Sky Documentaries is to show Barbie Uncovered, a new Sky Original exploring the origin story behind the brand.
The film reveals the untold story of Ruth Handler and Jack Ryan and the history of the duo who made Barbie rise to fame, one who built the largest toy company in the world, Mattel, from nothing, and the other, a rocket scientist who made Barbie “twist and turn”. The film shows the enormous financial rewards for the pair and “a surprising story of betrayal, sex, drugs and excessive partying.”
The film includes in-depth interviews with Ann Ryan (Jack’s daughter), Annie Constantinesco (Former employee and lover),Tom Kalinske (Former CEO of Mattel), Mattel employees, friends of Jack and Ruth and period biographers. The documentary turns to the hold Barbie has on society today, told by Bettinna Dorfmann (the world’s largest Barbie doll collector), Sandi Grayson (World record holding Barbie Auctioneer) and Marcela Iglesias (famous human barbie doll).
Jack Oliver, Head of Co-Productions at Sky said: “I was instantly intrigued to learn that Barbie’s biographical story was loaded with jealousy, betrayal, sex, drugs and rock n’roll. Barbie survived all that to become one of the most iconic success stories of the 20th Century. Working with Eddie Hutton Mills and the teams at Two Rivers and Abacus Media Rights to bring this documentary to life has been pleasure, we know audiences will love it and we’re delighted to be launching the true story behind Barbie’s squeaky-clean image on Sky Documentaries.”
Alan Clements, Producer at Two Rivers said: “Everyone at Two Rivers loves a great story, and stories don’t come much bigger than Barbie. It has been a real pleasure making our first Sky Documentary with Jack and his team and we hope the Sky audience are as gripped by this extraordinary tale as much as we were”.
Barbie: Uncovered has been commissioned for Sky Documentaries by Zai Bennett, Sky’s Managing Director of Content and Jack Oliver, Head of Co-Productions. The Sky Original is produced by Two Rivers and co-produced by RW Productions. The producers are Alan Clements and Ross Wilson, the director is Eddie Hutton-Mills. Abacus Media Rights handle the distribution rights and facilitated the deal with Sky.
Jon Creamer
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