And the new six-part series has been written by the creator of Skins, Bryan Elsley.
Described as an innovative and emotional thriller, Kiss Me First tells the story of Leila, a lonely 17 year old girl who is addicted to a fictional online gaming site called Agora. While in Agora, Leila meets Tess, a cool and confident party girl who harbours a dark secret. In the real world, the two girls become friends, but after Tess disappears Leila decides to assume her friend’s identity and in doing so is quickly drawn into unravelling the mystery behind her disappearance.
The series will combine live action with computer-generated virtual world sequences to create the parallel worlds of Leila and Tess’ real life and that of their online alteregos ‘Shadowfax’ and ‘Mania’ in the virtual world of Agora.
It will also feature state of the art animation sequences evoking the world of Agora and the stories of the young people who meet clandestinely there. This virtual world alongside live action narrative will provide a platform for exploring the loneliness and isolation experienced by young people and the disparity between appearance and reality in the social media age.
Piers Wenger, Head of Drama at Channel 4, said; “This is a thrilling and truly ground-breaking series which takes an emotional look at the lives of a group of young gamers and the truth which exists behind their online life. We are thrilled to be welcoming Bryan Elsley back to E4 to lead a group of new writers and to helm this exciting new show.”
Bryan Elsley, writer and Executive Producer, added; “I'm very excited to be working with E4 again alongside Balloon, award winning Kindle Entertainment, Netflix and our brilliant animators Axis. We hope to thrill and mystify our audience on a headlong ride through emotions, intrigue and virtual reality.”
The series will be produced by Balloon– the production company co-owned by Bryan Elsley and Harry Enfield - and Kindle Entertainment for Channel 4 in association with Netflix.
Production on Kiss Me First will begin in 2016, with casting still to be announced.