Keep an eye peeled during Emmy nominations for shows that are managing to include important messages of climate crisis — and how to advance sustainability. You may not even realize it, but some of this year’s key contenders in both scripted and unscripted are finding ways to address climate change — adding a little bit of education to the entertainment.
On the scripted side, that has included shows like “Andor,” “Hacks” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” while unscripted fare including “The Americas,” “Life Below Zero,” “Shark Tank,” “Kitchen Nightmares” and even “Love Is Blind” (which featured a popular contestant who’s a clean energy consultant) have tackled climate issues in a variety of ways.
“It’s so important that we can meet audiences where they are on this issue… TV and scripted can excel at that through character and narrative,” says Ellis Watamanuk, the senior director of the entertainment lab at Rare, an org devoted to conservation, addressing climate change and environmental solutions. “We’re seeing creatives explore worlds where humankind hasn’t gotten things right on climate—but also shows set today that explore what taking action looks like.”
Those stories can drive narrative, like the post-environmental collapse worlds of Disney+’s “Andor” and Hulu’s “Paradise,” or climate protest and heat wave storylines on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” On Max’s “Hacks,” Ava (Hannah Einbinder) drives an electric vehicle in an episode focused on intergenerational climate conversations. And then things can be more subtle, like a joke about plant-based milk on FX’s “The Bear” or climate-friendly food choices on Max’s “And Just Like That.”
Unscripted is perhaps where the climate crisis is even more noticeable — as it’s having a direct impact on shows that film in the outdoors, like Nat Geo’s “Life Below Zero” or Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch.”
“If you’re shooting reality and climate change comes calling, you kind of can’t avoid it at that point,” says Reality of Change founder Cyle Zezo, who last year partnered with Rare’s Entertainment Lab to create an unscripted advisory committee to help support climate and sustainability practices in nonfiction TV. “There are so many ways into this for people… once creators can see these themes fit very naturally into shows, they can get over those hurdles quickly.”
Zezo points to subtle, organic inclusion such as induction stoves on baking shows (as seen on Max’s “Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking”) — as well as a “Kitchen Nightmares” episode that focused on a vegan restaurant in New Orleans, and how the eatery has struggled since a major natural disaster that was climate-fueled.
Additionally, “’Shark Tank’ always comes through,” Zezo says, noting the number of invention pitches that have to do with sustainability. “If they’re all coming up with these ideas, it’s a reflection of where people’s minds are.”
Hosts that have worked on climate crisis issues include Eric Adjepong, Jonathan Van Ness, Alan Cumming. Phil Keoghan and Jonathan and Drew Scott.
Meanwhile, nature docuseries like NBC’s “The Americas” have an obvious connection to showcasing climate change. “Throughout making ‘The Americas’ we were aware of many occasions when climate change was having an influence on the stories we were hoping to tell,” says exec producer Mike Gunton. “Most of the episodes have a sequence where that impact is part of the story.
“As wildlife filmmakers we often witness the effects of climate change firsthand and see the impact on ecosystems, individual animals, and people too,” he adds. “Many of us feel it’s important to find ways to share these experiences in engaging ways that both raise awareness but also, we hope, motivate as many people as possible to do what they can to protect our planet, our home.”
In the case of “Life Below Zero,” exec producer Joe Litzinger noted that “climate change is not a subplot. It is a constant, lived reality for our cast. In the most recent season, we saw increasingly unpredictable freeze-thaw cycles, later river ice, earlier breakups, and shifting migration patterns. These changes directly impact the cast’s ability to fish, hunt, and travel,” he says. “The show captures how they adapt, problem-solve, and survive in a landscape that is changing faster than ever before.”
Watamanuk and Zezo say they know these are politically charged times — and as much as climate crisis awareness shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it frequently is. Nonetheless, they point to studies like one from Rare that shows that “7 in 10 Americans want to see more climate-friendly actions on screen.” And according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Americans who believe climate change is happening outnumber those who don’t by 5 to 1. And 60% of Americans know that global warming is mostly human-caused.
“As storytellers, we have a responsibility to reflect the world honestly,” Litzinger says. “Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. Ignoring it feels not just irresponsible but inauthentic. I think more creators are recognizing that, and finding ways to explore these themes with intention and integrity.”