The Up Series

The Up Series is a British documentary series begun by director Paul Almond, whose first film, Seven Up!, aired on May 5, 1964 and followed fourteen British children aged seven drawn from a range of social backgrounds. Researcher Michael Apted, who had helped select the original children, directed every subsequent installment, returning to interview the same participants every seven years as they aged into adulthood and beyond. Spanning more than sixty years across nine films to date, it is widely regarded as one of the most influential works in documentary filmmaking and is credited with establishing the long-form longitudinal documentary as a format.