EMPTY QUARTER STUDIOS’ KILL YOUR LAWN RETURNS TO EARTHxTV FOR SEASON 2
Laugh while rethinking your landscape.
NEW YORK, NY - April 24, 2024: EMPTY QUARTER STUDIOS (ESQ), Billy Sprague, Executive Producer, is pleased to announce that KILL YOUR LAWN, the half-hour makeover series that taps into a global lawn-killing movement, with humans falling in love with native plants across the planet, returns to EARTHxTV for Season 2 premiered Thursday, April 11, 2024. KILL YOUR LAWN is a rejection of the lawn industrial complex, celebrating the courage and inspiring messages of first-time lawn killers.
JOEY SANTORE, a blue-collar schmuck from Chicago who left a career at the railroad to pursue a lifetime studying botany and educating others via his cult-hit YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, along with his best friend from Chicago, bicycle mechanic and punk rock banjoist AL SCORCH, are back slaughtering as many water-guzzling lawns as they can. It’s a garden makeover show hosted by plant lovers who hate garden makeover shows.
Timing is imperative, as the nation faces a game-changing global drought, lawns are an ecological
nightmare growing right under our noses. Their mission: To carry out a turficidal killing spree and leave a trail of pollinator-friendly, native plant gardens in their wake. The drastic measure of removing a lawn reinforces the messaging of scientists, conserves indigenous plant species, and additionally has the following benefits:
- Water conservation: Lawns require a significant amount of water to maintain, especially in areas with dry climates. Removing a lawn can reduce water usage and help conserve this precious resource.
- Environmental benefits: Lawns are often maintained with pesticides and fertilizers, which negatively impact the environment. Removing a lawn helps reduce the use of these chemicals and promotes a healthier ecosystem.
- Cost savings: Maintaining a lawn is expensive, especially if you hire someone to do it. Removing a lawn saves money on water bills, maintenance costs, and landscaping services.
- Increased biodiversity: Lawns are monocultures that do not provide habitat for many species of plants and animals. By removing a lawn and planting a diverse array of native plants, you increase biodiversity and support local wildlife. Once established, native plant gardens take care of themselves.
- Aesthetics: While some people enjoy the look of a well-manicured lawn, others prefer a more natural or landscaped look. Removing a lawn provides an opportunity to create a unique and visually appealing outdoor space.
“ The KILL YOUR LAWN movement is growing and Empty Quarter Studios is out front, capturing the stories of first-time lawn killers and witnessing incredible yard makeovers,”,” said Executive Producer David Madison. “No other production company killed lawns this year using a catapult, a harpoon and several pounds of Old Bay seasoning.”
"The fact that Kill Your Lawn was picked up for a second season is a testament to the entertainment value of our show, our terrific talent and the important message," says EQS’ Billy Sprague.
The production is Executive Produced by Billy Sprague (Into the Lost Desert), Ajax Broome, and David Madison. The Associate Producer is Carol Bentley, the Lead Editor, and Story Producer is Ruben Woolcott, the Editor is Ian Hutchinson, the Assistant Editor is Jason Atkinson, the Directors of Photography are Paul Glinski and Brian Murphy, the Line Producer is Steven Gruskin, the Production Manager is Samantha Rooke, Production Coordinator is Megan Davies, Post Production Supervisor is Tom Wojtunik.
KILL YOUR LAWN can be seen on EarthxTV, which is now available to audiences on Charter's Spectrum TV, FuboTV, the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) in the U.S., Sky, and Freeview in the U.K., M7 in Europe, Claro video and TotalPlay in Mexico. EarthxTV launched in 2022 and has quickly become home to audiences looking for inspiring stories about the individuals and organizations working to make our planet more sustainable. Since its debut, the entertainment network has rapidly expanded across premium cable, satellite, and digital platforms.
Running Time: Eight half-hour episodes redefining what it means to produce a makeover show. Episode descriptions are below.
