Must See Video: Showtime Climate Series 'Years of Living Dangerously'

Showtime has posted online the entire video of Episode 1 of its visually and emotionally gripping documentary series event, “Years of Living Dangerously.” The landmark 9-part series is produced by the legendary James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Weintraub â€" together with former 60 Minutes producers who have 18 Emmys between them.

In addition, ThinkProgress has an exclusive video of a post-premiere panel, which includes Executive Producer Dan Abbasi, correspondent Tom Friedman, and me, Chief Science Advisor. Panel moderator Carol Browner, former EPA Administrator, said after watching Episode 1:

I’ve seen a hundreds shows on climate change and I’ve seen all the graphs and charts…. But really in my experience, this is the first time it is about people.

James Cameron himself said, “This is 100 percent a people story.” And to tell these powerful stories, the series engaged top-flight journalists (like Chris Hayes and Friedman) and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars (like Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Ian Somerholder, and Harrison Ford).

See for yourself:

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I’ve been reviewing all the segments for technical accuracy as Chief Science Advisor with climatologist Heidi Cullen. I’ve been blown away by just how compelling the show is â€" every episode is as good as Episode 1.

This is not just going to be a landmark climate change series, it is going to be a landmark television series, like Ken Burns’ The Civil War. It is what everyone is going to be talking about from April to June. As the latest international climate report makes clear, climate change is happening right here, right now â€" in America and around the world. It is the biggest story of our time, and it needs a big platform to tell it.

In a front-page New York Times story David Nevins, Showtime’s president of entertainment â€" the architect of hits like Homeland and Masters of Sex â€" explained that he puts a show like “Years of Living Dangerously” on Sunday night “because I want to signal to the audience: This show matters. This is a big show.”

“Years Of Living Dangerously” is going to be a very big show. It premieres Sunday on Showtime, April 13 at 10PM EDT/PDT.

Here’s the panel discussion:

The post Must See Video: Showtime Climate Series ‘Years of Living Dangerously’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.

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Joseph Romm

Joe Romm is a Fellow at American Progress and is the editor of Climate Progress, which New York Times columnist Tom Friedman called "the indispensable blog" and Time magazine named one of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2010." In 2009, Rolling Stone put Romm #88 on its list of 100 "people who are reinventing America." Time named him a "Hero of the Environment″ and “The Web’s most influential ...

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