WILD HOPE SUMMER KICKS OFF WITH A NATIONAL BROADCAST ROLL-OUT ON PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS AND ON PBS DIGITAL PLATFORMS
WILD HOPE SUMMER KICKS OFF WITH A NATIONAL BROADCAST ROLL-OUT ON PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS AND ON PBS DIGITAL PLATFORMS
THE LATEST PRODUCTION FROM OSCAR®-NOMINATED HHMI TANGLED BANK STUDIOS BRINGS THE INSPIRING DOCU-SERIES ABOUT ECO-CHANGEMAKERS DIRECTLY TO MILLIONS OF VIEWERS
June 1, 2023 – This summer HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is spreading some WILD HOPE to millions of households across the U.S. The 8-episode documentary series will be rolling out nationally on public television stations beginning in June and continuing through the summer; and broadcasting on WORLD Channel later this summer. In partnership with Nature, the full series will be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS App. WILD HOPE is produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios—a film company behind the Academy Award®-nominated documentary ALL THAT BREATHES—Part2 and Wild Elements, distributed by American Public Television and will be airing on nearly 200 public television stations including WNET in New York City, KCET in Los Angeles, WLVT in Philadelphia, KQED in San Francisco and WTTW in Chicago (check local listings for exact dates and airtimes). Learn more at @WildHopeTV on Instagram and www.WildHope.TV.
WILD HOPE highlights global stories of intrepid changemakers who are restoring and protecting our planet through hyper-local initiatives that generate measurable progress. Whether tapping oysters to clean New York Harbor, or growing coffee to save Mozambican rainforests, the series reveals how bold interventions and unexpected alliances can spark powerful change. With compelling storytelling, unforgettable characters and breathtaking cinematography, WILD HOPE is an antidote to this era of ecological anxiety.
“Despite all of the gloomy headlines about the future of the planet, there is time to reverse the path we are on,” said Sean B. Carroll, biologist and Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. “Nature is incredibly resilient, if given a chance. And the stories in WILD HOPE show how everyday folks are creating positive changes in their own communities. We are thrilled that millions of viewers can experience a WILD HOPE summer, learn more about restoring biodiversity, and see how the losses of wild populations and habitats can be reversed while benefiting people at the same time.”
While climate change is a global problem that requires global solutions, biodiversity loss is local. WILD HOPE highlights how individuals from diverse backgrounds—scientists, farmers, fishers, landowners, conservationists and activists among them—working toward a common goal can unleash a powerful ecological comeback. This summer’s 8-episode release also marks the launch of WildHope.tv as a global storytelling hub. More stories of WILD HOPE will be rolling out beginning this fall.
Episode descriptions:
Episode 1: The Big Oyster
New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.
Episode 2: Beaver Fever
The surprise return of beavers to the British countryside is boosting biodiversity, reducing storm-induced flooding, and restoring wilderness to a highly manicured landscape. But the industrious rodents are also riling some of their human neighbors. Can the British beavers regain their former glory as powerful ecosystem engineers, or is their new home too domesticated to return to the wild?
Episode 3: Woodpecker Wars
Following a revelation that forest fires sparked by live-fire training at the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina create excellent habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, scientists and soldiers have forged an improbable alliance to safeguard the special bird. Nearby landowners too are pitching in too – setting aside suspicions and animosity to save the species.
Episode 4: Does Nature Have Rights?
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, yet its biodiversity is among the most threatened. In 2008, the country became the first in the world to enshrine the “rights of nature” in its constitution—granting wild species legal rights to exist. Today, conservationists are putting that powerful tool to the test as they battle to save biodiversity hotspots.
Episode 5: The Beautiful Undammed
A decade after the largest dam removal in history—on Washington State’s Elwha River—scientists are chronicling a story of ecological rebirth. Recovering salmon populations are transferring critical nutrients from the ocean into the forests, enriching the entire ecosystem. The Elwha’s revival is an encouraging model for the removal of larger dams in the region and around the world.
Episode 6: Coffee for Water
Decades of war and unsustainable agriculture have ravaged the rainforest atop Mozambique’s Mount Gorongosa. The devastation threatens the watershed that sustains life in nearby communities and in Gorongosa National Park. Now, park experts and local farmers are uniting to plant shade-loving coffee, which will help restore the forest and ensure a more prosperous future for humans and wildlife alike.
