Emmy-nominated series
40 million views
Watch trailer and 2 seasons below
The Future Starts Here is a short-form series that captured audiences, tackling a wide range of subjects including the science behind social media, parenting with technology, the creative process, gender and transgender identities, and the relationship between humans and robots.
WATCH TRAILER
SEASON 1
SEASON 2
BONUS BEHIND THE SCENES
A NEW ORIGINAL SERIES
24/6
WITH ​
TIFFANY SHLAIN
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THE POWER OF UNPLUGGING
ONE DAY A WEEK
ON THE HEELS OF A
NATIONAL BESTSELLING BOOK
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"Part of a pioneering movement."
Maria Shriver, TODAY SHOW
"I gave Shlain's idea a try, and I highly recommend it."
The New York Times
NEW BOOK WORTH READING
PEOPLE MAGAZINE
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"I can't wait to see what a decade of Tech Shabbats feels like."
Harvard Business Review
COMES A UNIVERSAL SERIES
ABOUT TECH + WELLBEING
and the life-changing ritual of unplugging one day a week
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THE STORY
Founder of the Webby Awards, renowned filmmaker, and mother of two, Tiffany Shlain spent years working what felt like 24/7. Then in 2010, she discovered a practice that transformed her life.
Drawing on the ancient Jewish tradition of Shabbat, she and her family (including professor of robotics husband and kids, now 12 and 18) turned off all screens – phones, laptops, tablets – for 24 hours. Not only did they feel more rested, present and connected during and after their single day off, they were noticeably more focused, creative, and productive for the six “days on” that followed. They decided to do it the next weekend, and the next. They’ve now been doing what they call their Technology Shabbat every week for over a decade. And it has completely changed their lives.
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THE SHOW
Between screen addiction, disinformation, and widespread mental health challenges, it’s time for us to make a change, both as individuals and as a society.
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​In this new series, Internet pioneer and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain introduces a life-changing strategy -- unplugging from screens one day a week -- that can work for anyone, anywhere, and do wonders for the brain, body, and soul.
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With celebrity and expert guests trying her weekly unplug strategy, Tiffany offers both a fascinating journey through the past, present, and future of the relationship between humanity and technology, and a simple pathway forward for us all to thrive in our increasingly online world. She even shows how going from 24/7 to 24/6 can help repair the world of the web she helped build.
FORMAT + STYLE
Each 30 minute episode opens with Tiffany sharing a captivating personal story related to the episode’s topic. With her mesmerizing signature style of combining live footage, archival imagery, and original animation, she then takes us on a riveting ride to explore that topic (time on and time off across cultures; the science of well-being; how to build a better web).
In addition to Tiffany's own insights, each episode features conversations with 2-3 special guests from a wide range of perspectives, including celebrities (Oprah, Stef Curry, Zendaya), tech leaders (Jeff Bezos, Vint Cerf, Fei-Fei Li), scientists and doctors (Angela Duckworth, Sanjay Gupta, Michael Rich), and Tiffany’s own family. Each guest will not only share their expertise, they will be doing a series of Tech Shabbats as part of the show, and will be telling / showing us all about it.
As the season builds, each episode leaves us wanting to find out what happens next -- both with the guests, as they continue to unplug week after week; and in the universal narrative Tiffany is illuminating about the web, our relationship to it, and how turning off screens one day a week is a simple, practical way to make life, and the world, better.
SEASON 1 EPISODES​
EP 1: HOW WE GOT HERE
A riveting journey through the early days of the web: the visions it started with, what went wrong, and how we got to where we are.
EP 2: TIME ON AND TIME OFF
Traveling through centuries and cultures, we explore the fascinating history of time and time off, and why every culture values it.
EP 3: THE SCIENCE OF WELL-BEING
Tiffany translates the science that shows why unplugging leads to more joy, connection, and better health.
EP 4: CREATIVITY CURIOSITY + PRODUCTIVITY
What happens to our minds, bodies, and souls when we unplug, and why does it lead to the ultimate flow of creativity, curiosity, and productivity?
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EP 5: HOW OUR BRAINS ARE CHANGING
We know smartphones are rewiring our brains, our attention and our memory. Tiffany and her guests translate why and how.
