How We Got to Now

How We Got to Now is a British-American factual television series that was broadcast on PBS in 2014 and BBC Two in 2015. The series was commissioned by the BBC in the United Kingdom and made by Nutopia, a British-American production company in the United States.[1] The six-part series, presented by Steven Johnson, explores the legacy of great ideas.

How We Got to Now
GenreFactual
Presented bySteven Johnson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
ProducerDiene Petterle
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original network

Production

The factual series is a co-production between Nutopia, a British-American production company, and PBS. The producer is Diene Petterle, a Brazilian-born British film, television and theatrical producer,[2] and the executive producers are Jane Root, Peter Lovering, and Michael Jackson.[3] A companion book was published by Riverhead Books and a companion website has been created to explore present day innovations.[4] The show was distributed by BBC Worldwide and received funding from the CPB/PBS Program Challenge Fund.[5]

Episodes
  1. Clean - from sewers to clean rooms
  2. Time - from pendulum clocks to radiometric dating
  3. Glass - from cristallo to smart phones
  4. Light - from spermaceti oil to fusion reactors
  5. Cold - from ice harvesting to air conditioning
  6. Sound - from phonautograph to ultrasound imaging

The historical characters who appear include Thomas Edison, Clarence Birdseye, Frederick McKinley Jones, Willis Carrier, Tim Berners-Lee, Hedy Lamarr, and Mark Zuckerberg.[4][6][7]

Broadcast

The series premiered in the US in the fall of 2014 on PBS.[8] The series also premiered in Australia on ABC from 26 February 2015.[9]

Reception

Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Though-provoking and fun to watch."[10]

Awards

Peepshow Collective won Outstanding Motion Design at the 67th Emmy Awards in 2015 for their work on the series.[11]

See also

References
  1. Pippa Considine (7 August 2013). "Nutopia to make How We Got to Now for BBC and PBS". Televisual.com. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. Philip Fisher. "Hardly a conventional British theatrical couple". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. White, Peter (7 August 2013). "BBC cooks up Nutopia science series". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  4. Tobar, Hector (7 August 2013). "Author Steven Johnson to host new PBS series, 'How We Got to Now'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  5. Considine, Pippa (7 August 2013). "Nutopia to make How We Got to Now for BBC and PBS". Televisual. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  6. "HOW WE GOT TO NOW With Steven Johnson". PBS. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  7. PBS.org: How We Got to Now
  8. How We Got to Now | PBS, retrieved 2 November 2018
  9. Knox, David (24 February 2014). "Airdate: How We Got to Now". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  10. Lloyd, Robert (15 October 2014). "Review: 'How We Got to Now' a fun look at six big ideas, their legacies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  11. "Juried Award Winners Announced for the 67th Emmy Awards".
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