Audience & Impact

Climate Storylines

Prime-Time Drama

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We worked with a major drama to develop and test climate-related storylines through a multi-episode storm and flood narrative. The aim was simple: to understand whether audiences would connect with climate themes when they were embedded in compelling story arcs.

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To measure impact, we combined viewing performance data with social listening tools. While most online conversation still centred on characters and medical plotlines, the episodes featuring extreme weather drove the clearest sustainability-related conversations.

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What stood out was how readily audiences connected fiction to reality. Flood and storm sequences sparked comments linking on-screen events to real-world climate impacts and the resilience of public services. This uplift in climate mentions demonstrated that content can shift attention, even in the midst of complex story arcs.

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The insight is clear: embedding climate themes into mainstream storytelling creates real engagement. And with the right measurement in place, we can show not just that audiences watched, but that they made the link between entertainment and the wider societal challenges we face.

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Behind all this is the recognition that the most powerful climate stories are human stories. Themes of justice, resilience and fairness—spanning poverty, race, gender, class, and generation—resonate across audiences. Climate change is never just about polar bears. The opportunity lies in helping writers and producers surface the social issues relevant to their characters and naturally weave them into narratives that connect and endure.

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Connect with us if you’d like support finding your own unique way of bringing these very real and relevant issues into your content.