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| NOVA (television program) | |
|---|---|
| Show name | NOVA |
| Genre | Science documentary |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Company | WGBH Boston |
| Channel | PBS |
| First aired | 1974 |
| Last aired | present |
NOVA (television program) NOVA is an American science documentary television series produced by WGBH-TV for PBS. The series presents documentary films on topics in astronomy, physics, biology, engineering, paleontology, and environmentalism featuring scientists, expeditions, and institutions such as NASA, CERN, Smithsonian Institution, Salk Institute, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. NOVA has contributed to public understanding of subjects ranging from Big Bang cosmology and evolution to climate change and artificial intelligence, reaching domestic and international audiences.
NOVA is a long-running documentary series produced by WGBH-TV and broadcast on PBS that focuses on science and technology stories involving research at institutions like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Oxford University. Episodes often feature fieldwork at sites such as Mount Everest, Galápagos Islands, Antarctica, Yellowstone National Park, and Hadrian's Wall, and interviews with scientists affiliated with organizations including Royal Society, Max Planck Society, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, and National Institutes of Health. NOVA films have showcased subjects including Albert Einstein–related archives, Charles Darwin–related expeditions, and large-scale facilities like Large Hadron Collider and Hubble Space Telescope.
NOVA premiered in 1974 following precedents set by educational programs on PBS and production initiatives at WGBH-TV, drawing upon documentary traditions exemplified by series produced for BBC and films by documentarians associated with National Geographic Society and British Museum. Early episodes engaged with contemporary topics such as energy crisis of 1973–1974, exploratory missions to Antarctica, and medical research at centers like Johns Hopkins Hospital and Mayo Clinic. Across the 1980s and 1990s NOVA expanded coverage to include breakthroughs at Fermilab, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, while collaborating with institutions such as Smithsonian Institution and American Museum of Natural History. In the 21st century NOVA integrated digital cinematography, CGI from effects houses that had worked on productions for Industrial Light & Magic, and partnerships with archives like Library of Congress to document topics including genome sequencing, global warming, and the Human Genome Project.
Typical NOVA episodes run approximately 60 minutes and combine location cinematography, laboratory footage, archival materials from repositories such as National Archives and Records Administration, and interviews with investigators affiliated with Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, University of Cambridge, and University of Tokyo. Producers and directors have included filmmakers who previously worked with institutions like BBC Horizon and the Discovery Channel, and the series has employed narrative techniques similar to feature documentaries screened at festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. NOVA production teams collaborate with scientific advisors from American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences, and specialized research centers including Salk Institute and Broad Institute to ensure accuracy in subjects like CRISPR, plate tectonics, neuroscience, and quantum mechanics.
Notable NOVA episodes and specials have chronicled events and figures such as the Challenger disaster, explorations of Mars missions including Viking program and Mars Rover, investigations into Alzheimer's disease research at clinics like Massachusetts General Hospital, and profiles of historical scientists including Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, and Nikola Tesla through archival materials from institutions like Royal Society and Institut Pasteur. Multi-part series have examined the Human Genome Project, the history of earthquake science in regions such as San Andreas Fault, paleontological discoveries at Hell Creek Formation and La Brea Tar Pits, and engineering feats such as construction of Panama Canal and studies of bridge failures like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
NOVA has been praised by scholars and journalists at outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nature, Science, and reviewers from institutions like American Association for the Advancement of Science for making complex scientific topics accessible. The series influenced public discourse on issues addressed by organizations such as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Health Organization, and United Nations agencies by presenting research on climate change, infectious diseases, and technological risk. NOVA’s approach has been cited in academic studies by scholars at University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, and London School of Economics investigating science communication and media effects.
Across its run NOVA has received awards from institutions including the Peabody Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, and honors from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Individual episodes and filmmakers associated with NOVA have been recognized at festivals and by organizations such as International Documentary Association, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for investigative reporting, cinematography, and science journalism.
NOVA episodes have been distributed internationally through broadcasters including the BBC, NHK, ZDF, Arte, and CBC Television, and have been adapted or co-produced with organizations like Discovery Channel, Channel 4 (UK), and ABC (Australia). International versions and translations have reached audiences in regions covered by networks such as Al Jazeera English, France Télévisions, Deutsche Welle, and RTÉ, and the series has been used as curricular material in educational programs at institutions like Harvard University Extension School and Open University.
Category:American documentary television series Category:PBS original programming