News

National Geographic is bringing back two of its Disney+ originals for second seasons.

The company has renewed Limitless with Chris Hemsworth and A Real Bug’s Life.

Limitless with Chris Hemsworth premiered in 2022 and follows the Extraction star as he explores secrets of improving our lives.

In season one, Hemsworth pushed the limits of his body and mind to discover how fasting can unlock the body’s anti-aging power, how to manage stress so it doesn’t kill you, and how exposure to extreme temperatures can trigger our bodies’ own defenses against the killer diseases of old age, all in a quest to live a longer, healthier life.

In the second season, he travels through Nepal, Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom in four more challenges.

It comes from Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures and Jane Root’s Nutopia. The pair exec produce alongside Hemsworth as well as Ari Handel, Tom Watt-Smith,...

Chris Hemsworth will continue testing his phyical and mental boundaries for Nat Geo.

The Disney-owned company has renewed Limitless With Chris Hemsworth for a second season, which like the first will stream on Disney+. The formal pickup comes more than a year after the first season debuted in November 2022.

Nat Geo and Disney+ have also renewed A Real Bug’s Life, the (partially staged) nature series that uses the 1998 Pixar movie A Bug’s Life as its inspiration. That pickup was much quicker, coming two weeks after the series premiered. Nat Geo announced both pickups during its time at the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday.

Season one of Limitless followed Hemsworth as he explored — using himself as a test subject — scientific developments in helping people live longer, healthier lives. Season two will focus on “a series of physical and mental obstaclesthat people across the world face daily: mental agility, pain,...

‘Searching for Sugarman’ Producer Passion Signs ‘Planet Earth II’ Showrunner

Searching for Sugarman producer Passion Pictures has snapped up the showrunner of Planet Earth II from Plimsoll. Tom Hugh-Jones will boost Passion’s natural history offering and be based in Bristol, taking on the new title of MD Passion Planet (Bristol). He has a wealth of major natural history credits including Planet Earth, Human Planet and Life Story across a 30-year career, while he most recently helmed A Real Bug’s Life for Disney+, which launches today. “Planet Earth II and Tiny World are two of my favourite natural history series of all time,” said Passion CEO Nick Southgate. “The chance to work with the showrunner of these extraordinary pieces of TV was a no-brainer. I can’t wait to dig in with Tom and Dave and create a new era of intelligent, big wildlife shows.”

Netflix Explores UFO-Inspired Religion

Netflix...

Exclusive: Plimsoll Productions is making some changes to its natural history team.

The company, which is behind Disney+/National Geographic’s upcoming seven-part wildlife series Incredible Animal Journeys and the James Cameron-executive produced, Benedict Cumberbatch-narrated Super/Natural, has promoted Mark Brownlow following the departure of Tom Hugh-Jones.

Brownlow, who joined the company earlier this year as Executive Producer, becomes Creative Director, Natural History. He replaces Tom Hugh-Jones, who previously held that role, and leaves after seven years.

Browlow will continue to report to Plimsoll’s Chief Creative Officer of Natural History and Science Martha Holmes.

He has overseen Incredible Animal Journeys since joining the ITV-owned company. Before that, he spent 28 years at the BBC, where he worked on series including Blue Planet II and Frozen Planet II. He also previously exec produced a ten-part wildlife series for Apple as well as Eden: Untamed Planet for BBC and AMC Networks,...

Exclusive: Horror studio Blumhouse and natural history producer Plimsoll Productions have teamed up on a new factual series.

The two companies are developing Nightmares of Nature, a series that follows animal heroes battling to survive the true-life horrors only real nature can provide. The idea is to blend natural history filmmaking through a horror lens, a place where trees bleed, zombie snails dwell and vampire fish reign supreme.

Blumhouse is behind Amazon’s The Horror of Dolores Roach and films including Get Out and M3gan, while ITV-owned Plimsoll is behind series such as Hostile Planet, Tiny World and Night on Earth.

No network or platform is currently attached.

Nightmares of Nature is produced by Blumhouse Television and Plimsoll Productions. For Blumhouse, Jason Blum, Chris McCumber and Gretchen Palek are executive producers. For Plimsoll, Grant Mansfield, Alan Eyres, Tom Hugh-Jones and Martha Holmes are executive producers.

