Produced by Beach House Pictures for Curiosity, the series discovers ancient crimes, alien life, future warfare, miracle cures, and arctic dinosaurs by exploring what lies beneath the ice as global warming progressively melts our planet’s cryosphere
All six parts are available to binge for Earth Day
SILVER SPRING, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lift the Ice (6×60), a stunning new Curiosity original series exploring the incredible mysteries being revealed in the frozen parts of our planet, is set for world premiere on Curiosity Stream on April 20th. The premium scientific adventure docu-series follows six of the world’s most intrepid explorers and scientific experts on a global mission to solve scientific puzzles that could radically reshape the future of humanity.
The world under the ice is one of the last places on Earth to be truly explored. It is a place that hides devastating secrets, untold riches, virulent viruses, world-ending nuclear weapons, and, potentially, the key to life itself.
Each of the series’ six episodes combine daring exploration and ground-breaking historical research during bold scientific expeditions into the cryosphere. The teams investigate what lies beneath the ice to seek out what will be revealed as global warming progressively melts the planet’s cryosphere. Using high-tech scanning and satellite imagery, the series shows viewers a world in which ice does not exist — all rendered in stunning CGI and in UHD.
“Lift the Ice is the kind of programming that sets Curiosity Stream apart. It’s a cutting-edge look at a massive, rapidly evolving story that’s impacting us all,” said Rob Burk, Curiosity’s Head of Content. “There’s a race against time to uncover and analyze all of the amazing and terrifying secrets emerging from our planet’s melting cryosphere, and our incredible explorers have literally gone to the ends of the earth and endured some of its harshest conditions to uncover them.”
“This series is all about diving under glaciers, rappelling 100m into frozen caves and tussling with Russian spies – all with genuine experts and all in the name of science,” said Rob Sixsmith, Head of Factual Programming, Beach House Pictures. “Yes, Lift the Ice is about the environment. But unlike others before it, this series is always entertaining, adventurous, and accessible. It takes you into a totally new world, explored in a totally new way, by totally new talent. An experience like this comes along just once a lifetime.”
The series recruited amazing young, diverse superstars in their fields to host each of the episodes including:
Dr Diva Amon (Trinidad-UK) – Deep Sea Marine Biologist
The hidden world of the deep ocean is where Diva has spent much of her career, whether it’s operating remote underwater vehicles or venturing there herself in submersibles alongside A-list talent like Will Smith. As a deep-sea marine biologist, Diva is fascinated by the kind of life that survives in these extreme environments. But now she is taking her skills to a new realm, searching for the types of life that have adapted to withstand the extremes of the cryosphere.
Dr Allison Fong (USA) – Biological Oceanographer and Microbial Ecologist
A biological oceanographer and microbial ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Allison led the ecosystem team during the historic and record-breaking MOSAiC expedition. For over a year, her research vessel was locked in the Arctic floes, allowing her and her team to conduct unique research on and below the sea ice while battling extreme temperatures and polar bears along the way. Now Allison wants to step out of her marine-based comfort zone and investigate the surprising power that tiny terrestrial lifeforms have across the cryosphere.
Ben Timberlake (UK) – Archaeologist, Soldier, Combat Medic
Ben has many past lives – an archaeologist, Special Forces soldier and combat medic. Currently, he is a security consultant and medic in high-risk areas, specializing in Iraq and Syria, with much writing and presenting experience. Drawing on his rich experiences, Ben authored High Risk, a raw and uncompromising tale of the human condition in extremes. Now Ben is on a mission to discover how the cryosphere has challenged military forces in the past, present and future.
Nina Lanza (USA) – Planetary Scientist
Nina lives and breathes alien habitats and all things Mars. As leader of the Space and Remote Sensing Team at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a key scientist for the Mars Curiosity Rover, she knows the challenges of solving the mysteries of the universe firsthand. But she also knows that the cryosphere is the best place on Earth to unlock many of these secrets. Having previously explored Antarctica in search of meteorites, she is now on a mission to discover how the cryosphere might be our best bet for finding alien life, learning where we came from, and how to protect ourselves from cosmic threats.
Dr Ella Gilbert (UK) – Climate Scientist
Ella is a pioneering young climate scientist who has embarked on expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic to uncover the mechanisms of climate change in the atmosphere above Earth’s polar regions. Now, she’s on a mission to discover how her work in the skies translates into what is happening on the ground — exploring thawing permafrost, methane explosions and ice age beasts expelled from the earth.
The series is produced for Curiosity by Singapore’s Beach House Pictures. Directors include Dominic Hill (Free Ride, Superhumans), Leila Battison (Oops I Changed The World, History of The Earth) and Elliott Kew (Cosmetic Surgery Live). Jocelyn Little (Evolve, Masterchef Singapore), Donovan Chan (Evolve, Singapore From Above) and Rob Sixsmith (Bear Grylls Survival School) are Executive Producers for Beach House Pictures. Sixsmith also served as Show Runner. Rob Burk is the executive producer for Curiosity. Chris Baron (Fiennes: Return to the Nile, One Strange Rock) is Series Producer.
About Curiosity
Curiosity Inc. is the entertainment brand for people who want to know more. The global media company is home to award-winning original and curated factual films, shows, and series covering science, nature, history, technology, society, and lifestyle. With over 25 million paying subscribers worldwide and thousands of titles, the company operates the flagship Curiosity Stream SVOD service, available in more than 175 countries; Curiosity Channel, the linear television channel available via global distribution partners; Curiosity Now, a free, ad-supported channel; Curiosity Audio Network, featuring original content and podcasts; and Curiosity Studios, which oversees original programming. Curiosity Inc. also owns and operates One Day University, which provides access to engaging talks and lectures from leading university and college professors. Curiosity Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CuriosityStream Inc. (Nasdaq: CURI). For more information, visit CuriosityStream.com.
Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Media company, is one of Asia’s largest independent production companies, specializing in award-winning factual, entertainment, natural history and children’s content for the international market. Headquartered in Singapore, the company owns and operates several production businesses throughout Asia including Tokyo-based Vesuvius Pictures, Singapore’s Southeast Asian scripted producer Momo Film Co., the Mumbai-based factual production company, Riverland Entertainment and Space Lion Studios, a Dolby-certified, state-of-the-art post production facility in Singapore. The company’s recent productions include Mind Your Manners (Netflix), The Raincoat Killer (Netflix), Evolve (Curiosity, Prime Video), Best Dog India (Netflix), Uptown Otters (Animal Planet, Love Nature), MasterChef Singapore (Mediacorp, Motion Group) and Bake Off Japan (Prime Video). Beachhousepictures.com
Contacts
FOR EPISODIC SCREENERS & MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH SERIES HOSTS, CONTACT:
Julia Caslin
Director, Communications, Production & Distribution
Blue Ant Media
julia.caslin@blueantmedia.com
Vanessa Gillon
Curiosity Stream
vanessa.gillon@curiositystream.com