"Our Planet"
Netflix to Bow ‘Our Planet’ Documentary Series Narrated by Sir David Attenborough April 5
November 9, 2018
World-renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough will serve as the voice of the upcoming Netflix original documentary series “Our Planet,” which will premiere on the service April 5.
The series has been created in collaboration with Silverback Films, whose director Alastair Fothergill was the creator of the original “Planet Earth” and “Blue Planet” series and WWF, the world’s leading conservation organization.
The eight-part series showcases the planet’s species and fragile habitats using 4K camera technology. The four-year project was filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world with more than 600 crew members. It focuses on the breadth of the diversity of habitats around the world, from the remote Arctic wilderness and deep oceans to the landscapes of Africa and jungles of South America.
“’Our Planet’ will take viewers on a spectacular journey of discovery showcasing the beauty and fragility of our natural world,” Attenborough said at the WWF’s State of the Planet Address in London. “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 world’s best filmmakers and conservationists and I’m delighted to help bring this important story to millions of people worldwide.”
In partnership with WWF, the series will be part of a wider global project. From online resources to educational programs for schools, the project will go beyond showcasing the wonders of our planet to reveal what we must do now to ensure people and nature can thrive, according to the Netflix release.
“‘Our Planet’ is our most ambitious endeavor to date,” said Fothergill, director at Silverback, in a statement. “We hope it will inspire and delight hundreds of millions of people across the world, so they can understand our planet, and the environmental threat it faces, as never before. The crew have ventured to all corners of the globe to capture breathtaking natural history sequences and using the latest filming technology to bring these never-filmed-before moments into people’s homes. By launching on Netflix at the same time all over the world, this series will enable people to connect to and understand the shared responsibility we all have. We are genuinely all in this together.”
“’Our Planet’ is a phenomenal achievement by Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey and all at Silverback Productions, and a spectacular voyage of discovery around the world,” said Lisa Nishimura, VP of Netflix Original Documentaries, in a statement. “We are delighted that 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 worldwide next year.”
“We’re the first generation to know the full impact of what we’re doing to our planet, and the last that has the chance to do anything about it,” said Colin Butfield, executive director of WWF-UK and executive producer of “Our Planet” in a statement. “We’re at a unique moment in our history where we have the chance to put things right and start on the path towards a better future. ‘Our Planet’ will showcase the wonders of our world at the critical time when we need global action to protect it.”
A companion book to the series, Our Planet by Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey with Fred Pearce, will be published in April by Transworld.