Making a series this epic takes a village! To create a seamless experience for the viewer that doesn't dumb down complicated science concepts takes copious amounts of research and storytelling skills. No one person could do this alone... and I'm proud to have worked with the best in the business to help create a series this riveting, this revealing, and this entertaining. It's a high-bar that everyone involved with this series is proud of.

When he first saw the rough cuts from this six-part hard science series, Kyle saw the tremendous potential to heighten the show’s impact. But it required looking beyond what had been filmed. With young talent and great access, the missing element was an overarching storytelling conceit across the series that would compel the audience to watch each episode (because someone interested in space isn’t necessarily someone interested in medicine). To address that, Kyle created the global concept of “futurescapes” to give the series a consistent theme. These animated futures also provided the storytelling hook in each episode, anchored the show-n-tell segments editorially, and visually projected how the given technology would benefit society as a whole… delivering a hopeful glimpse into the future.

When the initial Rough Cut for The New Air Force One landed on Kyle’s desk to rework, the mandate was to make it more appealing for US audiences. Taking the 30,000 foot view, as it were, Kyle plotted out three different storytelling modalities: 1) articulating AF1’s cutting-edge engineering, 2) establishing AF1’s key moments in history, and 3) revealing how AF1’s new design would address technological limitations that actually impacted that history (such as President Bush’s inability to speak to the nation on 9/11 while he was on board the plane). This triad of story points across the special built-up anticipation for the new interior and exterior designs, which were revealed at the end of the program.

This ambitious archeology project followed a high-tech team using incredible hardware to peer through the ground and discover underground worlds built by ancient civilizations. But, Kyle’s task was immense because the show’s original host had to be cut out during post-production. So he pieced together the remaining materials that would cohere narratively. And as part of his consultancy, he then redeveloped and re-pitched the project as led by the tech-team... securing the green light and rescuing the show in post. He subsequently wrote the mystery oriented script. And when it aired, Buried Truth fetched very high-ratings for its premiere.

The key challenge in developing How to Win was pouring through books and articles in neuroscience to find compelling principles that people could use in their everyday lives. For instance, when negotiating one’s salary, it’s advantageous to be the first to articulate the number. That’s because the “anchoring effect” sets the parameters of the discussion. Everyone has seen athletes raise their arms in victory, which is known to increase testosterone and lower cortisol. But this also works in reverse… and can be done by anyone needing a quick boost of self-confidence before a high-stakes event. Brain hacks like these—cast alongside examples from history, and vérité demonstrations—formed the basis of this insightful, yet quirky series.