Greta Thunberg to join 'The Office' star Rainn Wilson's docuseries to teach 'idiots' about climate change
'The Office' star Rainn Wilson will be appearing in a documentary series which will explain the global threat posed by climate change to "idiots", and will feature teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg in its panel of guests. Wilson, 54, has become increasingly vocal about climate change and his environmental activism in the past years and will be hosting the six-part docuseries, which is titled 'An Idiot's Guide to Climate Change'.
"Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will be among Wilson’s guests as he embarks on a life-changing journey from an everyday, well-intentioned but uninformed liberal to strident climate activist," a description from Deadline read. "Combining his wry, self-deprecating humor with genuine interest, the series brings viewers along the journey to learn what we need to do to protect our planet."
In a teaser of his episode with 17-year-old Thunberg, the latter can be seen teasing Wilson by holding up a 'Get Smart' DVD and asking for the autograph of Steve Carrell, Wilson's co-star in 'The Office' who played the role of his boss. Wilson opened up to Green Matters about his talk with Thunberg and said that the teen, who has hit international headlines over the last year following her fierce brand of environmental activism, had "put things in perspective for him."
"My conversation with Greta Thunberg put things in perspective for me," he said. "I need to take action and use my platform to encourage people to learn more about the climate crisis and vote for platforms that support the science, so that's what I'm doing." Besides Thunberg, the docu-series will also feature the likes of astronomer and climate activist Sævar Helgi Bragason, Lancaster University professor of sustainability Dr Gail Whiteman, arctic scientist Dr David Hik, atmospheric scientist Dr Jennifer Francis, and Future Coalition Executive Director Katie Eder.
In the episode released on July 28 where Wilson meets Bragason, the actor is given a list of suggestions that people and companies should be enacting to reduce their carbon dioxide and methane emissions: which include eating fewer animals, using less concrete in construction, planting more trees, wasting less food, buying fewer new things, slowing shipping speeds, and using fewer cars and airplanes.
Speaking about the series, Wilson said, "Before our current devastating pandemic, I took a trip to Greenland with some climate scientists to explore that other devastating future pandemic – climate change. My trip to Greenland and Iceland was amazing. I saw my first glacier and talked to more nerdy scientists than I ever have in my life. But I also left my trip feeling terribly concerned."
He added: "I knew nothing about climate science and global warming, and I’d never seen a glacier before. The amazing, fun, and terrifying journey seen in 'An Idiot's Guide to Climate Change' really opened my eyes. It was my idiotic way of exploring this extremely non-idiotic issue."
'An Idiot's Guide to Climate Change' is being produced by Wilson's Participant-backed content studio SoulPancake and will be available to watch on the company's YouTube channel, which has over three million subscribers.