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JUNE 2025 EDITION
Inside Ocean with David Attenborough / Lucky Chow’s Danielle Chang
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CONTENTS
Real Talk
Factual producers and distributors haven’t felt the sting of the SVOD pullback as acutely as the drama and kids’ spheres, but they are facing the same pressures as everyone else: constricted budgets, YouTube and discovery.
Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Mansha Daswani Editor-in-Chief Jamie Stalcup Managing Editor Grace Katich Associate Editor David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Manager Ute Schwemmer Bookkeeper
Ricardo Seguin Guise President Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP, Strategic Development TV Real ©2025 WSN INC. 401 Park Avenue South, Suite 1041, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Website: www.tvreal.com
As I set out to curate the second edition of the TV Real Festival—if you haven’t registered, there’s still time to do so here—I wanted to take a look at how different members of the content ecosystem are managing. Exploring programming strategies, we’ve enlisted the expertise of National Geographic’s Tom McDonald and Documentary Channel’s Tom Neff. Coming to grips with deficit financing, AVOD and co-developing, we have a keynote with BossaNova Media’s Paul Heaney and a panel discussion with Albatross World Sales’ Anne Olzmann and TVF International’s Poppy McAlister. Curiosity’s Clint Stinchcomb will be on hand to weigh in on how that brand has built its presence across SVOD, pay TV and FAST. Hearing directly from producers, we have Muck Media’s Cristina Costantini and Mariana van Zeller—who hosts the acclaimed series Trafficked— and Lion Television’s Richard Bradley. And Gernot Lercher at ORF and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer at ORF-Enterprise will share how they collaborate to bring high-end natural history to Austrian and international audiences. Enjoy the show! —Mansha Daswani
INSIDE OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH Keith Scholey and Toby Nowlan of Silverback Films discuss Ocean with David Attenborough, in which the famed natural historian exposes the dire problems facing the world’s oceans and what can be done to restore their diversity and health.
LUCKY CHOW’S DANIELLE CHANG A conversation with the host of the PBS series that explores Asian-American cuisine.
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Albatross World Sales The Right Whale—Tales of Resilience and Hope / Flight of Legends—The Quest to Conquer the Atlantic / Amnesia—When the Brain Suddenly GoesParents on Strike in the Wild Leading the Albatross World Sales slate, The Right Whale—Tales of Resilience and Hope showcases right whales’ behavior and the threats they’re facing. Flight of Legends—The Quest to Conquer the Atlantic centers on the race to accomplish the first direct flight between New York and Paris. It tells “a story about favorites and outsiders, winners and losers, legends and a lonely hero of the century: Charles Lindbergh,” says Anne Olzmann, managing director. Amnesia—When the Brain Suddenly Goes on Strike is also on offer.
The Right Whale—Tales of Resilience and Hope
“These programs captivate international audiences with their compelling storytelling, fresh perspectives and themes that transcend cultural boundaries.” —Anne Olzmann
Nacelle Company Game Changers / A Future on Stage: The Making of a Broadway Musical / Icons Unearthed: Tom Cruise Movies Nacelle Company’s Game Changers explores the history of popular games and their influence on today’s society. “Our series takes a deep dive into this world, spotlighting its history and revealing stories of this $180 billion industry that have never been told,” says Brian Volk-Weiss, founder and CEO. A Future on Stage: The Making of a Broadway Musical goes behind the scenes of Back to the Future: The Musical. Icons Unearthed: Tom Cruise Movies is the tenth season of the Icons Unearthed franchise.
A Future on Stage: The Making of a Broadway Musical
“Every day at Nacelle, we are passionately considering anything and everything that we might be able to make into a television show.” —Brian Volk-Weiss
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ZDF Studios Dino Birds / How We Celebrate / Iconic Islands of the Indian Ocean Dino Birds, on offer from ZDF Studios, examines how birds became the most diverse group of vertebrates, thriving in nearly every habitat on the planet. How We Celebrate delves into the history behind holidays such as Carnival, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and more. “While traditions may differ across the globe, one thing unites us— we love to celebrate,” says Dr. Markus Schäfer, president and CEO. Iconic Islands of the Indian Ocean showcases the nature of the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius and La Réunion and highlights the threats they are under.
