Discovery Unveils Upcoming Programming Slate

SILVER SPRING: Discovery Channel has unveiled a slate of specials and series for its 2010-2011 season—including John Hendricks’ Curiosity: The Questions of Life—and has announced a new development deal with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Television and DreamWorks Animation for a mini-series called Future Earth, which will examine what life on Earth will be like in 25, 50 and 100 years.

"We pride ourselves on bringing the best storytellers in the business to Discovery," said Clark Bunting, the president and general manager of Discovery Channel and president of the Science Channel, on the Future Earth deal. "Steven Spielberg, his team at DreamWorks Television and DreamWorks Animation are at the top of that list. We are excited and look forward to collaborating with them on an exciting array of new nonfiction programs."

Meanwhile, the channel presented its upcoming slate of shows to advertisers at its upfront. Announcing the 2010-2011 season, Bunting noted:"Discovery Channel isn’t just our name, it’s what we do everyday. With only the highest quality production values, the most compelling storytellers in the business and an unending yen for adventure and exploration, Discovery truly delivers like no one else in the nonfiction world," said W. Clark Bunting, president and general manager, Discovery Channel.

The slate include Curiosity: The Questions of Life, which will air over five years and 60 episodes, each focusing on a single enduring question in science, civilization, technology and the human experience. Human Planet follows in the tradition of Life and Planet Earth, focusing on a variety of landscapes: rivers, mountains, oceans, jungles and more. Discovery is partnering with NASA on Earth from Space and top creative talent from Disney and Pixar on Reign of the Dinosaurs. From Spielberg comes The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero. Other highlights include Engineering the Impossible and a 23rd year of Shark Week. On the series front, new offerings include Worst Case Scenario, based on the bestselling series of books and featuring Bear Grylls; and Construction Intervention. The channel has also signed on for more Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, Man vs. Wild, MythBusters, Storm Chasers and The Colony.