Nat Geo Debuts 'Africa Earth's Wild Home' Doc Franchise — SkimNews
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- National Geographic launched 'Africa Earth's Wild Home' as the first installment of a multi-year docuseries franchise covering the planet one continent at a time, premiering Oct. 2 on Nat Geo and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu starting Oct. 3.
- 'Africa Earth's Wild Home' took four years to produce, employed over 50 people, was filmed in nearly 30 African countries, and used new technology and CGI to capture ecosystems including deserts, forests, jungles, mountains, and islands.
- Academy Award nominee Wunmi Mosaku narrates and executive produces the series, which was produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and features never-before-filmed sequences including a crocodile hunting bats in pitch-black caves and giant land tortoises hunting birds.
- Showrunner Gavin Boyland said Africa was chosen first because people 'associate wildlife with Africa,' but crews deliberately sought out lesser-known species and environments — sourcing stories from local guides, drivers, photographers and residents rather than Western researchers.
- National Geographic partnered with the National Geographic Society's global Explorers community and Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative; the series builds on a 70-year partnership between Nat Geo and Rolex and concludes with an episode spotlightting conservationists and scientists.
- Nat Geo president Courteney Monroe framed the project as expanding 'what natural history storytelling can reveal, whose voices it can elevate,' while National Geographic Society CEO Jill Tiefenthaler said it 'inspires us to look closer, learn more and care more deeply.'
Why it matters: Nat Geo is committing to multi-year, large-scale natural history production at a time when most conglomerate-owned media companies are pulling back from long-form documentary — a four-year build, 50+ crew, and continent-by-continent roadmap that doubles as a flagship programming bet across the Nat Geo, Disney+ and Hulu distribution footprint.
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