DEARBORN — The Henry Ford will be the focus of a Saturday morning CBS Television Network weekly series debuting Sept. 27.
“The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation” will be part of the three-hour Saturday morning block “The CBS Dream Team, It’s Epic!” which returns for its second season. The 30-minute program will air on WJBK-TV Channel 62 in Detroit.
Hosted by Mo Rocca, the show will tell the stories behind the historic innovators of the past and the forward-looking visionaries of today, and the talents and dedication required to bring their inventions to life. The show also will feature the “What if it never happened?” “the innovation by accident” and a strong focus on “junior geniuses” who are changing the face of technology.
The show, which will air from 10 to 10:30 a.m. is aimed at young viewers and their families.
“It has always been our vision at The Henry Ford to become a national force for fueling the spirit of American innovation and inspire those inventors, innovators and makers of tomorrow,” said Patricia Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford. “With ‘The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation’ and our partnership with CBS and Litton Entertainment, we will now be able to share the stories of perseverance, passion and ingenuity that we tell on our campus every day to audiences across the country.”
“‘The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation’ exemplifies Litton’s core mission of ‘co-viewing,’ a television show that will inspire young people to open their eyes and minds to becoming innovators in their own communities,” said Dave Morgan, president and CEO of Litton Entertainment.
“We are extremely proud of our Saturday Morning line-up and thrilled to add a fresh, new, inventive show to the mix of our family friendly weekend programming,” said Angelica McDaniel, senior vice president, CBS Daytime. “In partnership with Litton and The Henry Ford, ‘Innovation Nation’ is the perfect complement to our strong schedule, sharing the same mission to inspire and educate young people and their families.”
Rocca began his career in TV as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS series “Wishbone.” He went on to write for other children’s series, including “Pepper Ann” and “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,” a pre-school series combining the whimsy of Seuss characters with the magic of Jim Henson puppetry.
Rocca is the host and creator of the Emmy Award-nominated “My Grandmother’s Ravioli” on the Cooking Channel. His work on “CBS Sunday Morning” covers a range of topics. Also, he is a frequent panelist on National Public Radio’s weekly quiz show “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” and he spent four seasons as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and four seasons as a correspondent on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”