Following the massive success of the natural history series Planet Earth, Netflix has teamed up with Silverback Films and the World Wildlife Funde (WWF) to develop Our Planet, an eight-part series that will launch in 2019.
Featuring photography of the planet Earth, along with its wilderness areas and animal inhabitants, Our Planet will take four years to complete, making it the largest of its kind to be attempted. Naturally, it will be filmed entirely in 4K, allowing for spectacular views of rare animals and natural habitats – with the right television, you might feel like you’re right there in the action (or silence.)
Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, who together created Planet Earth (and founded Silverback Films), will be leading the production. They also have Frozen Planet and Blue Planet (for BBC) under their belts, along with the Disneynature films Earth, Bears, African Cats, and Chimpanzee. The team from Silverback will get access to protected areas for filming through the conservation organization WWF. Multimedia stories will also be accessible on the WWF Website and “other platforms.”
Related: Watch planet Earth rise above the moon in this high-def video from space
Lisa Nishimura, Vice President, Netflix Original Documentaries, says the over-the-top (OTT) streaming service is “proud to be the global home for perhaps Silverback’s most ambitious project to date. The Planet projects have enjoyed great success on Netflix and have helped launch new technologies for viewing at home. We think watching Our Planet, fully on demand in 4K will be an unforgettable experience for our members.”
“Our Planet is going to raise the bar for natural history landmarks, ” adds Fothergill, who will carry the title of Executive Producer. “We will reveal the most amazing sights on Earth and show them in ways they have never been seen before. Partnering with Netflix and WWF gives us the ability to reach and enthuse global audiences with the wonder and importance of the natural world.”
Released in 2006, Planet Earth was the most expensive nature documentary series the BBC had ever commissioned, and was the first to be filmed in high definition. It consists of 11, 50-minute episodes with a 10-minute behind-the-scenes look at the filming process at the end of each.