“Plimsoll is best...

Apple TV+ just released a gorgeous trailer for the docuseries Big Beasts. Two-time Emmy Award nominee – and everyone’s favorite Loki – Tom Hiddleston narrates the 10-part documentary series premiering on Friday, April 21, 2023, one day prior to Earth Day.

The docuseries will launch with the release of the first two episodes, followed by two new episodes every Friday leading up to its May 19th finale.

Big Beasts is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Tom Hugh-Jones (Planet Earth II), Emmy Award nominee Grant Mansfield (Hostile Planet), and two-time Emmy Award nominee Martha Holmes. The docuseries is produced by Plimsoll Productions.

Apple TV+ released this description of the documentary series:

From the acclaimed creative team of the Apple TV+ Award-winning docuseries Tiny World comes Big Beasts. Filmed over two years, the series takes audiences on an epic journey around the globe, from freezing poles to tropical rainforests, to meet nature’s most captivating giants.

Exclusive: Apple TV+ is continuing its natural history push.

The streamer is launching new wildlife series Big Beasts, narrated by Tom Hiddleston.

The series, which has been in the works for two years, takes viewers around the globe, from freezing poles to tropical rainforests, to meet nature’s most captivating giants.

It features massive species filmed across 17 countries, including the gray whale, the elephant seal, the giant otter, the gorilla, the hippopotamus, the brown bear, the ostrich, the orangutan, the tiger and the polar bear. Viewers will see that it’s not easy being big—the larger the animal, the greater the challenges they face.

Big Beasts comes from the creative team of Apple’s Tiny World, which launched in 2020 and was narrated by Paul Rudd. It is produced by ITV-owned Plimsoll Productions with Tom Hugh-Jones (Planet Earth II), Grant Mansfield (Hostile Planet) and Martha Holmes (Life) exec producing.

The UK’s ITV has agreed to acquire a majority interest of 79.5 in Hostile Planet and Tiny World producer Plimsoll Productions for approximately £103.5M (126M), giving the company an enterprise value of £131M (159.7M).

The stake is being acquired from private equity group Ldc, which made a multi-million dollar minority share investment in Plimsoll in 2019.

Plimsoll, founded by Grant Mansfield — a former ITV factual boss — in Bristol in 2013, is the world’s largest independent producer of natural history programs and focuses on making premium factual. The BAFTA, Emmy and Oscar-winning firm has produced hundreds of hours of content, which has traveled to nearly 200 countries.

Among its credits are Tiny World and Giant World for AppleTV+; Hostile Planet and Supernatural Planet for Disney; Night On Earth and Animal for Netflix; and the upcoming series A Year On Planet Earth for new parent ITV, Tencent in China, Fox Nation in the U.

U.K. broadcaster ITV has completed its acquisition of leading natural history program producer Plimsoll Productions by taking a majority 79.5 stake.

The deal, which was revealed by Variety last week, values Plimsoll at £131 million (161 million) and ITV will pay £104 million (127 million) in cash for the stake.

Founded in Bristol in 2013, the BAFTA, Emmy and Academy award winning Plimsoll has produced hundreds of hours of content including “Tiny World” and “Giant World” for Apple+; “Hostile Planet” and “Supernatural Planet” for Disney; “Night on Earth” and “Animal” for Netflix and the upcoming series, “A Year on Planet Earth” for ITV, Tencent in China, Fox Nation in the U.S. and Ard Group in Germany.

Under the leadership of founder Grant Mansfield, the Plimsoll team includes chief creative officer Martha Holmes, creative director Tom Hugh-Jones, Karen Plumb as head of factual entertainment; and Richard Klein, former head of ITV Factual, and head of documentaries at the BBC.

That Nat Geo tile on Disney+ just upped its star power. At Monday’s Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press Tour, National Geographic unveiled 13 new original projects being produced for the streaming service, including shows from Will Smith, Jon Favreau and David Blaine.

Smith’s new series, “Pole to Pole,” comes under his Westbrook company’s first-look deal with Nat Geo. “Pole to Pole” follows Smith as he journeys 26,000 miles over 100 days from the South Pole to the North Pole.