EP 6: BUILDING A BETTER WEB
Tiffany heads to the future, looking at the tech industry, government, and ourselves, and presents a path forward that lets us all thrive.
SAMPLE EPISODE
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EP 1: HOW WE GOT HERE
OPENING STORY
Tiffany engages the audience immediately with the story of how she went from living an always-on 24/7 mother + tech-pioneer life to completely changing her life by going 24/6. She pulls us in through her deep love of technology, her history as an early adopter of new technologies, and her acknowledgment that she was one of the first to become addicted. She then reveals the series of dramatic events -- the death of her father and birth of her daughter -- that led to her epiphany of the power of unplugging.
A TRIP BACK IN TIME
To the world before the Web we go. Through stories about her childhood tech obsessions and her proposal to use personal computers between rival nations that brought her to Russia in the 80s, Tiffany shares her unique perspective of the pre-Internet world — and reminds us that it wasn’t long ago that we lived without supercomputers in our pockets.
SEGMENT 3:
THE EARLY DAYS OF THE WEB
EARLY DAYS OF THE WEB
Tiffany brings to life the largely unknown feeling of the early days of the Web -- the excitement over the potential of this new medium, and the idea that the Web would be nonprofit, open-sourced, and decentralized. The vision was that the Web would be unlike mainstream media, which was controlled by a few powerful corporations. This all lays the groundwork for Tiffany's insights of how to create a better web going forward, which we learn throughout the season.
Here, the Google founders rollerblade on stage to accept their first Webby Award.
SPECIAL GUESTS
"Father of the internet” and long-time friend Vint Cerf joins Tiffany for a fascinating conversation about the original vision of the Internet. “So who’s the mother of the Internet?” Tiffany jokes. Enter two phenomenal women from the past, brought back to life through Tiffany’s signature animation: Victorian mathematician Ada Lovelace and pioneering programmer Katherine Johnson, to offer their perspectives.
Vint and other guests will reappear throughout the season to talk about their experience unplugging.
SEGMENT 4:
SPECIAL GUESTS
TIFFANY'S EPIPHANY
Tying together all the insights from the episode so far (future episodes weave the whole season together), Tiffany offers a big picture synthesis of the early days of the web, where we went wrong, and how we can begin to get back into balance. Throughout the season these ideas build toward a more complete picture of what we can do as individuals, businesses, governments, and culture.
CLOSING: GUESTS AT THE TABLE
Each episode features its own special guest(s) from Tiffany's world of connections, and each of these guests -- and often their families -- will unplug for a series of weekends in a row.
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For this first episode, Tiffany welcomes all the guests of the season (Stef Curry, Harry Styles, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, etc) to a "Shabbat table." With such a wide range of backgrounds, ages and levels of tech use, the table lights up with questions and conversation about unplugging until the moment Tiffany says: “OK everyone, let's see what happens.” And the lights go out. Next episode.
SHOW REFERENCES
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Tiffany's unique and needed voice combines:
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Deep scientific and tech industry knowledge
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Personal, emotional, charismatic hosting and storytelling
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An answer to the near-universal problem of too much technology
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A guide for wellbeing
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Humor, vulnerability, and relatability
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Mesmerizing, creative, unconventional sets and visuals
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Ability to translate to the masses -- all ages, across demographics
FRESH, UNIQUE, RELEVANT VOICE
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Sold Out One-Woman Show at The Museum of Modern Art New York​
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Named one of 100 genius visionaries shaping the future.
The Albert Einstein Foundation
Always with her finger on the pulse of what's next, Tiffany’s ability to connect with audiences of all ages and combine her unique knowledge and perspective with wisdom, emotion, intimacy, humor, and infinite charisma has defined her career.
GLOBAL AUDIENCE
The average person interacts with screens 2,167 times a day. And that was before the pandemic. This is a topic that affects all ages, all races, all demographics. And the 24/6 strategy can work for anyone, anywhere.
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Tiffany has extraordinary global reach. Her films have sold in 27 countries and been translated into 85 languages. Her global initiatives have attracted participants from all 195 countries.
