Ukrainian filmmaker and showrunner Yuriy Dvizhon has launched a new production label that is producing a sex-education series on streamer MEGOGO, with plans to roll the format out internationally.
Dvizhon Studios launches with The First Time, a five-part series in development over the last two and a half years with the Olena Pinchuk Foundation, which, with the support of British luxury brand Aspinal of London, has been working to develop a culture of informed conversations around sexuality in Ukraine.
The series streams on MEGOGO and will have a regular linear run on MEGOGO MUSIC, with extended podcast editions of the celebrity conversations available across major audio platforms. The First Time features a puppet—created with Talk to the Hand and voiced by Anna Lev, the official Ukrainian voice of Bart Simpson—and social media influencer TUMAZAR as they engage in candid conversations with a range of celebrity guests.
A second season will receive funding through Tysiachovesna, Ukraine’s national cultural support initiative.
Dvizhon Studios is also developing a broader slate of entertainment, scripted and doc projects.
“I was directing much of this show from London while our team in Kyiv kept production moving, through blackouts and repeated Russian missile and drone attacks,” Dvizhon said. “It was a strange contrast: we were making a show about how people connect, while Ukraine was living through a full-scale war. I’m proud that what started as a much smaller educational idea grew into a full-scale entertainment format with its own voice, visual world and characters.”
Maria Panchenko, content director at MEGOGO, added. “It is important for us to support initiatives that have a genuine social impact. The First Time offers a unique combination of entertainment and an important educational subject. We are pleased to give our audience the exclusive opportunity to be the first to watch a show that creates a safe space for open conversations about healthy relationships and self-acceptance.”
