Planet Green Moves to 24-Hour Schedule in 2Q 2010

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Green will transition to a 24 hour program schedule, evolving from its current 8-hour wheel.  The change will take place on March 29, 2010, the beginning of the 2nd Quarter.

To coincide with the creation of traditional day parts, Planet Green will launch its new primetime programming block, VERGE.  The block will feature new and popular content portraying inspired, passionate characters and stories who are trying to making a difference -- the renegades and visionaries who are on the verge of something new, something incredible and often something awe inspiring.  Some succeed.  Some don't.  The entertainment is watching them try.

The first week of the VERGE primetime block will feature the following premieres:

FUTURE FOOD - Series World Premiere

Tuesday, March 30 at 10 p.m. ET

Imagine a world where people can save fuel by taking the delivery driver out of the equation and download pizza off the internet! How about reducing landfill mass by making edible packing peanuts? Meet gastronomists Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche: renowned chefs, successful restaurateurs, patent-owning mad scientists and celebrated futurists!  These two technology-obsessed chefs are looking for solutions to some of world's most pressing environmental issues from a completely unexpected place -- the kitchen -- one concoction at a time. FUTURE FOOD is a co-production of Gala Films and Planet Green.

WA$TED!

Hosted by: Annabelle Gurwitch – Premieres Wednesday, March 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Returning for its third season, Planet Green's money-focused series WA$TED! takes the average household full of eco-horrors and turns it into a clean eco haven, saving participants serious cash in the process.  Host Annabelle Gurwitch works with each household to audit its waste, energy, water and transportation consumption, giving them a few weeks to clean up their act.  

VERGE will also be the home to series including:

BIG CHEF TAKES ON LITTLE CHEF

Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET

Little Chef has been a British institution for decades, but the restaurant chain has been on the verge of financial collapse for years. Enter Heston Blumenthal, an acclaimed three Michelin-starred chef. Can he make the British public fall in love with Little Chef all over again while reviving classic English food in the process?

BLOOD, SWEAT & TAKEAWAYS

Monday at 10:00 p.m. ET    

A group of six young fast food junkies spend a month finding out the truth about how their favorite foods are produced. During this shock therapy that embeds them with the workers responsible for making their favorite dishes, they'll have to live and work alongside poorly paid laborers carrying out the grimmest tasks while contending with appalling conditions.  

CONVICTION KITCHEN

Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. ET

What do you get when you take one world-renowned chef, throw in 24 ex-cons with no culinary experience, and give them just three weeks to open a high-end restaurant from scratch? CONVICTION KITCHEN follows Marc Thuet, Executive Chef and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, as they put their reputations on the line with a high-stakes challenge that will push them -- and their culinary proteges -- to the limit.

THE FABULOUS BEEKMAN BOYS – Series World Premiere June

Tired of the daily grind that comes with living in the Big Apple, cosmopolitan couple Josh and Brent decide to make a drastic change -- launch their own organic lifestyle brand with the purchase of a farm in upstate New York.  There is only one problem -- the would-be farmers don't know a manure spreader from a cheese spreader.  

OPERATION WILD

Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET

Whether it's rescuing distressed boaters, wrangling defiant alligators or hunting down nighttime poachers, it's never a typical day for the officers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). Using boats, helicopters, airboats or patrol vehicles, the men and women of the FWC protect Florida's people as well as its animals that live within a precious ecosystem.

THE WOMAN WHO STOPS TRAFFIC

Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET

Professional trouble-shooter and creative problem solver Kris Murrin is on a mission to stop traffic for just one day in three of England's most congested locations: Marlow, Boston, and Durham.  Each city poses challenges ranging from resident objections to concerns from the city councils to bitter businesses worried about their bottom line.

PLANET MECHANICS – Schedule TBD

Dick Strawbridge and Jem Stansfield are engineers with an eye on the environment. Their mission: to Fix the World. This series pits engineering ingenuity and innovation against our planet's most pressing environmental problems.

About Planet Green:

Planet Green is the multi-platform media destination that launched on June 4, 2008.  Planet Green is the center for a new conversation, speaking to people who want to understand how humans impact the planet, and showcase passionate people doing forward thinking things.

Planet Green and its two robust websites planetgreen.com and TreeHugger.com, offer unique, original, insightful, inspiring, and entertaining content related to how we can evolve to live a better, brighter future.  Planet Green's unique programming, digital tools, and content will enlighten, empower and most certainly, entertain.

Planet Green is a division of Discovery Communications.

SOURCE Planet Green