NASA Datanaut/Miss Universe Ireland Fig O’Reilly Joins Show as New Correspondent
Series Launches New #STEMLife Campaign across Mission Unstoppable’s Social Channels to Spotlight Diverse Women in STEM
NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2020 — Litton Entertainment in partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies®’ IF/THEN® Initiative, announced today they have kicked off production on season two of the award-winning CBS series, Mission Unstoppable. Miranda Cosgrove will continue her role as host and executive producer along with Academy-Award winning actor and advocate Geena Davis who serves as executive producer. The sophomore series, part of “The CBS Dream Team, It’s Epic” Saturday morning block of Educational/Informational programming, spotlights and celebrates diverse female STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) professionals as role models to educate and inspire the next generation of STEM pioneers.
In addition, season two of Mission Unstoppable will welcome NASA Datanaut and Miss Universe Ireland 2019, Fig O’Reilly as a new correspondent, joining host Cosgrove and returning correspondents, Erica Hernandez and Nabeel Muscatwalla.
“Unique intersectional female characters in entertainment and media are essential to challenging negative stereotypes and inspiring girls to pursue their dreams,” said Geena Davis, Executive Producer, Mission Unstoppable. “Girls need to see positive role models on and off the screen, and as I always say, ‘If they can see it, they can be it.’ Mission Unstoppable strives to empower young women and showcases the many ways they can impact the world through careers in STEM.”
Each week, Cosgrove and team of traveling correspondents showcase women on the cutting edge of science and technology including: roboticists, zoologists, engineers, astronauts, physicists, mathematicians, archaeologists, astrophysicists, mechanical engineers, codebreakers and oceanographers. Young viewers can find inspiration through female STEM superstars in leading fields such as social media, entertainment, animals, design and the internet – all categories key to the teen experience. The series has been recognized and lauded with two 2020 Daytime Emmy nominations including Outstanding Entertainment/Educational Series and received a Parents’ Choice Award, Gracie Award and six Telly Awards.
In celebration of the new season, Mission Unstoppable will launch #STEMLife, a new campaign celebrating female STEM stars showing young girls what it’s really like to work in STEM professions. The new campaign will run through Saturday, Nov. 14 and will spotlight more than 30 diverse women in STEM across Mission Unstoppable’s social channels including: Fig O’Reilly, NASA Datanaut and Miss Universe Ireland 2019, Ellie Maybury, Head of Performance for the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team, and Roselin Rosario-Meléndez, a L’Oreal Cosmetics Chemist.
Interacting with girls where they consume content, the series will debut new, exclusive content on TikTok and popular live streaming platform, Twitch. Mission Unstoppable will kick off the national STEM celebration on TikTok (@CBSUnstoppable), via a custom message from host Miranda Cosgrove, encouraging fans to discover and join the fun. On the series TikTok channel, visitors will find custom videos created by our STEM influencers/experts ranging from DIY science experiments, STEM challenges, and “day in the life of a scientist” videos to learn more about their careers.
Every Monday on Twitch, Mission Unstoppable will present a new weekly after-show, “Science ‘N Stuff,” (Twitch.tv/CBSUnstoppable) where viewers can chat with STEM superstars such as bat conservationist and AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador Kristen Lear, among others.
Serving as Showrunner for a second season is Anna Wenger, four-time Emmy-nominated producer for Billy on The Street, Between Two Ferns, and Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles. Wenger’s expertise in narrative television and sketch comedy television series will provide Mission Unstoppable with its core intent to bring fun and science to life for young viewers.
Mission Unstoppable is produced by Litton Entertainment in collaboration with IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. Together, the production partners seek to further advance women in STEM by empowering innovators and inspiring the next generation of pioneers through media and learning experiences. A network of 125 women STEM professionals from around the country who are serving as AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors will energize and support the show’s storytelling. Information, images, and videos about the AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors, many who are featured on the series, can be found here in The IF/THEN® Collection.
Fionnghuala “Fig” O’Reilly is an Irish-American model, beauty pageant titleholder, and engineer. She is the first woman of color to represent Ireland at the international Miss Universe pageant and is a Datanaut with the NASA Datanauts program, an Open Innovation program in the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s Technology, Data, and Innovation Division at NASA Headquarters. As Miss Universe Ireland 2019, Fig advocates for diversity and women in STEM and was named as a 2020 Ambassador for Engineers Ireland.
ABOUT LITTON ENTERTAINMENT
Litton Entertainment, a division of Hearst Television, is the preeminent independent producer and distributor in the U.S. television industry, creating quality programming for over 20 years with distribution across linear, cable, streamers, digital and social platforms. Producing more than 800 hours of programing a year across genres and demos, Litton talent and crews can often be found traveling the globe producing Emmy-winning, content distributed worldwide. Litton’s Weekend Adventure, produced by Litton Studios, was the first program block of its kind and airs Saturdays on ABC stations nationwide. Litton Entertainment provides CBS Network with six original programs for Saturday mornings called CBS Dream Team: It’s Epic!; The CW Network with One Magnificent Morning, a three-hour destination featuring E/I programming; NBC stations with six original E/I series under the iconic brand The More You Know; and Telemundo with the three-hour Mi Telemundo block of programming. Litton’s syndication and news division distributes a diverse slate of programs including Law & Crime Daily, the E/I block Go Time!, and Consumer Reports TV. Litton offers the The Daily Splash, an online hub and newsletter featuring Litton’s award-winning programming. For more information, visit https://www.litton.tv. Litton is majority-owned by Hearst: https://www.hearst.com.
ABOUT IF/THEN
IF/THEN®, an extension of Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ commitment to fund game-changing advancements in science and nature, seeks to further advance women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by empowering current innovators and inspiring the next generation of pioneers. Rooted in a firm belief that there is no better time to highlight positive and successful female professional role models, IF/THEN® is designed to activate a culture shift among young girls to open their eyes to STEM careers by: (1) funding and elevating women in STEM as role models, (2) convening cross-sector partners in entertainment, fashion, sports, business and academia to illuminate the importance of STEM everywhere, and (3) inspiring girls with better portrayals of women in STEM through media and learning experiences to pique their interest in STEM careers.
ABOUT LYDA HILL PHILANTHROPIES
Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving of founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. As one of its priorities, Lyda Hill Philanthropies funds transformational advances in science and nature. To learn more, please visit lydahillphilanthropies.org/.
Contact:
Jodi Davis
Goodman Media for Lyda Hill Philanthropies
IfThenpr@goodmanmedia.com
212-576-2700 /201-927-6171