WATERTOWN, NY (July 15, 2024) – We are at a crossroads for the future of the Gulf of Maine – and our oceans. Does the Gulf retain enough of its biodiversity and regenerative strength to weather the human-induced storm? Is the sheer beauty of the place and spectacular range of its creatures enough to wake us to the stakes? Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine, a NOVA Special Presentation tells this epic oceanic story, with stunning photography to drive home the endless wonder of this unmatched natural resource. The new three-part documentary series is one of several being presented by WPBS as part of a year long emphasis on the effects of climate change. Produced by GBH, Sea Change – the Gul of Maine will premiere Wednesdays, July 24 – August 7 at 10 pm on WPBS-TV, PBS, the PBS App, and NOVA on YouTube.
Sea Change explores a body of water that is warming 97 percent faster than the global ocean, and what that means for the Gulf of Maine – for the animals, for the jobs dependent upon it, and the millions of people along its shores – and may serve as a preview of what could happen worldwide due to climate change. The acclaimed underwater photographer Brian Skerry is a producer of the series, which features his work capturing the beauty of the area in spite of the devastating impact of climate change over the last 40 years. This series is part of a larger project by Skerry to document how warming waters are affecting this unique ecosystem, and includes his cover story on the Gulf of Maine in National Geographic’s June issue.
Sea Change blends science, exploration, stunning natural history, and stories of human experience, to illuminate how what happens here could have profound global implications. Viewers will encounter the spectacular wilderness and wildlife that still teems in these waters. The series also documents the range of people including scientists, Native Americans, fishers, and entrepreneurs working to reveal the Gulf’s complex history and helping to understand what role the ocean plays in all of our lives.
“I’ve always had a deep love for the Gulf of Maine as a New England native and a current resident,” said Brian Skerry, one of the producers of Sea Change and a longtime National Geographic photographer. “Every other breath we take is of oxygen that was generated from our oceans. But they are now in peril, something that we can document deeply in the Gulf of Maine, an area that has provided for this continent long-before the arrival of Europeans and far into the last century. What once provided a seemingly endless supply of cod fish, lobsters, and clams, now allows us to witness firsthand the devastating changes brought on by climate change. It’s my hope that this series serves as a cautionary tale, as well as a tribute to one of my favorite places.”
“The most striking thing to me about the series,” says GBH co-executive producer, John Bredar, “is the characters that filmmakers, Chun-Wei Yi and Stella Cha, highlight. They tell an amazing story of resilience and are some of the thousands of people here working to sustain the Gulf, from a biologist who is also a lobsterman, to Native American clam farmers, from seaweed entrepreneurs to a team of intrepid scientists on an expedition to the remotest part of the Gulf— and those are just the humans in the story! The animals that we meet, from grain-of-rice-sized mud shrimp to literally hundreds of thousands of semipalmated sandpipers, and every imaginable creature in-between, round out a fantastically diverse story with unforgettable images.”
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS
“Bounty” – Part 1 (Wednesday, July 24 at 10 pm)
The Gulf of Maine and its bounty was forever changed by European settlers and this episode lays bare how centuries of brilliant and often catastrophic innovation led to an unnatural extraction. Now with the Gulf warming faster than 97 percent of the global ocean, witness how people and wildlife are – or are not – adapting to rapid change.
“Peril” – Part 2 (Wednesday, July 31 at 10 pm)
A remote – and relatively pristine – part of the Gulf, Cashes Ledge, is a gem of unimaginable bounty. From this vantage point, scientists can investigate how the Gulf came to be, coming to see how its cold waters, unique tides, and even geologic shape power a web of more than 3,000 species ranging from microscopic plankton to massive right whales.
“Survival” – Part 3 (Wednesday, August 7 at 10 pm)
We are at a crossroads for the future of the Gulf of Maine and our global oceans. Whether it is Indigenous scholars providing conservation leadership, scientists tracking the latest developments, or entrepreneurs finding new ways to make a living from the sea, people are charting a new course in these changing waters.
Sea Change will be accompanied by a six-part short-form digital series produced by Indigenous filmmakers in collaboration with Vision Maker Media and NOVA, focused on climate issues and solutions in Native communities across the country. PBS and GBH have also created a robust education collection around the rich stories from the program and the digital series for grades 6-12, launching in fall 2024.
Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine, a NOVA Special Presentation, will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO.
Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine, a NOVA Special Presentation, is a Co-Production of GBH and So World Media. Written and produced by Chun-Wei Yi and Stella Cha. Edited by Bryan Sullivan, Erin Cumming, Tim Wanlin, CCE, and Chun-Wei Yi. Series inspired by Producer Brian Skerry. Executive Producers are John Bredar and Laurie Donnelly. Executive Producers for NOVA are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt. Diana El-Osta, Senior Director, Programming and Development, is Executive in Charge for PBS.
Major funding for Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine, a NOVA Special Presentation, is provided by PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, Candis J. Stern, the Lawry Family Foundation, the GBH Climate and Environment Fund, and PBS viewers.
About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali, as well as WORLD Channel and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR®; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at wgbh.org.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 600,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and inspire diverse communities with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of relevant public service media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and cultures. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Download the free WPBS Mobile App to follow WPBS on the go.
