9 Jan 2015 6:05 PM PT
BREAKING NEWS FROM TCA: FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015
Pasadena, CA
“I’m proud of where we are after just a year and half. We’ve seen consistent growth in distribution, audience, engagement, and impact; adding nearly 10 million households, now reaching more than 47 million homes. And this year we will accelerate the network’s momentum by doubling down on our successful mission oriented programming.
At Pivot we are dedicated to moving people from audience to action; because what you watch does make a difference.”
– Kent Rees, General Manager of Pivot, at 2015 Winter TCA
PIVOT ORDERS NEW SEASON OF ECO-ADVENTURE SERIES ‘ANGRY PLANET’
All New Episodes Coming in April 2015
Participant Media’s television network, Pivot, announced today that it has ordered a new season of the popular eco-adventure series, “Angry Planet,” hosted by George Kourounis. The new episodes of “Angry Planet” will continue George’s adventures as he travels to some of the most remote places on Earth, but this season he’ll share how the changing environment is directly impacting our ever-increasing weather calamities. Season four, already in production, premieres in April of this year. The series is produced by Cineflix Media.
“’Angry Planet’ is an eco-adventure series that dives into the center of nature’s most awe-inspiring displays. We are thrilled to announce that we are giving the series a new life, with original action-packed episodes coming in April,” said Belisa Balaban, EVP of Original Programming for Pivot, at the 2015 Television Critics Association’s Winter tour. “George will be able to connect the dots between the increasing fury of the universe’s natural wonders and the changing environment we live in, in ways we’ve never seen before.”
The “Angry Planet” team doesn’t shy away from danger; it goes looking for it. Kourounis — who made headlines last year when he rappelled 1,200 feet to the mouth of an active volcano in the South Pacific — will come face-to-face with the stark effects of the Earth’s evolving climate as he travels from densely populated communities to remote outposts investigating the extreme natural conditions that are quickly becoming common place. From erupting volcanoes threatening thousands of lives in the Cabo Verde Islands, deadly wildfires raging across Australia, to Brazil’s treacherous Rio Roosevelt, “Angry Planet” explores how our changing climate is directly impacting and endangering Earth’s delicate eco-system and in turn the world’s population.
“’Angry Planet’ is about more than daredevil stunts; it’s not danger for the sake of danger. We want to learn how some of the most volatile forces of nature are created and affected by climate change,” said Kourounis. “You have to get up close to do that. The planet is going through some monumental changes and we’re happy to take Pivot viewers along for the ride as we try to figure out what those changes mean.”
“Angry Planet” is produced by Cineflix Media. Kim Bondi and Alex Bystram are amongst the executive producers for Cineflix. Peter Rowe serves as producer. Jeff Skoll and Christy Spitzer serve as executive producers for Pivot.
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PIVOT GREENLIGHTS ‘SECRET LIVES OF AMERICANS’
Pivot, Participant Media’s television network, today announced at its Television Critics Association Winter presentation a greenlight for the groundbreaking docu-series “Secret Lives of Americans.” The series, produced by MME/Filmpool USA/ All3Media America, takes an unflinching look at individuals’ lives as they expose powerful secrets to the most influential people in their lives. The series will premiere this summer.
“In an era of social media that captures only what individuals want people to see, everyday Americans will turn off their filters and unmask the secrets and issues that hold them back,” said Belisa Balaban, EVP of Original Programming for Pivot. “Through ‘Secret Lives of Americans,’ we are able to highlight a wide range of societal issues that Americans face and how they are coping with them.”
“Secret Lives of Americans” will be primarily shot by the subjects themselves, giving viewers an opportunity to experience immersive and intimate documentation, hearing firsthand about the turmoil caused by the skeletons in their closets.
As the subjects’ journeys unfold, viewers will come to understand their stories within the context of a greater social issue. Viewers will meet a single mother who struggles to feed her children each day, lifting the curtain on food insecurity in America; a young professional who shows up to work in a suit every day, but who is homeless and crippled by student loan debt. Each story will be complemented by archival, documentary and news footage that illustrates the bigger picture in present-day America behind the social issue of focus. These personal stories provide a window into serious and very real issues plaguing the country at a micro and macro level.
“Secret Lives of Americans” is produced by MME/Filmpool USA/ All3Media America. Eli Holzman, Stephen Lambert and Danny Villa serve as executive producers for MME/Filmpool USA. John Henshaw serves as co-executive producer. Jeff Skoll and Christy Spitzer serve as executive producers for Pivot.
About MME/Filmpool USA/ All3Media America
MME/Filmpool USA is the North American arm of the German-based scripted and non-scripted content powerhouse MME/Filmpool. Led by Executive Vice President Danny Villa, MME/Filmpool USA creates and produces American series in collaboration with All3Media America. The company is based in Los Angeles.
All3Media America is the Los Angeles-based production studio for All3Media, a global production and distribution group of companies headquartered in the UK. Established in December 2012, All3Media America develops and produces a wide range of original scripted and non-scripted programming specifically for the US market as well as serving as the domestic production base for the group’s international formats and the group companies’ US development. All3Media America companies include Bentley, Company Pictures, ID-TV, Lime, Maverick, MME, North One, Objective, South Pacific Pictures, Studio Lambert and Zoo Productions. The company currently has series in production or development with a large number of broadcasts and cable networks, including the Emmy Award®-winning Undercover Boss for CBS. All3Media America’s formats and finished programs are distributed internationally by All3Media International. All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.
