Alongside Eminem, it’s likely few predicted Greta Thunberg would be featured during the Oscars on Sunday night. But there she was, part of a pretaped package on the power of documentary filmmaking. “The thing that’s made me open my eyes to what was happening to the environment and climate was films and documentaries,” Thunberg said in a clip of her interview with filmmaker David Attenborough. “That was what made me decide to do something about it.”
Now Thunberg has a TV series of her own, one that may inspire others. BBC Studios’ Science Unit announced a new untitled show on Monday that will follow the 17-year-old climate activist, whom President Donald Trump has frequently decided to mock. (Who could forget the president writing that “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend!” on Twitter after Thunberg was chosen as person of the year by Time? Be best!)
According to a press release, the series “will follow Greta’s international crusade, which takes her to the front line of climate change in some of the most extraordinary places on earth, as she explores what actions could be taken to limit climate change and the damage it causes.”
“Climate change is probably the most important issue of our lives so it feels timely to make an authoritative series that explores the facts and science behind this complex subject,” Rob Liddell, BBC Studios executive producer said in a statement. “To be able to do this with Greta is an extraordinary privilege, getting an inside view on what it’s like being a global icon and one of the most famous faces on the planet.”
The BBC show isn’t the only Thunberg content in the works. Hulu announced plans late last year for a documentary on the teenager called, appropriately, Greta. That film, set to arrive sometime in 2020, tracks Thunberg from her early days as a young activist in 2018 to the global fame and awareness that have followed her since. Perhaps the Academy should keep a seat warm for Thunberg at next year’s Oscars, just in case.
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