WarnerMedia’s fresh streaming service HBO Max has revealed it is partnering with the Calm app for a special new series entitled A World of Calm that will feature narration from an ensemble roster including Mahershala Ali (True Detective), Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies), Lucy Liu (Elementary) and more!
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As the first project in HBO Max’s Health and Wellness space, the series stems from a collaboration between the creators of the titular app and Nutopia, the team behind Nat Geo’s 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 – 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,” Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president of non-fiction and kids programming for HBO Max, said in a statement. “With soothing imagery and tranquil narration, this is one HBO Max original that we hope becomes part of your daily routine.”
In addition to Ali, Kidman and Liu, the voice narration cast for the series will also include Idris Elba (Hobbs and Shaw), Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Zoë Kravitz (High Fidelity), Cillian Murphy (A Quiet Place Part II) and Keanu Reeves (John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum).
“We are thrilled to work with such amazing partners as HBO Max and Calm for this new cutting edge endeavor,” Nutopia CEO and founder Jane Root said in a statement. “ 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.”
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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.
“Calm started life as a meditation app but the brand has evolved far beyond that,” Calm co-founder and co-CEO Michael Acton Smith said in a statement. “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.”
(Photo Credits: Leon Bennett/Getty Images, FilmMagic/FilmMagic for HBO and Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
