Attenborough migrates to Netflix
The BBC’S biggest star has been recruited by US giant for series to be aired in more than 190 countries
Another blockbuster natural history series to be narrated by Sir David Attenborough has been announced – but by Netflix and not the BBC. The online streaming giant has poached both the presenter and director of the acclaimed Blue Planet series for its own eight-part documentary, Our Planet. Filmed in 50 countries over four years, showcasing wildlife from the Arctic to the South American jungles, the programme will be available after its premiere next April.
A BLOCKBUSTER natural history series narrated by Sir David Attenborough sounds like the quintessential BBC production. But the latest nature programme by the British nonagenarian is, in fact, being made by Netflix.
The US streaming giant has poached Sir David and the director of Planet Earth and Blue Planet in a bid to outbbc the BBC.
Our Planet is billed as a “groundbreaking” eight-part series, filmed in 50 countries over four years, documenting wildlife, from the Arctic wilderness to the South American jungles. It “will showcase the planet’s most precious species and fragile habitats, revealing amazing sights on Earth in ways they’ve never been seen”.
The programme will alert viewers to the dangers facing the planet, hoping for a similar effect to last year’s Blue Planet II, which highlighted pollution in the oceans.
The BBC holds up its natural history documentaries as something it does better than anyone else. But Netflix wants to encroach on that territory, as it did in drama by producing the critically acclaimed House of Cards and The Crown.
While Sir David is a free agent and has made shows for Sky, his association with the BBC has lasted 40 years and he is regarded as one of the corporation’s biggest stars.
Launching Our Planet,
Lisa Nishimura, the vicepresident of Netflix Original Documentaries, said: “We are delighted Sir David Attenborough will voice the series and that Netflix, as a global platform, is able to bring this vital and magical series to an audience of over 190 countries.”
Our Planet is a collaboration with Silverback Films, the production company run by Alastair Fothergill. A former head of the BBC’S Natural History Unit and the director of Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet, Fothergill described the new series as
“our most ambitious endeavour to date”.
The announcement comes in the week that BBC One broadcasts its latest series voiced by Sir David, Dynasties. Lord Hall, the BBC director-general, said: “There is one essential presence at the heart of this series and that’s David Attenborough.” Charlotte Moore, the BBC’S director of content, recently held up Blue Planet II as an example of programming that sets the BBC apart. It was the biggest British TV programme of 2017, with an audience of 14million, and has been sold to 230 countries. Characterising Netflix and Amazon as media companies with an “insatiable greed for data-gathering”, commissioning shows by algorithm, Moore said Blue Planet II was such a success because it came from “a brilliant, trusted storyteller”.
She said: “The success of the series owes so much to David Attenborough. The level of trust that audiences have in David is extraordinary. He’s a reminder that in a world of so much choice, so many competing voices and sources of information, it is not enough simply to have an important story to tell. It’s who’s doing the telling.”
Sir David, giving the World Wildlife Fund’s Planet Address last night, said he was proud of the new show.
“Our Planet will take viewers on a spectacular journey of discovery, showcasing the beauty and fragility of our natural world,” he said. “Today, we have become the greatest threat to the health of our home but there’s still time for us to address the challenges we’ve created, if we act now. We need the world to pay attention. Our Planet brings together some of the best filmmakers and conservationists and I’m delighted to help bring this important story to millions of people worldwide.”
Our Planet’s premiere is on April 5.