The BBC has commissioned three new natural history series which will air on BBC One and Two and be available to stream on iPlayer, the broadcaster’s catch-up service.
Spy in the Troop
Hailing from John Downer Productions, this four-part series for BBC One delves deep into the minds of primates to discover how like us our closest living relatives really are.
Building on the recent success of Spy in the Ocean, the series will deploy the most advanced Spy Creatures ever created to infiltrate groups of apes and monkeys.
An Hour on Earth
Produced by Offspring Films and airing on BBC Two, across four episodes the series will explore magic moments when Earth bursts into life – fleeting windows of time when the conditions are just right and animals spring into action.
From the rush hour just before dawn in the Kalahari, as desert creatures dash to beat the morning heat; to the hour after the rains in the Amazon, when the forest fills with activity; and from the hour of high tide in the Australian coral reef, the series promises to take the audience on a mesmerising cinematic journey through nature’s most extraordinary moments.
Matriarch
Produced by the BBC’s much-awarded Natural History Unit and co-produced by PBS and the WNET Group in collaboration with pioneer Dr Jane Goodall, who began studying the chimpanzees of the Gombe in 1960.
Featuring revealing interviews with Dr Goodall and a team of scientists and field assistants, the two-part series focuses on Gremlin, the alpha female of the Kasekela troop.
At 54, she’s the oldest chimpanzee mother ever recorded at Gombe and has held her alpha position for nine years through a careful combination of intelligence, patience and strategic relationships. But competing females are waiting in the wings for when Gremlin’s strength begins to wane.
The normal rules of chimpanzee society may see power pass to an influential female from a rival family, but Gremlin has forged deep and caring bonds with her many daughters, creating a rare female alliance. Can they keep hold of the privileged top spot?
Sreya Biswas, Head of Commissioning, Natural History, said “It’s so exciting to be announcing three incredible series that showcase a wide variety of natural history.
“From the amazing camera technology of Spy in the Troop to the compelling narratives of Matriarch to the real-time storytelling of An Hour of Earth, we are so thrilled to be making such a variety of series.”