Jeff Pope’s Etta Pictures at ITV Studios has landed a commission from ITV for a scripted series about how social media is impacting children, telling the stories of families campaigning for online safety.
The drama is inspired by the work of Ellen Roome, who believes the death of her 14-year-old son was linked to harmful social media. Roome serves as a consultant, working with Pope and the team at Etta throughout the writing process. The series is produced in association with Featuristic Films.
“Ellen’s story is tragic and inspiring in equal measure,” Pope said. “I think we are at a point in history when every parent is starting to ask questions about social media and what it is doing to our children. It’s appalling that parents aren’t given the information they need in the quest for answers about what has happened to their children.”
Polly Hill, director of drama at ITV, noted, “This is an incredibly important story for us to tell of a
mother who has tragically lost her son and is fighting the social media giants for answers. It’s an urgent campaigning story, and the most challenging issue we all face is how to keep our children safe on social media.”