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24/6 with Tiffany Shlain is a call to humanity to acknowledge that technology companies need regulation and that we need self-regulation, too. And that there is a simple solution — drawn from thousands of years of wisdom — that can rebalance ourselves and our society.”
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FROM CREATOR AND HOST OF
HIT SHOW WITH 40 MILLION VIEWS
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AND A CAREER OF 30+ ACCLAIMED FILMS
"Incredibly engaging....
I could not take my eyes off of it."
The New York Times
24/6 SERIES TAKEAWAYS
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Anyone, anywhere, any age can unplug for a day
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The benefits of more joy, productivity, connection, creativity, and curiosity are both immediate and long-term
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A greater understanding of the web and our relationship to it
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How to fill a day without screens with joy
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How to prepare for a Tech Shabbat
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How to customize it for your life and family
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How to get your family and friends to join
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Strategies for the other six days to stay in balance
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How businesses can thrive through this model
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Why unplugging is good for the environment
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How we got to where we are and what we can do moving forward - as individuals, businesses, government, and culture
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Inspiration to unplug
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“We’re at a tipping point.
This next decade is the one where we are going to determine if the web is going to strengthen humanity, or diminish it.”
- Tim Berners Lee, Creator of the Web
“With humor and insights all her own, Tiffany illuminates the issues that affect us all.” - Al Gore
THE TEAM
GERALYN DREYFOUS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Geralyn Dreyfous is an executive producer of many Oscar and Emmy-Award winning films and series. Geralyn taught Documentary and Narrative writing at Harvard University. She is the Founder/ Board Chair of the Utah Film Center and a charter member of the Utah Coalition for Film and Media. She co-founded Impact Partners, which has been involved in financing over 30 films, including The Great Hack; The Cove (Academy Award for Best Documentary); Freeheld (Academy Award Best Short); The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (Emmy Award for Best Documentary); The Garden (Academy Award Nomination); and Hell and Back Again (Academy Award Nomination). Geralyn’s executive producing and producing credits also include Born Into Brothels (Academy Award Best Documentary); The Day My God Died (Emmy Nomination); and multiple film festival winners such as Tiffany Shlain’s Connected as well as Kick Like a Girl, In A Dream, The Invisible War, Anita, The Crash Reel, and The Square.
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THE TEAM
TIFFANY SHLAIN
CREATOR, HOST
Tiffany Shlain is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, bestselling author, and founder of the Webby Awards. She has received 80 awards and distinctions, including Newsweek’s list of “women shaping the 21st Century,” NPR’s list of Best Commencement Speeches Ever, and Albert Einstein Foundation’s Genius: 100 Visions for the Future. Her national bestseller 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week received wide acclaim from The New York Times, People Magazine, and Harvard Business Review, was called “a wise, wonderful, fascinating work” by Publishers’ Weekly and won the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award. Tiffany’s one-woman show Dear Human premiered at The Museum of Modern Art New York. Tiffany is a world-renowned dynamic speaker and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. She was the on-air Internet expert on Good Morning America for many years. She serves on the Leadership Board for the Digital Wellness Lab at Harvard. Her writing has been published in Boston Globe, Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today and CNN and her work has been covered in all major media outlets. tiffanyshlain.com
THE TEAM
SAWYER STEELE
PRODUCER, CO-CREATOR
Sawyer Steele is an Emmy-nominated Producer and co-founder of Tiffany Shlain & The Let it Ripple Film Studio. He has produced, edited, and co-written several award-winning films including Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death, and Technology; which premiered at Sundance. He was Voice Over Director for the award-winning Sundance film The Royal Road. He produced and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated Original series The Future Starts Here, which includes an episode TransBoom, where he shares his experience being transgender and his thoughts around the past, present, and future of being trans. He co-founded Character Day, an annual day that grew to over 200,000 events in all 50 states and 125 countries, all on the same day.
THE TEAM
PRODUCTION COMPANY - TBD
FUTURE SEASONS + PROJECTS
In 2022, a branded line of 24/6 products will come out that would coincide with the series release.
In addition to more seasons of 24/6 with Tiffany Shlain, future projects include an upcoming book and series about Creativity + Making Things Happen.
