Netflix Teams With ‘Planet Earth’ Creators on Natural History Series ‘Our Planet’

April 15, 2015 6:00am PT by Lesley Goldberg

In partnership with the WWF, the eight-part series will air in 2019.

Netflix is ready to raise the bar for natural history documentaries.

The streaming service is teaming with the World Wide Fund for Nature and the creators of Planet Earth for Our Planet, an eight-part natural history series set to air in 2019.

The four-year project — which Netflix says is the largest of its kind ever attempted — will take viewers into never-before-filmed wilderness areas from the ice caps and deep ocean to deserts and remote forests and introduce them to the most precious species and places that must withstand the impact of humanity so generations to come can enjoy the bounties of the natural world. 

Our Planet will utilize the latest in 4K camera technology and include a range of specially produced storytelling for multimedia platforms that will bring viewers into contact with some of the world’s rarest animals and most precious natural habitats.

Silverback Films' Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, who created BBC's Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Blue Planet, will produce Our Planet.

“Our Planet is going to raise the bar for natural history landmarks," Fothergill said. “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.”

Conservation organization WWF — which has operations in more than 100 countries — will provide Silverback access to its projects in protected areas around the globe and will team on multimedia storytelling connected to the new series.

"Netflix is proud to be the global home for perhaps Silverback’s most ambitious project to date,” said Lisa Nishimura, vp original documentaries at Netflix. “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."