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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GREENLIGHTS IRREVERENT SIX-PART LIMITED SERIES SET IN ‘90S TECH BUBBLE, VALLEY OF THE BOOM FROM STXtv
New Scripted Drama/Documentary Hybrid Series Hails from Showrunner and Director Matthew Carnahan and Executive Producer Arianna Huffington
Wed Nov 15 2017 17:15:00 GMT+0000 (UTC)
(WASHINGTON, DC/LOS ANGELES, CA – November 15, 2017) Hot on the heels of National Geographic’s 10 Emmy Award nominations for Genius and the premiere of the critically acclaimed drama series The Long Road Home, the network today announced it has greenlit its next scripted project, Valley of the Boom from STXtv. The new six-part limited series will take an adrenaline-fueled ride through the culture of speculation, innovation and debauchery that led to the rapid inflation and burst of the 1990s tech bubble. Supporting the scripted drama will be select doc elements (similar to the network’s critically acclaimed hybrid series Mars) to tell the true inside story of the dramatic early days of Silicon Valley.
Valley of the Boom will be produced by STX Entertainment’s TV studio, STXtv, for National Geographic along with creator, showrunner, director and executive producer Matthew Carnahan (Showtime’s House of Lies) at the helm and executive producer Arianna Huffington (founder of The Huffington Post, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books, including Thrive and The Sleep Revolution). The series will premiere globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages. STX will distribute the series in China.
“National Geographic pioneered the hybrid scripted-docuseries genre with Mars, which is currently in production on its second season. With Valley of the Boom, we are continuing on the same genre-busting path,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president and head of global scripted programming and development at National Geographic. “The provocative world of Silicon Valley has long dominated headlines and captured the public's imagination. We cannot wait to tell this timely, wildly unpredictable and captivating story of the early days of the dotcom boom and bust with showrunner Matthew Carnahan and his signature irreverent blend of drama, comedy and pathos.”
“Valley of the Boom is the perfect example of the creatively ambitious, globally-minded content that STXtv is producing for audiences across platforms,” said Jada Miranda, EVP and Head of Scripted Television at STXtv. “Matthew has been a dream collaborator and the perfect creator for this project – blending his past in documentary filmmaking with expert TV series show running. We’re thrilled to bring his innovative vision to National Geographic and give audiences a peek behind the curtain of one of the most fascinating periods in recent history.”
Added Carnahan, “We wanted to make something as disruptive and exciting as the people and the tech that came out of The Valley during this period, so this is a wild, hybridized, rule-breaking look at a truly remarkable time and place.
STXtv and NatGeo have allowed us tremendous creative freedom, and I’m excited about making something truly new and different.”
"Silicon Valley and the technology that came out of it dominate our world in so many ways, both physically and culturally,” said Arianna Huffington. “But we can’t understand the present without understanding how we got here. So I’m thrilled to be partnering with a master storyteller like Matthew Carnahan, a global studio of STXtv’s caliber and a brand that has rightly earned such deep trust and loyalty as National Geographic.”
Led by Silicon Valley, the 1990s tech boom spawned some of the world’s most influential people and recognizable brands. Valley of the Boom details their meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall and offers audiences an unforgettable perspective on the men and women who forever changed the way we access information and connect with each other. While most of the show is scripted, the series will be using select doc elements to highlight this story that truly lives up to the adage that truth is stranger than fiction.
Matthew Carnahan is a critically acclaimed novelist, playwright, director and writer for television and features. His most recent series, HOUSE OF LIES starred Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell. The award-winning series ran for five seasons on Showtime and won Cheadle a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He is repped by ICM & Lighthouse Management & Media.
Carnahan and Huffington are joined by fellow executive producers Jason Goldberg (E!’s The Platinum Life, MTV’s Punk’d), Brant Pinvidic (Spike TV’s Bar Rescue), David Walpert (House of Lies, New Girl) and co-executive producer David Newsom, who will lead the non-scripted unit of the production. Joel Ehninger of Matthew Carnahan Circus Products boards as producer.
For more information, visit www.natgeotvpressroom.com or follow us on Twitter using @NGC_PR.
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About National Geographic Partners LLC:
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 128 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers… and reaching over 730 million people around the world in 171 countries and 45 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27% of our proceeds to the non-profit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
About STXtv:
The company is led by accomplished businessman Robert Simonds and was co-founded by Bill McGlashan, managing partner of the leading global private investment firm TPG. Other investors include Hony Capital, a leading private equity firm in China; PCCW, Southeast Asia’s largest Internet and cable services provider; Tencent Holdings, China’s leading provider of online products and services; Dominic Ng, Chairman of East West Bank; DNS Capital (representing the business interests of Gigi Pritzker and her immediate family); and Beau Wrigley, former Chairman and CEO of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, among others. With these strategic relationships, the company is uniquely positioned to maximize the impact of content worldwide, with direct passage into the China market. For more information, please visit https://www.stxentertainment.com/.
Media Contacts:
Chris Albert, National Geographic, 202-912-6526, Chris.albert@natgeo.com
Jenn DeGuzman, National Geographic, 212-656-0674, Jennifer.deguzman@natgeo.com
Patricia Röckenwagner, STX Entertainment, 310-742-2317, prockenwagner@stxentertainment.com
