SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET – NEXT SERIES IN THE EMMY-WINNING BBC’s PLANET FRANCHISE – TO AIR AS MULTI-NETWORK EVENT ON BBC AMERICA, AMC, IFC AND SUNDANCETV IN JANUARY
Sir David Attenborough-Fronted Series on Planet Earth’s Seven Continents to Premiere Saturday, January 18, 2020 With “North America” Episode
Filmmakers Use 8K Cameras, Drones, Low-Light Technology and More to Produce the Biggest Series Ever on Biodiversity Featuring the First Footage of a Sumatran Rhino Singing, Grave Robbing Hamsters in Vienna and Sarada Lizards Battling
Heart-wrenching Albatross Scene That Riveted UK Audiences Available to Share For The First Time
Seven unique stories, one landmark event. Announced today, BBC AMERICA’s Seven Worlds, One Planet will premiere Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 9pm/8c as a multi-network event airing on BBC AMERICA, AMC, IFC and SundanceTV.
Following Emmy®-winning series Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, Seven Worlds, One Planet tells the story of earth’s seven spectacular continents and how they shape the extraordinary animal behavior and biodiversity we see today. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and featuring a theme co-composed by Hans Zimmer and Jacob Shea, and series score by Jacob Shea for Bleeding Fingers Music, Seven Worlds, One Planet reveals how each distinct continent has shaped the unique animal life found there.
The seven-part series features filming firsts including polar bears jumping from rocks to catch adult beluga whales and a firefly spectacle in North America captured with a motion control tracking time-lapse camera, puma successfully hunting adult guanaco in South America, spidaboo mating dance in Australia, grave robbing hamsters in Europe, the largest aggregation of great whales ever filmed in Antarctica and Sir David Attenborough with the last two northern white rhinos on Earth in Africa.
Sarah Barnett, President Entertainment Group + AMC Studios, AMC Networks said: “Every year these landmark BBC series seem more resonant and the spellbinding Seven Worlds, One Planet is no exception. BBC Studios Natural History Unit are the best in the world at making nature programming that inspires a love and fascination for nature, and a deep sense of human connectedness to the planet we all share. BBC AMERICA is proud of our long legacy of helping shine a light on the beauty and fragility of planet earth and we have ambitious plans to expand on that with our new micro-net Wonderstruck. There’s no more important time than now to discover the real magic of our planet.”
BBC AMERICA recently announced the commission of a new groundbreaking six-part series, Eden (w/t). The announcement followed the renewal earlier this year of its partnership with the BBC to co-produce the next installments of the two most iconic natural history series ever – Planet Earth III and Frozen Planet II. The deal cements BBC AMERICA as the U.S. television home of the BBC’s biggest natural history content over the next five years including the Planet Earth collection and other iconic landmark series ranging from Planet Earth I and II, The Blue Planet and Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet, Life, Africa and Dynasties.
A special presentation of the Seven Worlds, One Planet “Antarctica” episode aired this past Saturday on BBC AMERICA as part of the launch of Wonderstruck, a new micro-network devoted to wildlife and wonder that will take over BBC AMERICA every Saturday.
About Seven Worlds, One Planet:
Seven-part series marks the first time BBC Studio’s Natural History Unit has explored all the planet’s continents in a single series.
The filmmakers have employed new technology, including 8K cameras and boundary-defining drone techniques, to capture unique perspectives, new species, and animal behavior filming firsts.
41 Countries visited · 92 shoots ·1794 filming days · 499 days spent traveling by crew · 2260.5 hours of footage shot · More than 1500 people worked on the project worldwide
Find out more by downloading the digital press pack which includes: Interviews with producers, drone expert and composers; facts about species, locations and the series; biographies and credits, ClickHERE
Episodes
North America – Saturday, January 18 at 9/8c
A continent of change.
In winter, lynx prowl the Yukon for snowshoe hares and manatees seek hot springs to escape the freeze. In summer, Tennessee fish build spectacular underwater pyramids, fireflies light up the forest’s nights, and polar bears leap from rocks as they hunt beluga whales.
Filming First: Using low light technology and cable dollies with a motion control tracking time-lapse camera, the film crew glided cameras through the forests of Mississippi and Ohio to shoot firefly spectacles
Filming Locations and Species:
Canada – Canadian Lynx
Tennessee – River Chub
Canada – Black Bear
Mississippi and Ohio – Firefly and Orb-Weaver Spider
South Dakota – Prairie Dogs
Arizona – Road Runner
Florida – Grey Mullet & Tarpon
Florida – Manatee
Canada – Polar Bear & Beluga Whale
South America – Saturday, January 25 at 9/8c
The most species rich continent on Earth. In the Andes, pumas hunt guanaco while rarely seen bears search for mini avocados. In the Amazon, poison dart frogs care for their babies, colorful macaws eat clay and birds make death-defying flights through a gigantic waterfall.