Website: emptyquarterstudios.com or earthxmedia.com
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BIOGRAPHIES
JOEY SANTORE (Host) is an ex-freight train conductor who taught himself botany by reading textbooks and research papers in the cab of a locomotive. He has been illegally planting trees for the past decade while traveling around the globe documenting plant life, evolution, and ecology. He enjoys fuzzy slippers, fine marinara sauce, and taquerias with numerous health code violations. IG: @crime_pays_but_art_doesnt YT: @crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt X: https://twitter.com/JoeySantore
AL SCORCH (Co-host) Fellow Chicago native, Al is a comedian, writer, musician, and one of Joey Santore’s oldest friends and collaborators. Whether by releasing albums of original songs or producing videos for his own YouTube channel “Over By There,” Al aims to cut through the complacent bullshit of American life with humor, warmth, and wit. Al is Joey’s sounding board and on-the-fly narrator as they travel the country, upturning the status quo, one lawn-killing adventure at a time. www.alscorch.com IG: @alscorch X: https://twitter.com/Al_Scorch SC: https://soundcloud.com/alscorch
DAVID MADISON (Executive Producer) Back in 1994, while writing for Boise Weekly, David convinced a local family to stop watering their lawn one summer. His story about what happened next was titled “Kill Your Lawn.” Now a veteran TV producer who’s created original programming for National Geographic, History, HBO Max, Discovery, and Wyoming PBS, David and the EQS team are excited to revive the title as part of a national “Kill Your Lawn” movement. Joey and Al are leaders in this crusade, which envisions a world where native plants replace unnatural lawns.
BILLY SPRAGUE (Executive Producer) President | Head of Creative, Empty Quarter Studios. Across his 25+ year career in the performing arts and entertainment industry, Billy has created, cast, directed, and consulted on all technical aspects of productions around the world, including New York City, Los Angeles, Moscow, Amsterdam, and Riyadh. is the producer of the feature documentary Into the Lost Desert and the Executive Producer of Seasons 1 and 2 of the series Kill Your Lawn.
Empty Quarter Studios is a film and television production company based in New York that creates original non-fiction content for global distribution. We are committed to crafting premium cinematic experiences, using moving images to tell epic, immersive, and transformational stories borne out of exploration, travel, history, science, and everyday life in the world’s most exotic and unreachable places.
EARTHxTV champions the people, places, creatures, and cultures that make our planet worth protecting. Available to millions of households worldwide on a growing list of premiere cable and satellite providers, they deliver entertaining and informing audiences on topics that impact our lives - climate challenges, biodiversity, sustainability, community, and more. Their mission is to reach people around the globe with sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthxTV has distribution deals with Charter, and the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) in the U.S.; Sky and Freeview in the U.K. and Ireland, M7 in Europe; and Claro Video and TotalPlay TV in Mexico. For more information, visit EarthxTV online at EarthxTV.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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EPISODE 201 - LITTLE GHOST ON THE PRAIRIE
Joey and Al are back to lay waste to the cookie-cutter lawns of America. But first, they'll have to confront the ghost of Belmont Gardens, if they have any chance of helping a creative Chicago couple.
EPISODE 202 - ANTI-LAWN GOSPEL
Lawn killing missionaries convert a neuroscientist couple, inspiring them to recontour their front yard, removing invasive species and planting a color pallet of native flowering plants.
EPISODE 203 - LAWNFELLAS
Bumbling Chicago mobsters whack a lawn, then hunt for the rarest wildflower in Illinois: the elusive Kankakee Mallow. Perfect for planting instead of lawn in the suburb of La Grange Park.
EPISODE 204 - AFTER LAWN SPECIAL
A boy surrounded by native plants becomes secretly lawn curious. When his parents find out, his punishment fits the crime, benefitting new neighbors with an invasive plant problem.
EPISODE 205 - SAINT OF LOST LAWNS
A bucolic neighborhood is turned upside down when an image of St. Anthony appears on a lawn. With the help of divine inspiration, Joey and Al push a hesitant landscaper out of his comfort zone.
EPISODE 206 - KILL OFF THE RUN OFF
Father Derek enlists Joey and Al to re-wild his church’s expansive lawn—which suffers a savage attack by an ornery crab fisherman.
EPISODE 207 - WE GOTTA GUY
Joey and Al “gotta guy” who rips out the grass and non-native plants in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. Will the addition of synthetic turf sidetrack the prairie ecosystem Joey hopes to create?
EPISODE 208 - NOT SO GENTLE TOUCH
Joey and Al pose as lawn care scam artists to remove turf in Silver Spring, Maryland, where the homeowner uses cardboard and trash bags to help with the transformation.