You Generation
Global
A YouTube-based global talent hunt fronted by Simon Cowell and featuring online creators and celebrities.
Outcome. The project positioned Maverick within emerging online talent and creator-led video formats.
Brand decisions
2024
Close Maverick Television USAStrategyBackground
After the British operation had been moved into Objective Media Group, All3Media reviewed the remaining American activities.
Action taken
All3Media shuttered Maverick Television USA and retired the Maverick Television name in the United States.
Aftermath
Maverick no longer operated as a standalone British-American production company.
2022
Reorganise the British production operationStrategyBackground
All3Media reorganised its production labels and sought to consolidate Maverick’s British activities within Objective Media Group.
Action taken
Maverick’s London-based UK production unit was transferred into Objective Media Group, with the 141 Productions label taking over the London office.
Aftermath
The Maverick UK identity ceased to function as an independent production operation, while the US arm initially remained separate.
2012
Expand into the United StatesStrategyBackground
Maverick sought to produce programming for American broadcasters and adapt its formats for the US market.
Action taken
The company launched Maverick Television USA in Los Angeles and appointed a leadership team for the new division.
Aftermath
The division produced or participated in American projects including Chrisley Knows Best.
2007
Join the All3Media groupM&ABackground
Maverick was operating as an independent production and distribution business before its acquisition.
Action taken
All3Media acquired Maverick Television for an undisclosed sum.
Aftermath
Maverick continued as a production subsidiary within All3Media’s portfolio.
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