Filming First: During the filming of South America, camera crews for the first time captured multiple Andean bears feeding in a single tree 90 feet high in the cloud forest.
Asia – Saturday, February 1 at 9/8c
The largest of all continents. In the frozen north, walrus congregate in extraordinary numbers, bears gather inside volcanoes and yeti-like monkeys fight in the remote forests of China. In the tropical south -the last few Sumatran rhino roam and the world’s most bizarre predator lurks in Iran.
Filming First: The highest mountain ranges in central China are remote, and to date, have been largely inaccessible to film crews. Yet for hundreds of years stories of the “Yeti,” a golden snub-nosed monkey, have emanated from this region. BBC captured footage for the first time of these incredible creatures with bright blue faces and golden coats who spend a lot of their time walking upright just like humans. These monkeys are the “holy grail” for Sir David Attenborough who first learned about them in the 1960s.
Australia – Saturday, February 8 at 9/8c
A land cast adrift at the time of the dinosaurs. Here, kangaroos and wombats brave snowstorms and gum tree forests are filled with never-before-seen predators.
Filming First: In the Australia episode, BBC filmed a shark aggregation which only happens every 15 years, using the magic of drone technology to film the shark’s unique tactics, which could not be captured from the sea via a boat as the viewer would only see splashing and fins.
Europe – Saturday, February 15 at 9/8c
Where wildlife survives alongside people. In Gibraltar, a baby monkey is kidnapped, while in the cemeteries of Vienna grave robbing wild hamsters fight. In this fairy tale continent wolves roam the forests; dragons lurk in caves and baby bears wander the woods.
Filming First: In the Europe episode, camera crews take audiences into the 12,000 limestone caves in Slovenia to capture a rare creature called the olm, which is a blind salamander that inhabit the area and can go without food for nearly a decade. Using drone technology, the film crew was able to get footage from underground inside the caves, which required expertise in freestyle drone flying to navigate the cave’s strong air currents when location accuracy tools didn’t work underground.
Antarctica – Saturday, February 22 at 9/8c
The coldest, windiest, most hostile continent. Penguin chicks run the gauntlet of orca and leopard seals, colorful starfish and gigantic worms carpet the seabed whilst on the surface – one of the world’s greatest feeding spectacles.
Filming First: In Antarctica, BBC narrowly captured footage of the largest great whale aggregation ever shot, searching for seven weeks to find the sequence, nearly missing the opportunity when production’s helicopter broke and drone malfunctioned.
Africa – Saturday, February 29 at 9/8c
Home to the greatest wildlife show on Earth where chimps make tools, cheetah hunt prey twice their size and, in crystal clear freshwater lakes, devious imposters trick caring fish mothers. Australia, a land cast adrift at the time of the dinosaurs. Here, kangaroos and wombats’ brave snowstorms and gum tree forests are filled with never-before-seen predators.
Filming First: In the final epic episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet, film crews capture Sir David Attenborough in Kenya with the last two northern white rhinos on earth.
Seven Worlds, One Planet is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit production, co-produced with BBC AMERICA, Tencent Penguin Pictures, ZDF, France Télévisions and China Media Group CCTV9.
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About BBC AMERICA:
BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming including the award-winning series Killing Eve starring Golden Globe® and SAG® Award-winner Sandra Oh and Emmy® and BAFTA Award-winner Jodie Comer. A joint venture between AMC Networks and BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC), BBCA’s influential shows such as Doctor Who, Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II, Luther, Orphan Black, Broadchurch, Top Gear, The Graham Norton Show, among many others, have attracted critical acclaim and awards. Starting Q4 2019, BBC AMERICA transforms every Saturday into Wonderstruck, a new weekly 24-hour destination of wildlife and wonder. The network continues to be the exclusive U.S. television home to the Planet Earth collection and landmark series from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit including the upcoming Sir David Attenborough-fronted series Seven Worlds, One Planet. BBCA has garnered one of television’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many shows boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Get caught up, full episodes are available On Demand across all major digital platforms, BBC AMERICA app (Roku, Apple TV/iOS, Android/Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox and more) and bbcamerica.com. BBCA on social: YouTube – Twitter – Instagram – Facebook
