June 21, 2022
Melanie Wallace, former senior series producer for PBS’s award-winning science series NOVA, has joined the production team of Pictures of Infinity as Consulting Executive Producer.
Melanie has produced, written and series produced more than 300 PBS NOVA episodes. She has recently launched Melanie Wallace Media Strategies LLC, where as a global media strategist, she connects broadcast and crossplatform storytellers with financial support and distribution opportunities.
She guides programming ideas from concept development to funding and on to successful global distribution.
Her films have been honored by the News and Documentary Emmys, the Primetime Emmys, the Columbia Dupont Awards and the International Documentary Association (IDA) among others.
Melanie has worked closely with some of the giants in documentary television including Michael Ambrosino, founder of NOVA, David Fanning, founder of FRONTLINE and ADVENTURE and Paula Apsell, NOVA’s longest serving Senior Executive Producer.
Her rich body of work spans from her first PBS producing credit 40 years ago, Whale Watch (1982), to Earth Emergency (2022) and Ancient Maya Metropolis (2022).
An internationally acclaimed media executive, Melanie has rare insight into all aspects of factual programming, including content development, talent acquisition, and complex business deals. She refined her skills working closely with commercial and public broadcasters, foundations and government agencies. Melanie has brokered deals with international partners in the UK (BBC), France and Germany (ARTE), Japan (NHK) and China (CCTV) as well as many others and has extensive experience with pan-Asian production deals and multi-partnered international co-productions. As part of her ongoing international portfolio, Melanie sits on the executive team of a London based independent production company, Plucky Films, where she is a board member and Executive Producer on Special Projects.
Melanie’s skills include connecting broadcast and cross-platform storytellers with financial support and distribution opportunities, guiding programming ideas from concept development through funding to successful global distribution. She is abreast of the changing landscape in the TV industry and can advise on the new opportunities from the world of streamers and online short-form opportunities.
Her content expertise includes science generally and climate science specifically, STEM education, the role of diverse voices in documentaries, and the evolving media marketplace. She has been working at the forefront of media technology and covered most subject areas beyond science including history, music and drama docs.
In a recent notable success, Wallace brought Earth Emergency, a PBS documentary to the 2021 UN Climate Conference, COP 26, and to the attention of King Charles III. New projects include Pictures of Infinity, an exploration of the scientific ideas of Nikola Tesla; BrainStorm a mental health documentary; Never Let Anyone Steal Your Dreams: The Sammy Nestico story ; and Imagining a Better World, the life of art therapist and child survivor of the Holocaust, Nelly Toll.
Over her career she has received News and Documentary Emmys, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards and George Foster Peabody Awards. She is a member of the International Documentary Association, the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers and has juried for the News and Documentary Emmys, the Dupont Awards and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers Buzzie Awards.
A recent accolade was being honored as Mentor of The Year, an award presented by the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers during their 2020 Congress event.
Melanie is a member of the International Documentary Association and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers and has been a juror for the Academy of Arts and Sciences, News and Documentaries, the Columbia Dupont Journalism Awards, and the Peabody Awards.
Pictures of Infinity 