Darren Aronofsky, James Cameron and Ron Howard/Brian Grazer are each overseeing a pair of new Disney+ programs under the Nat Geo banner. One of the projects from the Imagine duo will be Howard’s “We Feed People,” which premieres at SXSW ahead of its Memorial Day streaming launch. “We Feed People” follows chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen’s mission in the disaster relief sector.

One...

Exclusive: Here’s a clip of Netflix’s Animal from Plimsoll Productions, which launches Wednesday.

Narrated by big-hitters Bryan Cranston, Rashida Jones, Rebel Wilson and Pedro Pascal, the series utilizes the latest filming tech such as gimbals and drones to follow eight families of the natural world including big cats, dogs, marsupials and octopuses. Series two, which features narration from Andy Serkis, Anthony Mackie, David Harbour and Uzo Aduba, has already been commissioned.

Having started researching in late 2019, series producer Bill Markham said “serious discussion had taken place” over whether the show could continue to be made once Covid-19 struck.

What followed was “80 or so shoots over the next 16 months skirting around various locations around the world,” Markham told Deadline.

“I’m sure everyone in film and television can relate to the challenge that followed. It meant much ducking and diving by an incredible production team, working from bedrooms and...

Exclusive: Season one of Animal, a nature series from Plimsoll Productions (Night On Earth), will land on Netflix November 10.

The show follows eight families of the natural world, including a mother lioness, a wild dog family, a kangaroo joey and a young giant pacific octopus. Each episode has a high-profile narrator who will bring to life the subjects, said the streamer, they are: Bryan Cranston, Rashida Jones, Rebel Wilson and Pedro Pascal.

The project was almost entirely shot during the pandemic, meaning the team used local camera operators to film in countries that were inaccessible due to travel restrictions.

Series two of the show has already been greenlit by Netflix and will feature narrators including Andy Serkis, Anthony Mackie, David Harbour and Uzo Aduba and will focus on dolphins, bears, birds of prey and apes. That season will premiere in 2022.

The series is produced by Plimsoll’s Anuschka Schofield, Adrian Seymour,...

Paramount+ Buys Oasis Concert Doc

Concert film Oasis Knebworth 1996 will head to Paramount+ in the US, UK, Latin America, Australia, the Nordics and Canada following its worldwide theatrical release. Dates are yet to be scheduled. Those outside of those markets will be able to watch the pic on MTV Worldwide. The film is told through the eyes of the concertgoers and features extensive and never-before-seen archive concert and backstage footage, plus interviews with the band and event organizers. “ViacomCBS has a long and storied history with Oasis dating back to their infamous performance on MTV Unplugged and unforgettable appearances on MTV’s The Jon Stewart Show and 120 Minutes,” said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming and Events, ViacomCBS and Chief Content Officer, Music, Paramount+. “This film will give Paramount+ and MTV audiences an all-access pass into these iconic concerts that defined an era and catapulted Oasis to legendary status.

Streaming

Netflix has unveiled a release date for its first Spanish Original reality show “Insiders,” which will premiere around the world on Oct. 21. Hosted by “Money Heist” actor Najwa Nimri, the show has been billed as something completely new to the reality landscape in which its contestants believe, through the entire filming process, that they are only in the qualification rounds for an entirely different show. With the cameras constantly rolling, the twelve participants are kept in the dark that they are, in fact, being filmed for a hidden camera show. Set on a 17200 sq. ft. soundstage rigged with more than 250 hidden microphones and 70 hidden cameras, the contestants will unknowingly let their true colors shine right until the final reveal, when one winner will take home €100,000.

Acquisition

Nhk has acquired broadcast rights to Ines Marzouk’s feature documentary “My Mohamed is Different,” a standout in the World Showcase section of...

Producers Alex Williamson and Tom Hugh-Jones discussed how they bring new worlds to viewers with their new Earth Day documentaries for Apple TV+, in their new uInterview. “In natural history we’re always looking for new stories, new characters, untold tales,” Williamson said. Williamson’s Earth At Night In Color crew uses “next generation technology” to illuminate the […]

The post Video Exclusive: Alex Williamson & Tom Hugh-Jones Reveal Challenges Of Making Nature Films appeared first on uInterview.