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PIVOT ANNOUNCES PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT FROM CHUCK MARTIN, BRIAN KNAPPENBERGER AND CHRIS KLUWE
At the 2015 Winter TCA press tour today, Participant Media’s Pivot unveiled three productions in development including: “Shrink” (working title), a 30-minute scripted comedy based on the New York Television Festival award-winning selection being written for Pivot by Chuck Martin (“Arrested Development”), Ted Tremper (“Break-ups: The Series”) and Tim Baltz (“Veep”) and produced by Jean Doumanian and Patrick Daly for Jean Doumanian Productions; a 30-minute untitled investigative sports series with former NFL star Chris Kluwe and produced by T Group Productions; and an untitled news magazine series with award-winning documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger (Internet’s Own Boy).
The announcements were made today by Belisa Balaban, head of Original Programming for Pivot. “As we continue our mission to produce entertainment that showcases unique stories that inspire those watching to learn more and take action, we’re excited to be in development on projects that do just that with Chuck Martin, Brian Knappenberger, and Chris Kluwe.”
Pivot, which launched in 2013, focuses on socially relevant entertainment that engages audiences who are interested in making a difference. Over the past year, through its critically acclaimed programming, Pivot has addressed issues ranging from environmental sustainability (“Human Resources”), arts education (“Freestyle Love Supreme”), mental health (“Please Like Me”), and economic opportunity (“Welcome to Fairfax”).
Pivot announced the following in development:
SCRIPTED
“Shrink” (working title)
Writer/Executive Producer: Chuck Martin; Writer/Producers: Ted Tremper and Tim Baltz; Executive Producers: Jean Doumanian and Patrick Daly/Jean Doumanian Productions
(:30 Comedy)
“Shrink” is based on the New York Television Festival award-winning selection (for Best Comedy Pilot and the Critics’ Choice Award) developed by Tremper and Baltz – both recently named by Complex Magazine, “Funny People Who Should Get Their Own TV Shows” – and is being written for Pivot by Chuck Martin, Tremper and Baltz. In “Shrink,” when a recent medical school graduate fails to match with a residency program, he uses his temporary medical license, Craigslist, and his parents’ garage to perform the 1,750 hours of free therapy needed to become a clinical therapist in hopes of fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a real doctor.
About Jean Doumanian Productions
An Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominated, and Tony Award® winning film, television and theatrical production company. Films include the upcoming Galveston (dir. Janus Metz and written by Nic Pizzolatto, creator of HBO’s True Detective) as well as August: Osage County (dir. John Wells, two 2014 Academy Award nominations), The Ox (dir. Sven Nykvist); The Spanish Prisoner (dir. David Mamet); All the Real Girls (dir. David Gordon Green); Wild Man Blues (dir. Barbara Kopple) and Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, Don’t Drink the Water, Mighty Aphrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, Deconstructing Harry, Celebrity, Sweet and Lowdown and Small Time Crooks. Upcoming adaptations include Blackbird by David Harrower (dir. Benedict Andrews, starring Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn); and the mini-series Galway Bay, based on the novel of the same name, to be directed by 6 time Oscar® nominee Jim Sheridan. Jean Doumanian Productions has produced over 25 theatrical productions, including the recent hits Chimerica (5 Olivier Awards including Best New Play), The Mountaintop in London (Olivier Award: Best New Play) and on Broadway starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, August: Osage County (5 Tony Awards including Best Play, 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), The Book of Mormon (4 Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, 9 Tony Awards® including Best Musical), and the 2012 revival of Death of a Salesman (2 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Play).
UNSCRIPTED
Untitled Brian Knappenberger Project
Producers: Luminant Media
(:30 News Magazine)
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger, this innovative series takes a fresh spin on the traditional news magazine format and spotlights the untold stories of people who defend human rights and call out institutional failures. With bold and in-the-moment storytelling, the show is driven by firsthand accounts from on-the-ground reporters and verité coverage of the people closest to the stories jumping right to personal accounts that reveal the big picture.
Luminant Media
Luminant Media is a Los Angeles-based production company that has created award-winning investigative documentaries and feature films for PBS, FRONTLINE/World, National Geographic, Bloomberg Television and the Discovery Channel. The company produced the films We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, which explored the online “hacktivist” non-group Anonymous and the recent film The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Untitled Chris Kluwe Project
Producers: T Group Productions
(:30 Docu-series)
An immersive, irreverent and no-holds-barred investigative series led by outspoken former NFL player Chris Kluwe that will take viewers into the space where sports and society intersect. Kluwe will use his David vs. Goliath attitude, along with a team of seasoned and opinionated journalists, to expose the social and political topics that people are talking about today, and will be talking about in the future.
About T Group Productions
Based in Santa Monica and led by Jenny Daly, T Group Productions develops, sells and produces across all genres for broadcast and cable networks, both domestically and internationally. Since its launch in 2010, T Group Productions has produced series such as Storage Hunters (truTV), Invention USA (History), Mystery Diners (Food Network), Container Wars (truTV), Private Chefs of Beverly Hills (Food Network), House of Food (MTV), Celebrities Undercover (Oxygen) and Museum Men (H2).