HBO Max, the direct-to-consumer offering from WarnerMedia, announced today that it wants to help you relax with a ten-episode order of A World of Calm. A totally new type of television experience that combines mesmeric imagery with narration by A-list stars – including Mahershala Ali, Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Lucy Liu, Cillian Murphy, and Keanu Reeves. HBO Max’s first project in the Health and Wellness space, A World of Calm is the result of a unique collaboration between the makers of Calm, the no. 1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation, and Nutopia, the team behind Nat Geo’s critically acclaimed series One Strange Rock.
A timely antidote for our modern lives, each half-hour episode takes audiences on an immersive visual journey into another world. Building on the record-breaking success of Calm’s Sleep Stories(TM) – bedtime stories for grown-ups with over 250m listens – each relaxing tale is designed to transform how you feel. Transporting the viewer into tranquility through scientifically-engineered narratives, enchanting music, and astounding footage, to naturally calm your body and soothe the mind. Each story is brought to life by a different iconic voice.
“With the considerable amount of stress and chaos we are all experiencing at this particularly challenging time, we could all use a bit of guided relaxation and A World of Calm is here to help,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president of non-fiction and kids programming for HBO Max. “With soothing imagery and tranquil narration, this is one HBO Max original that we hope becomes part of your daily routine.”
“We are thrilled to work with such amazing partners as HBO Max and Calm for this new cutting edge endeavor,” said Nutopia CEO and founder Jane Root. ” Although this collaboration has been in the works for many months, this series has been entirely created during quarantine using Nutopia’s worldwide network of award-winning cinematographers and filmmakers. We hope this series of serene stories will bring a sense of much needed calm to audiences.”
“Calm started life as a meditation app but the brand has evolved far beyond that,” said Calm co-founder and co-CEO Michael Acton Smith. “We are delighted to bring the magic behind our audio Sleep Stories to the screen for the first time. These experiences are visual Valium and will help people relax and unwind during these stressful times.”
The series is co-produced by Calm and Nutopia with Jane Root, Nicola Moody, Michael Acton Smith, and Chris Advansun serving as executive producers, and Sara Brailsford and Fiona Caldwell as co-executive producers.