In today’s TV news roundup, HBO Max ordered a new streetwear competition series, and Variety has an exclusive first look at Carey Mulligan in “My Grandparents’ War.”

Casting

Angela Bassett will narrate Fox’s “Malika the Lion Queen,” a two-hour wildlife documentary that will air April 4 and be available on Tubi beginning April 18. Bassett will guide viewers through an educational exploration of the true queens and leaders in the lion kingdom. The special tells the untold story of the lioness experience through the exhilarating and harrowing life of Malika. It is produced by Plimsoll Productions and executive produced by Tom Hugh-Jones, Martha Holmes and Grant Mansfield. Watch a teaser below.

Dates

“Birdgirl” will debut on Adult Swim at midnight on April 4. The “Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law” spinoff sees 30-something Judy Ken Sebben inherit her father’s socially irresponsible company. To set things right, She assembles the ragtag Birdteam...

Fox is roaming into natural history with a two-hour special narrated by 9-1-1 star Angela Bassett. The network has ordered Malika the Lion Queen, a documentary about the lionesses of a pride in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

The special, which is produced by British production company Plimsoll Productions, the business behind Apple TV+’s Tiny World, will launch April 4 at 8 p.m. and will be available on Fox’s AVOD streamer Tubi beginning April 18.

It marks the network’s first move into the natural history genre – an area dominated by the BBC and cable networks such as Discovery and Nat Geo as well as increased moves by streamers such as Netflix and Apple.

It comes as Fox is no longer a sister company to Nat Geo following the Disney deal and after NBC also dipped its toe into the genre with a 10-part series from BBC Studios Natural History Unit,...

Exclusive: ITV is moving into the resurgent natural history space with its first major wildlife series in a number of years, taking on the likes of the BBC, Netflix and Discovery.

The British commercial broadcaster is working with Hostile Planet producer Plimsoll Productions on landmark doc series A Year On Planet Earth (w/t) and the Grant Mansfield-run business is currently in La pitching the project to U.S. broadcasters and streaming platforms to finalize its financing.

A Year On Planet Earth is being overseen by showrunner Tom Hugh-Jones, creative director at Plimsoll, who was the showrunner of the BBC’s Planet Earth II and Nat Geo’s Hostile Planet, and Plimsoll’s Head of Wildlife, Dr Martha Holmes.

Deadline understands that the series showcases the planet’s annual journey around the sun and its impact on the globe.

Hugh-Jones and Holmes are in La this week, on the...

Exclusive: Plimsoll Productions, the production company behind series including Nat Geo’s Hostile Planet and Yellowstone Live, has secured multi-million-dollar investment from private equity firm Ldc.

The investment firm has taken a minority stake in the natural history and wildlife producer, which was founded by former Zodiak USA chief Grant Mansfield. The deal values the company at around $100M.

Headquartered in Bristol, UK, Plimsoll was founded in 2013 and has more than 400 employees across the UK and La. It is behind more than 50 series, 14 live shows and seven films including Channel 4’s Rescue Dog to Super Dog and ITV’s Life at the Extreme. It is also making a raft of series for streaming services, including commissions from Apple’s forthcoming platform.

The company is on track to generate sales of around $42M for its financial year ending August 2019 including sales to a slew of international broadcasters via distributor Magnify Media,...

This month, three very different projects will showcase three sides of the same composer: a grand-scale symphonic score for a comic-book movie; a hardcore punk sound for a nightmarish supernatural tale; and a surprising combination of orchestra and electronics for an edgier-than-usual nature documentary.

The composer is London-born Benjamin Wallfisch, and his music for “Shazam!,” “Hellboy” and “Hostile Planet” couldn’t be farther apart in sound and style. But, as director James Marsh (“The Theory of Everything”) points out, “You can be versatile but boring, or you can be versatile and interesting in every genre that you take on. That is Ben’s great ability. He owns those choices and makes them his.”

In the past three years alone, Wallfisch has written an eerie and disturbing score for the Stephen King horror film “It”; earned Grammy nominations for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer on the all-electronic music for “Blade Runner 2049...

Bear Grylls calls National Geographic’s Hostile Planet a story that’s never been told showing life on the edges and how hard it really is. The six part series delves into the real stars, animals that have adapted to the cruelest evolutionary curveballs.

