In 2018, John Bredar, the vice president of national programming at GBH, had an unexpected encounter while waiting in line at a food truck in GBH’s parking lot. He ran into Brian Skerry, his former colleague from National Geographic. Skerry mentioned that he was working on a story about the Gulf of Maine, coincidentally an idea that Bredar had been contemplating since his recent move to Maine. This serendipitous meeting led to the development of a new PBSNOVA special presentation, directed by filmmakers Chun-Wei Yi and Stella Cha and produced by Skerry and Bredar, Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine. Sea Change will debut on PBS and online on July 24,2024.[1]
John Bredar stated in an online interview with GBH, “We structured the series around three important themes, the historic bounty of the Gulf; the peril facing all living creatures, including us, because of overexploitation of that bounty; and survival, or how people, scientists, and entrepreneurs are using remarkable innovations, discoveries, and new ways of thinking to adapt to these new circumstances”.[1]
Sea Change intertwines science, exploration, natural history, and tales of human experiences to illustrate potential global implications of events in the Gulf of Maine. The series allows viewers to witness the remarkable wilderness and wildlife that thrive in these waters. Additionally, it documents the diverse range of people, including scientists, Native Americans, fishers, and entrepreneurs, who are striving to uncover the Gulf's complex history and understand the ocean's role in all of our lives.[2]
