Terra Mater Studios

Terra Mater Studios Illuminates Nature’s Wild Wonders

The Terra Mater Studios natural history slate transports viewers to nature’s wonders, often with a balance of highlighting important ecological issues. “As climate change and environmental topics become more pressing, people are more interested in learning about the natural world and the species that inhabit it,” says Sabine Holzer, head of specialist factual. “This increased environmental awareness can drive viewership and engagement with content that educates and informs about these topics.”

At the same time, with the conditions of the fast-paced (and often stressful) modern world, natural history content provides a form of escape—and Terra Mater Studios can deliver. “Watching serene and beautiful natural scenes can have a calming effect, which is appealing to many viewers,” Holzer says. “Natural history content is often seen as both entertaining and educational, making it a popular choice for people who want to learn while they watch. This also makes it a valuable resource for schools and educational institutions.”

Many natural history documentaries also now focus on global stories, showing how interconnected the planet is. “This resonates with a more globally conscious audience who is interested in understanding not just their local environment but also the wider world,” Holzer adds.

In trend tracking, cats continue to take over the world, according to Holzer, pointing to the success of Big Cats, Small World; Jaguar Beach; and Dethroned.

Through distributor Autentic Distribution, underwater adventures such as Soul of the Ocean and Treasure of the Caribbean have performed well, alongside innovative topics such as those featured in The Storm—Wildlife in Wild Weather and the miniseries Great Lakes Untamed and Roots of Life.

New highlights for the Terra Mater Studios slate include The Nature of Christmas, a nature doc sprinkled with Christmas magic and love. The three-parter Katavi is a blue-chip drama playing out in an African landscape untouched by humans. Penguin Baywatch makes use of advanced tools in 4K HDR cinematography to showcase the science around the titular species. Healthy Cities—More Than Human, available as a 2×50-minute miniseries as well as a 1×90-minute special, looks at how biodiversity, cities’ ecosystems and our own health are affected by rapid urbanization. Wild San Diego shines a light on California’s second-largest city and its seemingly inhospitable ecological worlds.

Harnessing the popularity of this content and the rise in digital consumption, Terra Mater Studios recently launched the FAST channel Terra Mater WILD with distribution partner Autentic Distribution on platforms in German-speaking territories, including Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee and Pluto TV. “The channel is still young, but its performance already underscores the immense popularity of this kind of content, so we are exploring further expansion into new territories and platforms, catering to the insatiable curiosity of nature audiences around the globe,” Holzer says. “In addition, we run our own YouTube channel with exclusively produced content that has already garnered more than 72 million views and will soon reach 500,000 subscribers.”

Heading to MIPTV, Terra Mater Studios is open to discussing co-production opportunities “and would also love to hear from everyone with an interesting project who thinks that Terra Mater Studios could be the perfect partner for,” says Holzer. Upcoming projects include Riddle in the Wind, a two-part investigation into why some animals are thriving while others are disappearing on several volcanic islands; Kosha—Secret Life of a Pangolin, all about an ant-eating scaly mammal with a ridiculously long tongue; and Leopard Dynasty, tracking the story of a leopard living in a refuge in the middle of Jaipur, India.

Future projects on the planner include Wild Cape Town, a celebration of a city that has long embraced its wild side; Whispers of the Wild, about the future of tigers in Thailand; Lemur Diaries, following the ring-trailed critters to see how they survive in the modern world with an uncertain future; and Gigi Goes Home, about the concentrated efforts of keeping red pandas where they belong: in the wild, healthy and thriving.

Terra Mater Studios Takes Specialist Factual Focus

Ramping up its slate of specialist factual programming, Terra Mater Studios is currently releasing and producing a nice mix of one-offs as well as limited series. Current and upcoming release highlights include the three-parters Scotland—The New Wild, A Cheetah’s Pride and The Wild Sides, which has just been picked up by National Geographic channels internationally as a presale. At the same time, the company’s one-offs are presenting and investigating dedicated topics, be it digging into weather phenomena, the changing world as a whole or the circle of life at a specific place, with titles such as The Storm—Wildlife in Wild Weather, Nature’s Changes and Morava—River of Ancient Times.

“The current state of our world demands feel-good stories sprinkled with some serious, encouraging nods,” says Sabine Holzer, head of specialist factual. “Terra Mater Studios’ blue-chip portfolio is in ongoing high demand—as awards, sales and rating numbers for titles such as The Hummingbird Effect and Treasure of the Caribbean clearly show. However, we also encourage discussing more inconvenient topics—our changing climate, nature in distress and humans on the quest for solutions, as shown in titles such as Healthy Cities—More Than Human, Dethroned and Future Home. The question is: Are TV channels brave enough to broadcast these important topics and to push the marketing to reach high viewer numbers?”

The company is gearing up for MIPCOM with a slate that includes Raptors, which looks at the large predator birds. The project saw Terra Mater Studios again working with Matt Hamilton, with whom it has produced many multi-awarded programs in the past, including Amazing Pigs, Santa’s Wild Home and Borneo—Earth’s Ancient Isle. “The two-parter reveals the ways in which birds of prey have come to dominate the planet, kill for a living and inspire both fear and wonder,” explains Holzer. “Alongside astonishing visuals, insights and behaviors, we even introduce you to a new, rather surprising, member of the raptors.”

Jaguar Beach is a one-off, first-of-its-kind film rooted in an intimate jaguar family story. It uses the latest camera technology to explore the complex lives of these mysterious and powerful cats as they navigate the unique environment between the forest and the sea, mating, rearing cubs and learning to hunt in an unusual way. For this film, Terra Mater Studios teamed up again with Coneflower Studios’ Ann Johnson Prum, most recently known for award-winning films such as The Hummingbird Effect and Sex, Lies and Butterflies, co-produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and The WNET Group.

