To mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of Facebook, BBC Factual has greenlit Zuckerberg, a three-part documentary series that promises to present the definitive account of Mark Zuckerberg and his social media brainchild.

With access to key players, insider testimony, personal journals and rare archive, Zuckerberg (w/t, 3 x 60 min.) will tell the story of an unlikely maverick with an audacious vision, who is currently seeking to take that vision to its next level in the so-called metaverse.

Originally launched as a website that Zuckerberg designed as a teenager to help college students connect online, Facebook would go on to change the way people communicate. The Facebook of today is almost unrecognizable from Zuckerberg’s initial creation, having grown  into a tech behemoth, the world’s largest social media platform, and one of the most powerful companies on the planet.

The documentary promises a look into the mind and motivations of a person whose vision we are all now a part of, whether we want to be or not. Woven into the series is a broader look at the rise of social media, our need to build connections, and our complex relationship with the inventions that have changed human interaction.

Zuckerberg is produced by Mindhouse Productions for BBC Two and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, head of commissioning, science and natural history for the BBC, with Nancy Strang serving as executive producer.

“As the 20th anniversary of Facebook approaches, there’s never been a better time to tell the story of its founder — and to assess the seismic impact of his work on world culture,” BBC’s Bootle said in a news release.

Strang, creative director for Mindhouse, added: “[Zuckerberg] has arguably done more to transform human behavior and connectivity than any other person this century. I’m thrilled that we’ve been given this opportunity to tell the extraordinary inside story of the social media giant, and the man behind it.”

Photo by Anthony Quintano