March 10, 2023
The Production Marks the Latest in Growing Slate of Bloomberg Originals Programming Across Linear, Streaming, Online and Social Platforms
New York (March 10, 2023) – What if we could harness the power of human will and our astonishing capacity for ingenuity and innovation to resolve the environmental crisis we ourselves have created? Bloomberg Media’s newest original series, An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet, will seek to answer that big question. Hosted by Emmy nominee Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and produced by Cream Productions and Wildfire Television, the six-episode Canada-United Kingdom coproduction, launching in 2024, will showcase the stories of people around the world transforming the environment for good.
“The climate crisis impacts all of us, however what I hope this show demonstrates is that we are not doomed. Together with Bloomberg we will showcase the stories of incredible innovators, problem-solvers and dreamers from all walks of life and every corner of the world who are transforming our planet for the better, said Coster-Waldau. “We believe that tomorrow can be better and audiences will see that.”
Adding to Bloomberg’s growing slate of Bloomberg Originals programming, including Getting Warmer with Kal Penn and The Future with Hannah Fry, the groundbreaking series will immerse viewers in an exploration of humanity and its power for good as Coster-Waldau searches the globe for the people, ideas and traditions that will turn environmental angst into optimism. The show follows Coster-Waldau as he crosses continents to meet with those driving humanity to a brighter future from electric aircraft engineers in Burlington, Vermont to Nashulai Conservancy elders in Kenya and women leading sustainable Mezcal production in Mexico. He will explore key environmental issues and the people working to solve them including biodiversity, food sustainability, chemical pollution and more.
“This is our most ambitious project yet. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Nikolaj and our production partners to bring this vision to life,” said Kyle Kramer, Bloomberg’s Head of Original Programming. “Our goal in launching Bloomberg Originals is to inform, educate and inspire modern leaders across the globe through premium storytelling, and An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet epitomizes these values while taking us on an epic adventure.”
An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau joins a lineup of documentary-style productions, innovative talk shows, live events and video podcasts all under the Bloomberg Originals banner.
Bloomberg Originals programming streams on the Bloomberg app on Connected TV (CTV) devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, and Android TV and is also available via Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Amazon’s news app on Fire TV, The Roku Channel, Tubi and VIZIO WatchFree+. The programming also broadcasts during select primetime and weekend time slots on Bloomberg TV and BTV+ and streams on Bloomberg.com.
An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a Cream and Wildfire Television Production in association with Bloomberg and Bell Media and in association with Ill Kippers Aps. The series is executive produced by David Brady, Philip Clarke, Kate Harrison Karman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Derrick, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and co-executive produced by Patrick Cameron.
About Bloomberg Media
Bloomberg Media is the world’s leading multi-platform media company for business and finance, which draws on the editorial resources of more than 2,700 editorial professionals globally in more than 120 countries. Bloomberg Media is the consumer-facing media organization of Bloomberg L.P.
About Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj will next star opposite Jennifer Garner in the miniseries, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, based on Laura Dave’s NYT best-selling book. Nikolaj and his Il Kippers production company recently produced the original drama podcast series, RADIOMAN (in which he voiced the lead character, Chaz) and the film, AGAINST THE ICE (in which he starred and co-wrote) He was also an executive producer on the award winning Danish documentary, FLEE. He is best known for his role as Jaime Lannister in GAME OF THRONES, which garnered his Emmy nomination. Nikolaj is repped by UTA, Sloane Offer Weber and Relevant.
About Cream Productions
Based in Toronto and led by David Brady and Kate Harrison Karman, Cream Productions develops, finances and produces distinctive and award-winning content across a wide range of genres for both North America and internationally.
Among the company’s many credits include The Story of Late Night, History of the Sitcom, Age of Samurai, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, eight seasons of the hit Fear Thy Neighbor as well as feature documentaries Nike’s Big Bet and Beautiful Scars. The company has also partnered on several projects with renowned filmmaker Eli Roth to produce Eli Roth Presents: My Possessed Pet, Urban Legend, The Haunted Museum: 3 Ring Inferno with Zak Bagans, Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life as well as Eli Roth’s Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat, a virtual reality series that stars Vanessa Hudgens. In 2021, Cream achieved an incredible milestone by becoming carbon negative; the company was among the first to invest resources into creating a dedicated in-house committee to enhance its sustainability resources.
About Ill Kippers
Ill Kippers is a boutique production company founded by Joe Derrick and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau focused on both scripted and unscripted stories exploring the dilemmas of being human. As creative partners and best friends who have always written together, they wanted to take more ownership in bringing projects to life. The guiding Ill Kippers principle is that their stories strive to be as complicated, surprising, fun and full of contradictions as life is. And, they are always searching for more dilemmas to explore. Last year, the company produced RADIOMAN, a ten-part Audible Original crime drama podcast co-created by Derrick and Coster-Waldau with Derrick also writing the series and Coster-Waldau voicing the lead role. The podcast featured an original score and immersive sound design by Peabody award-winning Benbrick. Inspired by the true story of Dimiter Kenarov, Radioman tells the story of a former DJ and an old friend who start a podcast to investigate local crimes, setting them down a path filled with betrayal, social media fame and murders. Ill Kippers also produced the Netflix film, AGAINST THE ICE, which Coster-Waldau co-wrote with Derrick and starred in opposite Joe Cole. The film was based on Ejnar Mikkelsen’s novel of the same name and follows two explorers (Coster-Waldau and Cole) on a Denmark expedition to ice-covered Greenland in 1909. AGAINST THE ICE premiered at The Berlin Film Festival in February 2022.
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