Grylls, who serves as executive producer, host, and narrator of the series, was joined on a panel during Television Critics Association spring presentation on Sunday by cinematographer and director Guillermo Navarro, producer Martha Holmes, executive producer Tom Hugh-Jones, and producer, director, and cinematographer Mateo Willis to discuss what audiences can expect when the series premieres on April 1 at 9/8c.

“What I think is incredible about Hostile Planet is that so many of these stories are just heartbreaking,” said Grylls. “It’s an emotional thing to watch. Growing up as a kid, I was glued to the television watching National Geographic shows about the planet. It was always such a spectacle,...

UK and U.S.-based factual entertainment and wildlife producer Plimsoll Productions has hired Oscar-winning documentarian Richard Klein to head its new documentary division. The company also has promoted three key execs – Tom Hugh-Jones to Creative Director of Natural History, Jonathan Jackson to Finance and Commercial Director and Chris Williams to Series Producer. All will work out of the company’s headquarters in Bristol with Klein reporting directly to Chief Executive Grant Mansfield, Hugh-Jones to Head of Natural History Martha Holmes, Jackson to Chief Operating Officer Christine Owen and Williams to Head of Factual Entertainment Karen Plumb.

In his new role, Klein will oversee documentary programming for the UK and international broadcasters. During his career, he has produced more than 100 documentaries and has led factual commissioning at both the BBC and ITV and run BBC4. His credits include the Oscar-winning Man on Wire, The White Season, The Verdict, Traffic Cops,...

Exclusive: Bear Grylls (Running Wild With Bear Grylls) has been tapped as host of National Geographic Channel’s upcoming docuseries Hostile Planet (working title), from Oscar-winning cinematographer and director Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth), Emmy-nominated producer Martha Holmes (The Blue Planet) and Emmy winner Tom Hugh-Jones (Planet Earth II).

Produced by Plimsoll Productions, Hostile Planet (wt) draws attention to the most extraordinary – almost supernatural – accounts of animals that have conformed to the cruelest evolutionary curveballs. Each episode characterizes one the planet’s roughest environments – including jungles, mountains, deserts, oceans, the Poles and grasslands – and how each of its inhabitants acclimate to its turn of events. Grylls will act as guide through these extreme locations where animals have adapted to survive against all odds.

Per Nat Geo: Set against the backdrop of a more violent and volatile climate, the epic battles for survival take on a new urgency as animals face intensified wildfires,...

National Geographic has given the green light to Hostile Planet, a six-part docuseries from Oscar-winning cinematographer and director Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth), Emmy-nominated producer Martha Holmes (The Blue Planet) and Emmy winner Tom Hugh-Jones (Planet Earth II). The pick-up comes ahead of National Geographic’s Further Front.

The series, produced by Plimsoll Productions, takes an intimate look at the way animals have found ways to survive in the world’s most inhospitable landscapes. Per Nat Geo: “Set against the backdrop of a more violent and volatile climate, the battles for survival take on a new urgency as animals face intensified wildfires, blizzards, droughts and downpours. To some, the new challenges are too much, but for others, it presents new opportunities.” Hostile Planet uses new camera technology to allow a close-up vantage point as the animals navigate through their changing landscapes.

“The series celebrates the surprising resiliency of animals that...

Industry attending the event include the exec producers of Fleabag and Taboo’s production designer.

The talent responsible for some the year’s biggest TV hits, including Taboo, Fleabag [pictured] and Planet Earth II, will reveal details of their craft at The Media Production Show.

The event, which takes place on 13-14 June at London’s Olympia, includes an exhibition of kit and services and a seminar programme covering pre-production, production, post-production and content delivery.

Two Brothers Pictures founders Harry and Jack Williams, who wrote BBC1’s The Missing and exec produced BBC3’s Fleabag, will deliver an opening keynote in which they will explore their success, discuss how their recent and upcoming projects came about and share their thoughts on the creative industries.

Event director Charlotte Wheeler said: “We had a phenomenal launch in 2016, which saw 4,900 visitors attend the show and more than 150 speakers take part in our popular seminar programme.

“The move to...