Europe’s Amazon takes viewers into a magical world where the rivers Danube and Drava meet, into Central Europe’s inland delta. “The makers of this film have grown up, lived and worked along this still secret gem of the river,” Holzer says. “Being familiar with some of the great rivers of the planet, including the Amazon, the comparison they draw reveals the Drava’s unique and fascinating character and uncovers many of its hidden treasures.”

Holzer notes that Dethroned will be “a tough 50 minutes to digest, but ultimately worth it.” The film is a story of rediscovery, following photojournalist Aaron Gekoski across the planet in an attempt to uncover where we have parted ways with the big cats and what could happen if we continue to allow these creatures to be traded, commodified and enslaved.

“Terra Mater Studios continues to produce premium natural history, science and history programming, and we’re backed up by a triple-digit number of awards over the last decade,” Holzer says. “From the beginning, we’ve only ever worked with the best and continue to do so—and it shows.”

Its slate of future projects features a mix of topics that cater to a family audience. Titles include The Philippines, looking at how rising sea levels are impacting the nation; American Amazon, a natural history adventure through the wilderness in North America; The Nature of Christmas, exploring the connection between animals, plants and mystical landscapes with this beloved holiday; Kui Buri—Recreating Paradise, about a national park in Thailand; Healthy Cities—More Than Human, which looks at urban biodiversity, human health and other hot topics; Wild Vienna, taking a closer look at the animals of Austria’s capital; and Wild San Diego, spotlighting the diverse wildlife of the American city. “We’re always looking for co-production partners,” Holzer adds.

Terra Mater Studios Puts the Natural World on Display

Terra Mater Studios continues to produce premium natural history, science and history programming, with a focus on the animals, landscapes, natural wonders and ecological issues of the world around us. “The viewer’s interest in our planet’s changing climate and its effects is on the rise, and we try to cater to that by developing solution-based stories, among others, the six-parter Future Home, mega-blue-chip series Degrees of Life and Healthy Cities—More Than Human,” says Sabine Holzer, head of specialist factual. 

The company has been expanding co-productions with new partners as of late. It is producing the natural history doc Big Cats, Small World with Blue Ant Media (in addition to established partner WNET) and is discussing further projects with them. It is also finishing its first co-production with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios (and established partner WNET), Treasure of the Caribbean, which will premiere on PBS Nature in late April around Earth Day, and they are already looking forward to their next joint project, Jaguar Beach. 

“Putting conservation in the spotlight is tricky but absolutely worth it,” says Holzer. “Eyes of the Orangutan was met with great success and emotional reactions from the audience, particularly at the recent charity screening at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The same charismatic team is already busy with our follow-up project, Felines—Our Fatal Attraction, in which environmental photojournalist Aaron Gekoski looks deeper into our (problematic?) relationship with big cats.” 

With regard to fresh highlights, Terra Mater Studios is presenting Future Home, a six-parter that was part of the Sunny Side 2023 Global Pitching Session. Based on pioneering research and designs, it is the first series to explore new structures designed by a diverse range of architects to withstand mother nature’s most powerful forces: flood, fire, ice, wind, quakes and air. “This project is big, and we’ll not only explore technical limits but intend to go way beyond them,” says Holzer. “Our goal is to create a cinematic experience of landscapes and extreme weather systems worthy of visual grandeur. Both Terra Mater Studios and Amberjack Films are very passionate about this topic, and we’re currently looking for further co-financing partners.” 

The two-parter The Philippines looks at the country’s biodiversity, which is considered one of the greatest in the world. However, rising sea levels once again threaten to significantly alter the face of the region, with far-reaching consequences for people, flora and fauna. Terra Mater Studios is looking for co-production partners on the project. 

For Raptors—A Fistful of Daggers, Terra Mater Studios teamed up with Matt Hamilton, with whom it has produced many multi-awarded projects in the past. In the two-parter, Hamilton travels around the globe to tell the story of raptors’ unparalleled success. Thirteen Productions/WNET are already on board, and Terra Mater Studios is encouraging anyone interested in joining this project to get in touch quickly. 

Filmmaker Owen Prümm and Terra Mater Studios have worked together on major projects in the past: The Lions Rule and The Bastard King. Their latest collaboration is Katavi, which Holzer says is big, ambitious and an allegorical tale so grand it’s hard to put into words. The spectacle centers on Katavi National Park in southern Tanzania, where the powerful tribes of lions, hippos and crocodiles struggle for survival, defending their turf from intruders. Terra Mater Studios is teaming up again with Shibumi Films. There is already strong interest from U.S. and German partners, and further co-producers are being sought. 

Also for MIPTV, there are Penguin Baywatch, which balances serious scientific research and lighthearted humor, and Game of Moons, an exploration of space science. 

In line with its productions that shine a light on the natural world, Terra Mater Studios has been on the path to sustainability for several years. In addition to setting a reduction target for corporate emissions, all of the company’s films produced from 2022 onward are subject to strict, self-imposed green-producing regulations. It is also compiling green guidelines for every production, in line with international criteria. From 2022, these are mandatory for its partners as well. Impact producing and green storytelling continues to be a topic of major importance for Terra Mater Studios, which is reducing its own footprint by working with and exploring its archive while also opening this possibility to external partners, licensing footage to them. 

While Terra Mater Studios’ foundations lie in premium specialist factual programming, over the last decade, the company has branched out, with scripted and formats part of offerings. As the company’s slate continues to grow, Terra Mater Studios remains open to collaborating with new co-production partners, Holzer affirms. “We also welcome original ideas from producers who share our passion for creating compelling content,” she adds.