
Beth foot forward
Writer and director Uzo Oleh takes DQ into the making of Beth, Channel 4’s first digital original drama commissioned for YouTube and its own linear and streaming channels, and outlines how he hopes the show can change audience perceptions of the meaning of ‘digital content.’
As an increasing number of viewers turn to YouTube over traditional TV networks, UK broadcaster Channel 4 is intent on staying in the game. Not content with simply posting trailers on the Google-owned video platform, it has uploaded full episodes of its dramas and comedies, curated themed playlists and even launched Channel 4.0, a dedicated YouTube-first digital brand featuring factual programming and entertainment shows.
The broadcaster has now gone one step further with its first original digital drama in the shape of Beth, which debuted this month simultaneously across YouTube and Channel 4’s linear network and streamer.

A shortform miniseries comprising three 15-minute episodes, it tells the story of Joe (Nicholas Pinnock) and Molly (Abbey Lee), a couple who seem to have it all. The only thing missing is a child – so when Molly falls pregnant after years of false hope, it feels like a miracle. But when their baby daughter Imogen is born, she’s Caucasian – with no resemblance to Joe, who is black. As the couple’s life is thrown into turmoil, Joe begins to unravel a shocking truth that could have ramifications not just for them but potentially the world.
A family and relationship drama with a science-fiction twist, the drama is written and directed by Uzo Oleh, who has stepped into filmmaking over the past few years after establishing himself as a photographer.
His shift to the screen took off after he answered an advert calling for entries to a short film competition at the Raindance Film Festival and subsequently won the contest with his one-minute effort Dan?. His follow-up, Edicus, then attracted backers including Luther star Idris Elba and toured the festival circuit.
Oleh similarly landed the groundbreaking Channel 4 slot when he answered another pitching call, presenting the story of a family in crisis from the father’s perspective.
“It’s been really interesting, man, it’s been quite enjoyable,” he tells DQ after seeing Beth released to audiences. “This is the most creatively exposed I’ve ever been before. It’s funny, so many people see it and so many people have different views and different opinions. Normally you don’t get this kind of feedback on photography.”
The story, he says, came from his fascination with ideas that are “just about plausible” from a biological point of view. In particular, his imagination was piqued by an article he read about parthenogenesis – a form of asexual reproduction that occurs in some animals.
“Then one day I had this idea about a family who had experienced something so unbelievable, and what position would it put you in emotionally and psychologically, especially if you have a really close connection to your loved one? If you love her, you want to believe it, but it’s just unbelievable. How do you explore all othat stuff?” he says.

“Then it was like, ‘Well, can you tell the story from the father’s perspective? Can you tell it from the mother’s perspective, or, say, the grandmother’s perspective?’ Beth is from the father’s perspective.”
With a total runtime of 35 minutes – the show also aired in one block on C4’s linear channel – Beth was always designed to be a short series. That played into Oleh’s interest in character development, with the filmmaker using symbolism to condense the audience’s understanding of Joe and Molly.
“So you go, ‘If he’s going to do that, he’s that type of person. If she’s going to say that, she’s that type of person, and if he responds like that, OK, he’s that type of person.’ That for me is the way of getting all of that into that short period of time, which is great. It was a challenge to be as economical as possible.”
Oleh is proud of the show’s low amount of dialogue, putting an emphasis on performance and action to tell the story. He also leaves the audience to use their own imagination, in particular when Molly and Joe break up between episodes without any explanation or reflection on what might have happened in the intervening time.
“It’s that thing where you imagine the monster is worse than the monster,” Oleh notes. “How did they break up? Why did they break up? What were those conversations about? Then you see him with his daughter, and she goes, ‘So am I going to your house?’ Little things tell us so much.”

