A Co-Production of KCET/Los Angeles and WIRED Magazine

Los Angeles/San Francisco—WIRED SCIENCE, a one-hour primetime program that translates WIRED Magazine’s award-winning journalism into a fast-paced television show, will debut nationally on PBS on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. EST. (Check local listings.) A co-production of KCET/Los Angeles, the West Coast flagship station of PBS, and WIRED, the pre-eminent science and technology magazine, WIRED SCIENCE brings WIRED Magazine’s cutting edge vision, stylish design, and irreverent attitude to the screen with breakout ideas, recent discoveries, and the latest innovations.

The pilot episode takes the viewer into the world of meteorite hunters, where space, commerce, and art intersect, travels to Yellowstone National Park to harvest viruses which may hold the key to a technology revolution, and dives underwater to find NEEMO, NASA’s extreme astronaut training program. Viewers will meet rocket-belt inventors, stem cell explorers, and the developer of an electric car that goes zero-to-60 in under four seconds. As a series, WIRED SCIENCE will span the globe to uncover novel developments in biomedicine, space exploration, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, robotics, and military technology.

WIRED SCIENCE is one of three pilots under consideration for series development as part of PBS’s search for the next new science series. WIRED SCIENCE (airing January 3), along with SCIENCE INVESTIGATORS (airing January 10) and 22ND CENTURY (airing January 17), will be offered as featured sites on pbs.org/science as of January 1, 2007. Viewers will be able to watch video streams of the full programs or subscribe to free podcasts at iTunes. Audiences nationwide will be invited to weigh in on their favorite. Viewer feedback, as well as additional audience-based research, will help inform PBS’s decision to greenlight one pilot as the next new science series slated to premiere with an initial 10-week run in Fall 2007.

The hosts and personalities of WIRED SCIENCE include Brian Unger, a contributor to NPR’s Day to Day, frequent guest host on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and former correspondent for the Daily Show; Aomawa Shields, a graduate of MIT and author of the essay “Universe: The Sequel,” which is included in She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff (Seal Press); and Ziya Tong, who hosted the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Emmy-nominated interactive series Zed, a pioneer of “open source” television. In addition, WIRED senior editor Adam Rogers and roving reporters, such as Pulitzer Prize winner Dan Neil, will bring a fresh, youthful, and diverse perspective to the topics.

WIRED SCIENCE is a production of executive producer Tod Mesirow (MythBusters, Monster Garage), senior producer David Axelrod (Emmy winner for the NOVA special Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens), and production designer Grant Major (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong). David Byrne, Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer (The Last Emperor), and co-founder of Talking Heads, produced, composed, and recorded the theme music for the show. Executive producer for KCET is Karen Hunte; executive in charge of production for KCET is Mary Mazur. Executive producer for WIRED Magazine is Melanie Cornwell; Chris Anderson is WIRED’s editor in chief.

WIRED SCIENCE makes its online debut on January 1, 2007, at pbs.org/wiredscience where the program will be streamed and made available as a podcast. The website connects the viewer to the show’s digital content, offering interactive programming, special video archives, and web-only content, such as “Geek Beat,” musings on how scientists are using animal behavior to develop next-gen robots. To find out more, and to read the WIRED SCIENCE blog, visit wired.com/science.

Advance DVD copies of WIRED SCIENCE are available upon request. Photos and materials are available on PBS PressRoom – www.pbs.org/pressroom.