Up documentary series to get a grand finale with Asif Kapadia's 70 Up

Regularly voted as one of the most influential British TV programs ever, Up has not always been popular among its 14 subjects—although only one, Charles Furneaux (who, ironically, grew up to be a documentarian himself) outright bailed on the project. (Two others have since died, with 70 Up expected to check in with their families.) Originally focused largely on class, the Up movies have become a fascinating time capsule of people’s hopes and dreams, painting pictures of the lives of perfectly normal Brits (except for the part where an enormous number of people watch them talk about their lives every seven years, of course). 

Kapadia, for his part, called the series “the ultimate portrait of human life,” and labeled it his favorite documentary of all time. The director is a regular on the documentary scene (with occasional dips into fiction), with recent efforts including 2019’s Diego Maradona and 2024’s Federer: Twelve Final Days. And while Kapadia’s mostly known for working from archival footage, his familiarity with Apted’s work should make him a fascinating choice to finish the series up; if nothing else, it’ll certainly be interesting to see what Up looks like when it’s being filmed by someone 15 years younger than its participants, rather than the other way around.