Our Story
Roller Coaster Road was founded in 2011 by documentary producer and former Discovery and National Geographic executive, Steve Burns.
Since then, we’ve chased stories to the ends of the Earth — diving beneath the Pacific, trekking across mountain ranges, descending into forgotten mineshafts, wandering vast sand dunes, hiking across glaciers, and dodging flowing lava. Driven by curiosity and a love of storytelling, we go wherever the story leads.
Our series, specials, and branded content have featured on National Geographic, HBO Max, PBS, CuriosityStream, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and YouTube.
Meet Our Team
Steve Burns
Founder
Steve Burns’s career spans more than 25 years from National Geographic cinematographer/producer to senior executive positions at Discovery Networks, returning to National Geographic as EVP of Global Content for NGC worldwide. In a storied career, Steve has won two Emmys® (for 5 Years on Mars and Spirit of the Rainforest). His teams have been nominated for two Academy Awards, won two Peabody Awards, and received over 250 Emmy® nominations. Programming highlights include Titanic Live with James Cameron, Raising the Mammoth, Deadliest Catch, Five Years on Mars, Great Migrations and Brain Games. Recently, Steve was Chief Content Officer for CuriosityStream until he returned to his role as Founder and Managing Director for Roller Coaster Road Productions.
Executive Producer
Sarah Burns
Thanks to her filmmaker father, Sarah has had a camera in her hand since she was three years old. She began her career in Los Angeles at Original Productions as a freelance director and producer, working on some of television’s most popular series, including Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” Showtime’s “The Circus,” Discovery Channel’s “Finding Escobar’s Millions,” and A&E’s “Storage Wars.” Today, Sarah lives her dream of traveling to far-flung corners of the world to tell compelling stories about science, society, and the natural world.
Alex Sherratt
Executive Producer
Alex is a director and producer obsessed with creating big, ambitious films about science, history, and the natural world. Whether bobbing awkwardly in a shark cage or learning how volcanoes work up close and in person, Alex loves a good story — and knows how to tell one, too. Before Roller Coaster Road Productions, Alex began his career in Los Angeles’ dynamic unscripted television world, producing shows like A&E’s “Storage Wars,” Discovery Channel’s “Finding Escobar’s Millions,” and series for TLC and Lifetime. That foundation in character-driven storytelling still shapes his work today — only now the stories take him to far-flung corners of the planet to meet fascinating characters and remarkable creatures.
Collaborators
We work with some of the best in the industry.
