Channel 4's new series Bride and Prejudice follows six engaged couples facing homophobia and racism from their own families
The diversity on Channel 4 is serving as an epitome of new TV culture and its latest offering, as impressive as it may seem, should not be all that surprising. Well, but it is.
On May 18, the channel announced its upcoming new series Bride and Prejudice, which will follow six couples across five episodes as they confront conflict within their own families. Explained as an exploration of what happens when "love comes up against a prejudice so strong that it threatens to tear relationships apart." This may serve as a much-needed sobering antidote today to those who are swamped with the sweetness of the royal wedding.
The five-part reality series will follow couples, each fighting against at least one member of the family, who disapproves of their impending marriage, because of issues such as race, religion, sexual identity, class or an age gap.
The series will lead to their wedding day while they attempt to win their families’ support for their relationships and address those who disapprove of the match. This is where the twist comes, only on the day of the wedding will audiences find out whether or not their loved ones have been won over and put aside their disapproval. Which means couples wait to make their vows until they learn whether their loved ones have decided to celebrate with them or stay away.
Channel 4's head of entertainment, Lucy Leveugle, stated that Bride and Prejudice will be a modern take on "Romeo and Juliet" and the story of "star-crossed lovers and their families."
“Bride and Prejudice looks at issues ripe and relevant in Britain today through the prism of Romeo and Juliet stories of star-crossed lovers and their families,” said Leveugle, in a statement. “The series is as much about the underlying bonds within these families as the conflict that these issues raise.”
Executive producer, Duncan Coates added that the show will not only be "timely" but "warm, witty and searingly honest."
The U.S. version debuted in 2016 and was produced by Kinetic Content. In the UK, the show is expected to air on Channel 4 later this year.