Toronto, ON, September 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Explore an exciting journey through Earth’s largest freshwater ecosystem, an evolving world that shapes the lives of millions of animals, plants and humans. . Premiering Monday, September 26 at 9pm ET on TVO, TVO Today, YouTube and Smart TV services, TVO original series untamed great lakes features never-before-filmed footage of freshwater cod singing under the ice to find a mate, glow-in-the-dark flying squirrels, beautiful salamanders that use plants to breathe, and the last wolverines in eastern North America.
“This series will amaze viewers with its jaw-dropping visuals and deeply researched revelations about the Great Lakes,” says John Ferri, vice president of programming and content for tvO. “untamed great lakes It comes at a crucial moment in time, when we have the tools and knowledge to safeguard the future of these lakes and the great diversity of life that depends on them.”
TVO original series untamed great lakes revels in the fascinating history of North America’s five great lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Directed by veteran BBC nature documentary filmmaker Ted Oakes (planet earth live), and its co-directors, Jeff Morales and Nicholas de Pencier (anthropocene, Manufactured Landscapes), the series is the first definitive natural history ever produced in this vast basin.
Episode 1: “From the Source to the Sea” (airing Sept. 26 at 9 p. 14 whale species. Viewers will also discover how beavers and wolves help regulate the flow of clean water to the Great Lakes, while learning about the threat posed by a ravenous invader, the giant silver carp.
Episode 2: “The Big Freeze” (airing September 27 at 9 pm ET) reveals how animals, people and the landscape have been shaped by snow and ice in one of the world’s most extreme and unpredictable environments. Watch as a Canadian lynx hunts snowshoe hares in snowdrifts and ruffed grouse in icy caves. Also, two divers explore the strange alien world below Lake Huron.
Episode 3: “Wonders and Mysteries” (airing September 27 at 10 pm ET) shows us how the life and landscape of the Great Lakes have adapted to incredible changes in annual temperature. Viewers learn about the monstrous lake sturgeon that swim upstream to lay their eggs, the deep-diving moose that feed on plants, and, in a never-before-captured moment, the fish-hunting inland wolves. Watch as scientists use lights to thwart invasive lamprey eels that have nearly destroyed millions of native fish.
“When I was a little boy growing up in Ottawa in the 1970s,” notes producer/co-director and biologist Ted Oakes, “I was lucky enough to meet one of Canada’s most influential naturalists and filmmakers, Bill Mason. He directed the Academy Award-nominated rowing to the sea. Years later I worked as a junior ranger and biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service, and as a filmmaker for the BBC, never forgetting the love of nature that film expressed. In 2014, I came across the toy canoe featured in Mason’s remarkable film. It brought back a flood of memories and inspired me to do untamed great lakes.”
Watch the premiere of episode one of the TVO Original series untamed great lakes on Monday, September 26, 2022 at 9 pm ET on TVOand play it anytime on TVO Today, YouTube and smart TV services. Subscribe to the weekly TVO Docs newsletter for the latest programming updates and features.
Full Broadcast Schedule for TVO Original untamed great lakes:
- Episode 1: Source to Sea – Monday, September 26 at 9pm ET (repeats at midnight)
- Episode 2: The Big Freeze – Tuesday, September 27 at 9 pm ET (repeats at midnight)
- Episode 3: Wonders and Mysteries – Tuesday, September 27 at 10 p.m. ET (repeats at 1 a.m.)
Watch back-to-back episodes on Saturday, October 1 starting at 8pm ET (repeats at 1am)
Replay of Episode 3: Wonders and Mysteries: Sunday, October 2 at 10 pm ET (repeats at 3 am)
Serial production information
Original TVO untamed great lakes is an Ontario/Manitoba co-production produced by Oak Island Films Canada and Merit Motion Pictures, in association with TVO, Smithsonian Channel, Terra Mater Studios and Two Wise Monkeys Entertainment, with participation from Canada Media Fund, Canadian Film and tax credit for Production Services Tax Credit, Ontario Production Services Tax Credit, Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit, and the Rogers Documentary Fund.
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ABOUT MERIT MOTION PICTURES
Merit Motion Pictures is one of Canada’s leading producers of documentary programming. Founded by executive producer and industry veteran Merit Jensen Carr, MMP Films is known for producing award-winning natural history and science films for broadcasters around the world. Recent highlights include the kingdom of polar bears (National Geographic Channels, Disney+, CBC, France 3 and Terra Mater); Y reef rescue (CBC, ART, Vulcan, NOVA) and Turtle Beach (BBC, CBC, ART, Blue Ant). MMP is currently in production on the feature film dark everest for the CBC documentary channel, and puppy campa 1-hour natural history series for Love Nature and Blue Ant Studios.
ABOUT OAK ISLAND FILMS LTD.
Ted Oakes of Oak Island Films Ltd. has spent twenty years with the BBC’s world-renowned natural history unit as an award-winning filmmaker and executive producer of natural history programs for the BBC, including Life: Mammals, Amazon abyssseven series by Gordon Buchanan animal family and me one of which was the acclaimed Snow wolf family and me set on Ellesmere Island. She has a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Oxford and an M.A. in Biology from Queens University.
ABOUT TVO
TVO inspires learning that changes lives and enriches communities. Founded in 1970, we are a globally recognized digital learning organization that engages Ontarians of all ages with inclusive experiences and diverse perspectives. Through videos, audios, games, courses, newsletters and articles, we are investing in the transformative potential of education for all. Funded primarily by the Province of Ontario, TVO is a registered charity supported by thousands of patrons and donors. For more information, visit TVO.me, TVO.org, and TVOkids.com.
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