- National Geographic on Wednesday night revealed an impressive line-up of new programming.
- Viewers can look forward to shows focusing on legends like Aretha Franklin and Dr Anthony Fauci.
- Bear Grylls returns with his adrenaline pumping adventure show and James Cameron's series about whales is ready to air.
"In the wake of this
extraordinary and unprecedented year, we remain focused at National Geographic
on telling stories that remind us that beauty and wonder still exist in our
world," Courteney Monroe, National Geographic president of content, said
on Wednesday evening during America's Television Critics Association (TCA)
Winter Tour 2021 in Pasadena.
South African press was able to join the virtual event as the iconic yellow frame network (DStv 181/StarSat 220) revealed its upcoming and newly commissioned TV programming for the year including Genius: Aretha and FAUCI – a feature documentary about Dr Anthony Fauci.
In Genius: Aretha, Cynthia Erivo stars as Aretha Franklin. The eight-episode series explores the soul singer's musical genius and career, and the impact and influence she had on music and culture worldwide.
FAUCI – helmed by Emmy-winners John Hoffman and Janet Tobias, Academy Award-winner Dan Cogan (producer on Icarus), and two-time Academy Award-nominee Liz Garbus – will put the spotlight on "America's Doctor". Dr Fauci has become America's most unlikely cultural icon, with his signature blend of scientific acumen, candour, courage and integrity in the face of Covid-19.
The longest-serving public health leader in Washington, Dr Fauci has worked under seven presidents and is revered on both sides of the aisle. Through intimate interviews, FAUCI will take viewers on a journey through the doctor's remarkable career.
Two new Explorer adventures
National Geographic Explorer is also embarking on two new ground-breaking scientific expeditions that will culminate in two single-topic episodes broadcast in 2022 – one above the Earth and one below.
The National Geographic Explorer Mark Synnott is leading an elite climbing team on an expedition to take the 79-year-old biologist Bruce Means to the top of a Guyanese tepui, a mystical "island in the clouds", in search of undiscovered species completely new to science in Explorer: The Last Tepui.
Directed by National Geographic photographer and climber Renan Ozturk and documentary filmmaker Taylor Rees, Mark will lead a trek from a remote indigenous village, hacking a trail through uncharted jungle beneath towering waterfalls spilling down from the clouds.
Once they reach the sheer wall of rock, Bruce will have to put his life in the hands of the climbing team. If successful, he will finally complete his lifelong quest to prove the tepuis are undiscovered "Galapagos" of unique species that must be protected.
In Explorer: The Deepest Cave, Dr Bill Stone, the most experienced caver in the world, will lead an expedition to the bottom of the Cheve Cave far underneath Mexico's Sierra Juarez mountains.
The expedition has been compared to climbing Everest but in reverse. The three-month underground journey is a dangerous and highly technical adventure requiring a team of more than 40 elite cavers as they try to break the world record of reaching the deepest depths inside the Earth than any human has ever gone before.
Cave rescues and into unknown nature
National Geographic also ordered four unscripted projects from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin responsible for the Free Solo film, including two documentary films, a 10-episode series, and a one-hour pilot.
One of these documentary films will be about 2018's dramatic rescue of a Thai soccer team who got stuck inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand with a working title of Thai Cave Rescue. The film will have exclusive access and never-before-seen footage from the rescue and tells the story of the cave divers who challenged the limits of human potential and became the unlikely heroes of an edge-of-your-seat mission with life-or-death stakes.
"National Geographic shares our deep commitment to bringing honest and inspiring stories to audiences around the world," said directors Vasarhelyi and Chin. "We are thrilled to be working with them again on these powerful new projects that not only push the boundaries of filmmaking but also shine a light on the incredible resilience and determination of humankind."
Tompkins, another documentary film, is a profile on Kristine Tompkins's life, the conservationist and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. The film will be a portrait of the national parks throughout Chile and Argentina that she helped to create.
Into the Unknown is a 10-episode series that takes viewers inside the minds of elite adventure athletes as they recount transformative stories of confronting fear, devastating personal loss, and Mother Nature at her harshest.
Photographer is a one-hour pilot with the series that will try to follow various National Geographic photographers. The pilot episode will tell the story of the world-renowned conservation and ocean photographers Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier.
Running with a Bear
In a new season of Running Wild with Bear Grylls, he will travel from the deserts of Utah to the Dolomites of Italy and the Sierra Nevada mountains in California with guests including Anthony Mackie, Bobby Bones, Terry Crews, Gina Carano, Keegan-Michael Key, Danica Patrick, Danny Trejo, and Rainn Wilson.
Middle Earth
Race to the Centre of the Earth is a new 7-episode series created by award-winning producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri that will pit four teams of three against one another in a non-stop sprint across the globe for a $1 million prize.
They will all start from different corners of the Earth – South America, Russia, Canada and Southeast Asia – as they race to a buoy holding the grand prize while facing untamed jungles, frozen arctic, arid deserts, bustling cities, treacherous mountains and vast oceans to reach the location where all four routes intersect.
Gal's gals
IMPACT with Gal Gadot is an extremely compelling new 6-episode short-form documentary series executive produced by Gal Gadot and award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth that follows the powerful stories of resilient young women around the globe who overcome obstacles and do extraordinary things.
Whales
After three years and filming in 24 locations worldwide, James Cameron's 4-episode event-series Secrets of the Whales has been completed.
Secrets of the Whales (they mourn, they do singing competitions) is an epic, emotional, and immersive look inside the secretive world of whales, showing whale culture and the intricate social structures of five different species: orcas, humpbacks, belugas, narwhals, and sperm whales.
The National Geographic Explorer and photographer Brian Skerry will help unveil how whales make lifelong friendships, teach clan heritage and traditions to their young, and grieve deeply for losing loved ones.
The magazine's May issue will tie-in with this series, and National Geographic will also release a book, Secrets of the Whales that will go on sale from April with Brian Skerry's photography during the making of the series.
Polar bears
Kingdom of the Polar Bears is new to Nat Geo WILD and will track Dennis Compayre, a veteran polar bear guide, as he makes an epic first-time journey following his beloved bears through the brutal Canadian winter and onto the frozen waters of Hudson Bay.
In this high-stakes, high-reward venture, the team documents the secret world of polar bears and the mysterious and disappearing kingdom of ice that sustains them.
The team, armed with traditional ecological knowledge and the latest 4K camera technology, witnesses never-before-seen seal-hunting strategies and documents rapid adaptations to climate change, including whale predation and open-water hunting.
Finally, there is Breaking Bobby Bones, a new half-hour episodes series in which Bobby Bones travels to far-flung destinations across the United States to find people with unique jobs, skills, hobbies and abilities.
They challenge him to conquer or at least attempt the tricks of their trades while exploring the triumphs and tragedies that make them heroes.