When is David Attenborough documentary Our Planet released on Netflix?
David Attenborough will narrate the eight-part natural history series on Netflix
Netflix's Our Planet, a new eight-part documentary series from the team behind Blue Planet and Planet Earth, is set to be released in 2019.
Like its predecessors, it is a mammoth undertaking, filmed over four years in 50 different countries. And, most importantly of all, it is set to be narrated by David Attenborough.
In collaboration with conservation charity WWF, the filmmakers employed over 600 crew members and captured more than three and a half thousand filming days, focusing on "the breadth of the diversity of habitats around the world, from the remote Arctic wilderness and mysterious deep oceans to the vast landscapes of Africa and diverse jungles of South America."
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In other words, Netflix has gone big with its first step into the natural history world.
Find out everything you need to know about Our Planet on Netflix below.
When is Our Planet released on Netflix?
The eight-part series will be released on Friday 5th April 2019.
Is there a trailer?
Yes, and it's a thing of beauty...
What will Our Planet feature – and where will it film?
According to David Attenborough, "Our Planet will take viewers on a spectacular journey of discovery showcasing the beauty and fragility of our natural world."
It is also apparent that Our Planet, much like Blue Planet II, will focus heavily on conservation efforts, in order to raise awareness about climate change.
Speaking at the WWF's State of the Planet event in London, the documentarian 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."
In January 2019 during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Attenborough said the series would follow in the footsteps of his more explicitly conservation-focussed series such as Blue Planet II.
"There has never been a time where more people have been more out of touch with the natural world than as now," he told interviewer the Duke of Cambridge. "We have to recognise that every breath of air we take, every mouthful of food we take comes from the natural world. If we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves. We are one coherent ecosystem. It's not just a question of beauty, of interest, or wonder. The essential ingredient, the essential part of human life is a healthy planet."
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Why is David Attenborough working with Netflix, and why isn't Our Planet on the BBC ?
Attenborough explained during his speech that the fact that the series will stream on Netflix will give the programme's message a global reach.
"This is a communication challenge rather than a scientific one," he said. "We need to make it easy for the world to understand the issues and to enable an increasingly global population to connect with nature and feel a shared responsibility for it.
"Four years ago I heard of the ambition of the Our Planet project, and the creators’ hopes to engage hundreds of millions of people with exactly this story," he added.
"The project assembled some of the world’s best filmmakers and conservationists to create a landmark series to stream on Netflix, thereby instantly reaching an audience of hundreds of millions of people across the world at the same time."
Attenborough reiterated this point during the World Economic Forum in Davos during an interview with the Prince William.
"By putting it on Netflix it becomes possible overnight to reach 150 million people immediately," he said. "I started TV in the 1950s and TV in Britain at that time was only seen by a few million people in southern England."
Now, he said, he could ensure a worldwide audience for the series and the issues raised.
"WWF is worldwide, and this picture of the world will be coming worldwide," he said.
Where is the behind-the-scenes Our Planet footage?
Most David Attenborough documentaries on the BBC follow a well-worn patter, starting of with an episode before finishing with a separate, behind-the-scenes segment showing how the breathtaking episode you just watched was filmed.
However, on Netflix viewers will be offered the option of selecting to watch the "making-of" segment after the episode has ended, or else jumping ahead to the next episode.
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, producer Alastair Fothergill said: "The ten-minute making-ofs — they're on Netflix. You know when you finish it starts the next episode? What you'll have is the choice of clicking and watching the 10-minute making of, or it'll automatically start the next episode.
"That's great because we know people love those."
Netflix release dates 2019: all the major upcoming TV shows revealed
Our Planet will be released on Netflix on Friday 5th April 2019
