Planet Green Unveils its Robust Slate of Acquisitions for Fourth Quarter 2010 and Beyond
-- Discovery Communications' Network for "What's Next" Announces Acquired Series, Specials and Documentaries at MIPCOM 2010 --
October 4, 2010
(Cannes) Planet Green -- Discovery Communications' home for "what's next" -- today unveiled its slate of program acquisitions for the fourth quarter of 2010 and beyond at MIPCOM 2010. The offering includes a diverse collection of international and domestic content, including series, specials and feature-length documentaries.
"Planet Green is thrilled to present an engagingly eclectic and entirely entertaining offering of program acquisitions to our viewers over the remainder of 2010 and into next year," said Laura Michalchyshyn, president and general manager of Planet Green. "Our network team places tremendous value on the strong relationships we have developed with our content partners throughout the international production community. I look forward to seeing familiar faces as well as fostering new relationships this week at MIPCOM."
All acquired properties feature Planet Green's focus on compelling storytelling and strong characters. Highlights include the series COASTWATCH, originally from New Zealand, which follows that country's Ministry of Fisheries as it defends the natural environment from a myriad of threats. Early next year will bring the second season of the popular series CONVICTION KITCHEN, which follows celebrated French chef Marc Thuet and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, as they work to transform ex-cons into gourmet chefs. Also premiering in 2011 is the six-episode series LAST WOMAN STANDING, which follows five female athletes as they span the globe to compete in ancient sports and contests against each other-and women from remote tribes and cultures. Finally, Planet Green's topical documentary strand, REEL IMPACT, returns-leading off with the acclaimed exploration of the oil industry, HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
A full list of acquisitions can be found below:
ACQUIRED ORIGINAL SERIES:
30 DAYS
6x60
Season Premiere Monday, September 27, at 8:00 PM (ET/PT)
New Episodes Air Mondays at 8:00 PM (ET/PT)
From Morgan Spurlock, the Academy Award-nominated writer/director and star of the hit film "Supersize Me," 30 DAYS dares to ask the question, "�Do we really know what it's like to see the world through our neighbors' eyes?" Explore some of America's most pressing social issues by following the lives of ordinary people who agree to live well outside their comfort zones for 30 days.
COASTWATCH
10X30
Season Premiere Friday, October 1, at 8:00 PM (ET/PT)
COASTWATCH follows the men and women of New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries, who patrol and protect the country's precious marine environment. The task at hand is never easy-from breaking up illegal fishing to catching highly organized poaching rings with criminal networks-and no day is the same.
LAST WOMAN STANDING
6x60
Series Premiere 1Q 2011
Five female athletes take on the challenge of a lifetime-traveling the world to compete in tribal sports against each other and women from remote tribes and cultures. Following from the successful LAST MAN STANDING, the women are now having their turn. A group of Western women are sent to some of the most remote areas of the globe, living with different tribes to experience what life is like for the women who live there. The athletes must also train with the tribes and learn their ancient sporting rituals, before taking on the local women in a head-to-head competition.
CONVICTION KITCHEN
8x60
Season Two Premiere 1Q 2011
World-renowned French chef Marc Thuet and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, put their reputations on the line as they open a high-end restaurant in Vancouver staffed by ex-cons with no culinary or restaurant experience. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for these individuals to turn their lives around.
ACQUIRED SPECIALS AND DOCUMENTARY FILMS:
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
U.S. Premiere on Saturday, October 9, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
Step inside the energy capital of the world to hear the truth about oil, straight from the hearts of the Texas oilmen themselves. Today, in the midst of global warming and peak oil, the world's energy demand is skyrocketing. Aggressive strategies for securing crude oil now go to the highest bidder or the biggest bully. Hear the confessions of oilmen who work in the trenches every day, scrambling to feed America's ferocious appetite. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM is directed by Nicole Torre.
KILL IT, SKIN IT, WEAR IT
U.S. Premiere on Saturday, October 30, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
In the 1980s the fur industry was brought to its knees by the anti-fur lobby-but now, fur is back on the catwalks, in the magazines and on Main Street. Chef Merrilees Parker attempts to uncover the truth behind this remarkable fashion revival, going on a journey to discover if it's possible to source ethical fur as we source ethical food-and if it is ever really possible to wear fur without a guilty conscience. KILL IT, SKIN IT, WEAR IT is produced by RDF Television.
BIG RIVER
U.S. Premiere Saturday, November 6, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
Following up on their Peabody-winning documentary, the KING CORN boys are back. In BIG RIVER, best friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis have returned to Iowa with a new mission: to investigate the environmental impact their acre of corn has on the people and places downstream. BIG RIVER is directed by Curt Ellis.
KING CORN
Network Television Premiere Saturday, November 6, at 10:30 PM (ET/PT)
A 2008 Peabody Award winner, KING CORN follows college friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, who move to the American's heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of some genetically modified seeds and a few powerful herbicides, they grow a bumper crop of America's most productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat-and how we farm. KING CORN is directed by Aaron Woolf.
H2OIL
U.S. Television Premiere on Saturday, November 13, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
Canada's oil sands have quickly become America's biggest oil supplier'. The process of oil sands extraction uses up to four barrels of fresh water to produce only one barrel of crude oil. But water-its depletion, exploitation, privatization and contamination-is one of the most important issues currently facing us. H2OIL follows a voyage of discovery, heartbreak and politicization in the stories of those attempting to defend water in Alberta against tar sands expansion. Ultimately, this proactive film asks, what is more important, oil or water? H2OIL is directed by Shannon Walsh.
COLONY
U.S. Premiere on Saturday, December 4, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
COLONY follows the stories of several American beekeepers during 2008 and 2009 as the country's economy spiraled downward, including David Hackenberg, who first identified colony collapse disorder when he mysteriously lost eighty million bees from his Florida hives. COLONY also follows entrepreneur David Mendes as he travels across the country, renting out his bees to farmers for weeks at a time, as well as the Seppi family, newcomers to the beekeeping world, who face the collapse of their colony and the economy, but are rooted by their deep Christian faith. COLONY is directed by Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell.
HEALTH IS ON OUR PLATE
U.S. Premiere on Saturday, December 18, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
This investigative documentary shows that the main cause of the cancer epidemic is the chemical molecules that have invaded our environment and our food over the last 50 years. Retracing the way food is produced, from the farmer's field to our plates, HEALTH IS ON OUR PLATE analyzes international systems for approval of chemicals and pesticides, explains the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and shows how you can protect yourself by boosting your immune system through food. HEALTH IS ON OUR PLATE is directed by Marie Monique Robin.
About Planet Green
Planet Green is the multiplatform media destination for people looking for something new. Launched on June 4, 2008, Planet Green is following the evolving conversation about sustainability and is the entertainment brand that champions the visionaries who move our world forward in small and large ways. Planet Green and its two robust Web sites, planetgreen.com and TreeHugger.com, offer unique, insightful and inspiring content related to how we can evolve to live a better, brighter future. Planet Green's original programming, digital tools and content will entertain, educate and activate.
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