Episode 7: Salamander of the Gods
The axolotl—an amphibian with incredible regenerative abilities—is ubiquitous in pop culture, pet stores, science labs, yet almost extinct in the wild. Now, scientists and farmers in Mexico City are using ancient Aztec farming techniques to secure the creature’s future. Another team is partnering with salamander-breeding, cough syrup-making nuns to save a closely-related species—the achoque.
Episode 8: Canine Conservationists
Dogs are often thought of as humans’ best friends. But in Australia, they’re also allies of other species. Canine conservationists—and their sensitive noses—are sniffing out dwindling populations of koalas as the iconic marsupial’s habitat is fragmented by urbanization and wildfires. Dogs are also helping scientists eliminate invasive foxes that devastate native sea turtle populations.
About HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is a mission-driven production company that crafts exceptional films about science and nature that inspire wonder, curiosity, and hope. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the studio, a vision of biologist and author Sean B. Carroll, is uniquely positioned to shine a light on some of the most significant scientific challenges and breakthroughs of our time. Recent films include Oscar-nominated All That Breathes, the only documentary to win best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes; Emmy Award-winners The Serengeti Rules and The Farthest – Voyager In Space; Emmy-nominated Nature’s Fear Factor and My Garden of a Thousand Bees; and Peabody Award-winner Inventing Tomorrow. To extend the reach and impact of each film, the studio undertakes educational and public outreach efforts in partnership with mission-driven organizations. For more information, please visit WWW.TANGLEDBANKSTUDIOS.ORG.
About Nature
Since 1982, Nature has brought the wonders of natural history to millions of American viewers. The series has won more than 700 honors from the television industry, international wildlife film communities and environmental organizations, including 21 Emmys and three Peabody Awards. Nature content is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. The series is produced by The WNET Group.
About Part2
Part2 creates award-winning, premium television, film, digital programming, and podcasts across a range of formats and platforms. Focused on stories told through a human lens, Part2 comes to every project with a people-first/story-first approach. Our company credits include the critically acclaimed series This is Life with Lisa Ling (CNN), Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu), Take Out with Lisa Ling (HBO Max), America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston (PBS), Dark Net (Showtime), Belief with Oprah Winfrey (OWN), Chasing Life with Sanjay Gupta (CNN), Scene of the Crime (ID Discovery), The Story of Cool (MSNBC), Engineering Ground Zero (NOVA), Hard Time (NatGeo), and feature films including Get Smart with Money (Netflix), An Honest Liar and I’ll See You In My Dreams. Part2 also has projects in development and/or production with National Geographic Channel, ABC News/Hulu, Peacock, and Netflix. Since launching in 2007, Part2 has partnered with a dozen networks, delivered more than 200 hours of programming, filmed in 60 countries and earned leading awards including Emmys, IDA, Gracies, and a Sundance Jury prize.
Wild Elements
Wild Elements helps propel change on a micro and macro level. We empower individuals to make small changes on behalf of the planet through innovative content, conscious commerce, high-impact advocacy, and grantmaking to women-led projects on the frontlines of environmental change. Wild Elements is built to enable systemic change at the highest levels and individual action at the personal level, all on behalf of the planet and its people.
About American Public Television
American Public Television (APT) is the leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations. Founded in 1961, APT distributes 250 new program titles per year and more than one-third of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the U.S. APT’s diverse catalog includes prominent documentaries, performance, dramas, how-to programs, classic movies, children’s series and news and current affairs programs. Midsomer Murders, America’s Test Kitchen, AfroPoP, Rick Steves’ Europe, Pacific Heartbeat, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television, The Indian Doctor, Legacy List with Matt Paxton, Lidia’s Kitchen, Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Kitchen, Simply Ming, The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Front & Center, James Patterson’s Kid Stew and NHK Newsline are a sampling of APT’s programs, considered some of the most popular on public television. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service and distributes Create®TV — featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming — and WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science, and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.
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Press contacts:
Anna Irwin
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Renée Tsao
PR Collaborative