EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has sought inspiration from unlikely places including Oscar-winning movies and Netflix basketball docs for its next generation of natural history shows.
In a saturated market hit by rising costs, natural history boss Sreya Biswas told Deadline she is focused on telling dramatic narratives and commissioning binge-able fare that takes advantage of top-level advancements in technology, including AI.
With this in mind, Biswas has greenlit An Hour on Earth, which uses hyper-lapse technology to tell the story of nature’s rush hours, Matriarch, which explores a contemporary and retrospective story of the world’s oldest female chimp with Jane Goodall, and the latest edition of the Spy in the … series, discovering how primates communicate.
“Our landmarks are varied nowadays and we are trying to turn the wheel,” said Biswas. “We want to invite different audiences and continue to entertain people. Natural history is traditionally closed episodes but people in this day and age don’t necessarily feel that urge [to watch closed eps] so we need to think how we can get people to binge watch.”
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The shows
Inspired by the various ‘golden hours’ that occur throughout the natural world, An Hour on Earth from Endangered Planet producer Offspring Films uses a one-shot narrative technique inspired by the likes of Oscar-winner 1917, utilizing the latest drone tech and hyper-lapse. The show will move from dawn in the Kalahari to the hour after the rains in the Amazon to high tide in the Australian coral reef. “It’s an assault on the senses,” said Biswas. “This is a burgeoning new area of science exploring how animal behavior changes through specific times in the day.”
Co-produced with long-time U.S. collaborator PBS, Biswas branded Matriarch “The Last Dance for chimps,” referring to the hit Netflix doc series that charted Michael Jordan’s time with the Chicago Bulls. Matriarch has delved deep into the Jane Goodall Institute’s archive to examine the females of Tanzania’s Gombe region for the first time and specifically the oldest chimpanzee mother ever recorded. As Gremlin’s strength begins to fade, other females are waiting in the wings to snatch her crown. “It’s so rare that you can tell a present tense narrative about incredible female power and then go back and also tell that story retrospectively,” said Biswas.
Finally, John Downer Productions’ Spy in the Troop sees the BBC come closer than ever to understanding how primates communicate. Using Spy Creatures camera tech and sophisticated AI computer learning techniques, the show examines calls and facial expressions that monkeys make in order to understand their thoughts, feelings and problem-solving abilities. Biswas said Spy in the Troop uses some of the most advanced tech her team has ever used, while it is the only show on the new slate that takes advantage of AI.
The trio of programs have been unveiled as rising costs and the global economic slowdown hit natural history in a similar vein to scripted, and multiple natural history producers in recent months have told Deadline that the streamers have been slowing down in the space. But at the 100-year-old national broadcaster, Biswas is bullish that her team will continue commissioning in bulk, pointing to internal research that found 73% of natural history in the UK was watched on the BBC last year.
“I can’t really talk about the streamers but the general slowdown has been problematic, and companies and people are really struggling,” she added. “But from our perspective we commission, we make and we put out, and that is why people like to come to us.”
Natural history landmarks can take several years to make and Biswas stressed that this won’t change in the difficult financial climate, with upcoming shows like Hidden Planet and Blue Planet III set to launch in several years’ time. She said there is plenty of co-pro funding around to help with rising costs. “There is a reason our landmarks are amazing because of the care and time that is taken to make them, so I feel absolutely that we should continue to take that time,” added Biswas.
David Attenborough & the search for authentic talent
The runaway success of the BBC’s natural history fare has been driven over the decades by one man above all others, Sir David Attenborough.
The 98-year-old has been less able to commit to helming shows in recent years but Biswas said this affords opportunities to discover new talent and new audiences via said talent.
She pointed to the example of Hamza Yassin, a former Strictly Come Dancing winner and kids TV host who is helming Silverback Films’ Hamza’s Hidden Wild Isles, a follow up to the Attenborough-led Wild Isles about nature in the UK.
And in a bid to tap into local talent, Biswas’ team has quietly started commissioning some shows on the proviso that they hire presenters from the region in which they are being made.
One example was the recent Big Cats 24/7, which was presented by Gordon Buchanan alongside local Botswanan filmmakers Gaokgonwe Seetsele Nthomiwa and Reatile Schulte to Brinke, while others are in development.
“It’s a bit like the diversity push,” said Biswas of the strategy. “Rather than making a big deal of it you embed it and get on with it. Because who knows a place better than the people who live there?”