Throughout the series, the writer and director keeps the audience perspective with Joe – following his viewpoint even when he might not understand the true nature of the unfolding events.
“Unfortunately for him, he sees what he wants to see. We all do that in life,” Oleh says. “You can literally miss all of the clues, all of the signs. But we see what we want to see, and we believe what we want to believe. When you’re under that amount of stress and obsession, it’s very hard to point in a different direction.”
Though Beth was commissioned with YouTube in mind, Oleh says he didn’t develop the series thinking about the kinds of “quick, snappy” shortform content usually associated with the platform. “You can learn how to tango dance, how to surf, how to perfect your crème brûlée, or you could just look at cats,” he says. “My theory is, if TikTok exists, you might as well leave TikTok for people who want to get that dopamine hit.”
With Beth, he saw an opportunity to disassociate digital content with the idea of “throwaway” and create something cinematic that works regardless of the screen on which it’s being watched. “That, for me, is really important; that when you go to watch films or tell stories, you know you can really see something cinematic on something that’s a digital platform. It’s important for us because the expectation of what you’re going to see can also cloud what you see. It’s really important to broaden the idea of what ‘digital’ means.”
Channel 4 provided constant support through the making of Beth, which is produced by Dark Pictures, and backed Oleh’s ambition to tell a story that didn’t fit into traditional genre boundaries. “Kudos to them,” he says. “They let us tell the story, which really works if you just take a step back and you don’t have expectations.” That means leaning away from the expectation of a full-on sci-fi story, as that aspect of Beth only emerges in its final stages.

With just a seven-day filming schedule focused around Kilburn in North London, Oleh partnered with a creative team featuring composer Thomas Farnon (Mammals) and DOP Sergio Delgado (Toxic Town), who helped to create the show’s “beautiful, engaging” look with 1970s anamorphic camera lenses.
Star Pinnock, meanwhile, is an old friend of Oleh, but Beth marked the first time they had worked together creatively. “It was just amazing, man, there’s nothing like it,” he says. “Nicholas says stuff like, ‘I’m here to serve you. If you’re happy, I’m happy.’ There was a moment when he pulled me aside and was like, ‘I’m not sure that my character would do this,’ and I was so excited he had the confidence and the trust to come to me and express how he really felt about something in the middle of everything cracking on, and it made it better.”
In the weeks since Beth’s release, Oleh says he’s now enjoying seeing viewers’ reactions to the story – and wondering if they’ll work out why it’s called Beth. The answer lies in the character’s names, while the familiar flip clocks that appear through the drama each offer their own Easter eggs with the times they display.
“There are so many layers. That’s my thing; I’m really enjoying the people that are leaning into seeing what more it has to offer, because there are actually lots of codes in there as well,” he says. “If you miss it, you’ve done the Joe thing, which is he’s gone top line, and he’s presumed a bunch of things. That’s weirdly the same with Beth. You can just watch it and go, ‘Oh, it’s about a thing, right?’ But actually, it’s so much deeper than that, and that’s exactly what happens in the story. So I’m really enjoying people who’ve come back to me and are like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just realised why it’s all Beth.’ That’s been the best of it.”
Oleh, who is represented by Casarotto-Ramsay, is now writing another story – one he describes as “very Beth-like” with multiple layers and lots of symbolism – as he looks to build on the early successes in his filmmaking career.
“I’m really enjoying that. I’m enjoying the process,” he says. “It’s quite an emotional process, writing, [especially] for me because I’m not a good actor, so I just imagine it. It’s quite emotionally expensive, but it’s really enjoyable.”
Like Beth? Watch this! Suggested by AI, selected by DQ
Black Mirror: Charlie Brooker’s anthology series explores the dark and often dystopian side of technology and human relationships, with each episode telling a standalone story designed to challenge viewers’ perceptions of reality and morality.
The One: A Netflix drama based on John Marrs’ novel, set in a world where people can find their perfect romantic match based on a revolutionary DNA test.
Years & Years: Russell T Davies’ family saga is set in a near-future UK, blending domestic drama with speculative political and technological developments that reshape society.
tagged in: Beth, Channel 4, Dark Pictures, Uzo Oleh