ZED
Dino Birds
“We have much more to offer than just the three briefly presented here, so please feel free to contact our sales teams.” The Real Jungle Book —Dr. Markus Schäfer Tehran Confidential
Tehran Confidential / Knut, the Viking Emperor / Egypt’s Atlantis: Treasures of a Sunken City Leading ZED’s slate, Tehran Confidential delves into the power within Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their influence over the country’s politics and society. Knut, the Viking Emperor brings to life the story of Knut the Great, who conquered and unified Denmark, Norway, Sweden and England into a Viking empire. Egypt’s Atlantis: Treasures of a Sunken City chronicles the ongoing exploration of Thonis-Heracleion. “Each project offers distinctive insights into their respective fields,” says Charlotte Tachet, head of distribution and acquisitions.
“These titles stand out for their great production values, meticulous attention to visual detail and dynamic storytelling techniques.” —Charlotte Tachet
TV REAL
Keith Scholey & Toby Nowlan Ocean with David Attenborough By Jamie Stalcup
T
he iconic natural historian Sir David Attenborough returns to the screen for National Geographic’s Ocean with David Attenborough to expose the dire problems facing the world’s oceans and what can be done to restore their diversity and health. The special from Silverback Films premiered globally on June 7 on National Geographic, Disney+ and Hulu, timed to align with World Oceans Day on June 8. “This is David’s most important story,” says Toby Nowlan, a producer and director at Silverback Films. “It’s a hugely authored and tailored piece. This is not your ordinary TV episode.” Keith Scholey, a director on the project and a co-founder of Silverback, concurs, adding, “It’s very mission-oriented.
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When we’ve made films about the ocean in the past, it’s been more generic—telling people about what lives there or what happens down there. This one is saying why we must protect the ocean. To understand the why, you have to go on this journey. When David was a youngster, nothing was known about the oceans; now we know a lot, and he’s been on that journey. At the same time, you’ve got to discover what’s going wrong with it. If you know those two things, there’s an answer for how to fix it. It’s an exciting answer because it’s real, it works and it’s doable.”
“False hope is dangerous, but real hope is something we should be shouting about from the rooftops.” —Toby Nowlan Nowlan has worked with marine wildlife for most of his career, and he even learned new things during production. “It wasn’t until I was working on the film that I came to understand that process of spillover. It completely blew my mind that if you protect an area of ocean, the process of recovery is very different to what happens on land. It’s easier, quicker, more spectacular and it fills out the surrounding areas of ocean with life again. That process is a win for fisheries, conservationists; for everyone on Earth. It gives us a stable climate and a breathable atmosphere. False hope is dangerous, but real hope is something we should be shouting about from the rooftops.”
TV REAL
Danielle Chang Lucky Chow By Jamie Stalcup
I
n Lucky Chow, her Emmy-nominated culinary series for PBS that is now in its seventh season, Danielle Chang is furthering her mission of showcasing the AsianAmerican experience through food. In the latest five-part season, Chang travels to Taiwan to delve into the island’s culinary culture. She meets indigenous hunters, visits busy night markets and learns how soy sauce and bubble tea are made, giving viewers an in-depth look at the intersection of history, tradition and modernity in Taiwanese cuisine. “I was born in Taiwan, so it’s a homecoming for me,” says Chang. “I realized that, even though I was born there and visited a lot as a child, I never really knew it. I wanted to come back and see it with fresh eyes.” There was much about Taiwanese cuisine to be explored, and just five episodes to work with. “We ended up filming
TV REAL
about 26 stories that make it through the five episodes,” Chang says. “The episodes are organized by theme. For instance, in the premiere we talk about staples of Taiwanese cuisine like soy sauce, tofu, rice and hot sauce.” Other episodes look at food prepared for religious offerings, nighttime treats and more. Chang hopes that viewers take from the series a “sense of curiosity—I want to learn more about making my own tofu, or I want to travel there and explore that tea-making region myself. Be inspired by somebody’s story to live your life differently or eat in a different way.”
“The American landscape for Asian food has shifted greatly. We’ve grown with our viewers.” American audiences are much more familiar with Asian cuisines than they were a decade ago when the show premiered. “The American landscape for Asian food has shifted greatly,” Chang said. “When I first started thinking about Lucky Chow, fine-dining ramen was still a novelty. Even though Asian food was ubiquitous—you could get California rolls in supermarkets from coast to coast—it wasn’t as popularized as it is now. In season one, we would do an entire episode explaining what ramen is. Now, we’re doing more sophisticated episodes that assume the viewer already knows the difference between the flavors of China and Japan. We’ve grown with our viewers.”
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