The programme will mark 50 years since the group won the Eurovision Song Contest.
With 2024 marking the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s iconic victory at Eurovision and the contest once again taking place in Sweden, BBC One has announced the commission of documentary ‘ABBA: Against The Odds’.
Tom Young, Head of Indie Partnerships, Factual at BBC Studios:
“ABBA are a truly international phenomenon, and we are honoured to be working with Rogan Productions on what will be another global hit with our clients, following on from highly successful collaboration on Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, both a commercial and critical hit.”
The documentary will be produced by multi-award winning documentary makers Rogan Productions (Freddie Mercury: The Final Act), directed by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winner James Rogan and distributed worldwide by BBC Studios.
Telling the epic story of ABBA’s greatest period of musical achievement framed between the albums ‘Arrival’ (1976) and ‘Super Trooper’ (1980), this is the story of ABBA’s deeply personal and perilous journey through the band’s most transformative years and rise to global fame. In the UK the film will be shown on BBC One and iPlayer this May.
ABBA: Against The Odds will see a host of European broadcasters including BBC, ARD/WDR, France Télévisions, SVT and DR unite and come together to fund the feature film detailing the incredible story of the renowned group featuring rediscovered archive, exclusive never-before-seen stills and previously unheard stories. The film is set to be a roller-coaster journey of love, struggle, fame and – of course – epic songs.
The documentary features unprecedented access to SVT (Swedish public television) archives including rare footage that captures the band’s rise to fame and the intense negativity they faced at home. With privileged insights from sources close to the band complete with exclusive photographic memories, rare footage, deleted and unreleased audio, unique band archive from behind the Iron Curtain and several exclusive access interviews that have either never aired or were thought lost since transmission; this is the untold story of ABBA.
Michael Jochnowitz, BBC Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment & Events:
“ABBA: Against All Odds is a truly special documentary, formed by a unique collaboration of broadcasters about one of the world’s greatest ever bands…And if you thought you knew the story behind the music, think again.”
