Planet Green Channels a movement
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Concern for the environment is everywhere in the zeitgeist, and now it comandeers an entire cable network. On Wednesday at 6 p.m., Discovery Home will become Planet Green (grids in TV Week already reflect the switch).
"It really came from a groundswell of interest in the green movement," said Eileen O'Neill, president and general manager of Planet Green. Other networks have aired programs about climate change, but Planet Green programs are more about taking action. "Those programs left people with grave concern but not a lot of [answers to] 'What do we do now?' "
Original series will include:
"Alter Eco" (10 p.m. Wednesday): "Entourage" star and environmental advocate Adrian Grenier and his "Green Team" offer tips on the small steps viewers can take to make their lives more green.
"Emeril Green" (debuts in July): Famed chef Emeril Lagasse shares recipes for healthy meals with a focus on organic and locally grown foods.
"Greenovate" (7 p.m. Friday): A home makeover show, this half-hour follows people who make eco-friendly home improvments, including a builder and house flipper in Austin, Texas, who spends almost as much renovating a home as he did buying it.
"Greensburg" (9 p.m. June 15): Probably the channel's most high-profile project, this narration-free docu-series chronicles the rebuilding of the aptly-named Greensburg, Kan., which was leveled by a tornado in May 2007. Residents decided to build a green community. This 13-part series, executive produced by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, documents the rebuilding effort.
"Hollywood Green with Maria Menounos" (6 p.m. Wednesday): The "Access Hollywood" correspondent follows celebs who make green headlines.
"Mean Green Machines" (9 p.m. Wednesday): This Canadian import compares the power and performance of hybrid vehicles with their gas-guzzling counterparts.
"Renovation Nation" (9:30 p.m. Wednesday): Another home makeover show, host Steve Thomas works alongside homeowners as they implement the latest trends in eco-friendly renovation.
"Wasted" (8 p.m. Wednesday): In each episode, Annabelle Gurwitch ("Dinner and a Movie") and handyman Holter Graham catalog the sins of a family living a non-green lifestyle, put them through their paces, training them to be more environmentally conscientious. Imagine a green "Supernanny."
But is there any concern that the societal interest in all things green may be a fad?
"Well, it would be good for the Earth if it came and went really quickly," O'Neill said, "but the overall issue it addresses is a big one with long-term solutions out there, which we're excited to be a part of. So we don't view this as a fad. We view this as a critical part of an overall lifestyle."
The channel, which will have distribution to about 50 million homes at its launch, aims to mix lifestyle and entertainment programming.
"A lot of lifestyle channels are strongly focused on information or exclusively on entertainment. We're fusing the two," O'Neill said. "We said, let's take advantage of what television does best: Entertainment on television coupled with terrific resoucres online. … We've always viewed it as a multimedia approach."
In addition to the channel's Web site, PlanetGreen.com, which supports the network's programming, the company also purchased TreeHugger.com, which offers a mix of environmental news, information and opinion.
"This is the beginning of a big green movement and an opportunity to make green mainstream," O'Neill said. "We want to get guys who are more into cars and science and technology and our female viewers who are more drawn to the cooking area or lifestyle and pop culture area of our schedule and provide something for everyone."
First Published June 1, 2008 12:00 am
