FACTUAL TV


NATURAL HISTORY Talent-led natural history, whether it’s celebrity


on-screen, for narration, or behind the camera, is an ongoing trend. It gives productions a ready- made fan base and helps to generate excitement around a title. “The American’s love a celebrity,” says Holmes at Plimsoll. The indie might not have connections with David Attenborough, but has worked with celebrity narrators Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Bryan Cranston and Rebel Wilson. Nutopia has supercharged talent-led nature


programming by filming Will Smith exploring volcanic craters, rapelling through glaciers, navigating jungle rivers. While Steve Backshall has been a winning talent on shark programming for True to Nature, with his enthusiastic, immersive style. Emma Ross, director of natural history at


marine specialist Big Wave says, “we’re likely to see more of talent cutting across into Shark Week.” Any change in Shark Week is a big deal in the world of natural history. With Discovery’s Shark Week featuring 30 hours of originals, now up against Disney’s six-week Sharkfest, there’s increasing opportunity and the Warner Bros merger is shifting the dial.


NEW NARRATIVES While audiences want to watch human person- alities at one with nature, they are also want- ing to watch natural history where animals are real characters. Silverback’s latest Disneynature film, Polar Bear, is a story of how the planet is


COMMISSION ON A NEW PIECE OF SCIENTIFIC


GOING TO WIN A WHOLE BIG


“YOU’RE NOT


VERY IMPORTANT INGREDIENT”


DISCOVERY, BUT IT CAN BE A


changing told in the first person as the story of a mother bear. “Very bold, very anthropomorphic, but moving and a film of our time, a story of our time,” says Keith Scholey. My Octopus Teacher is another, Oscar-winning example, produced by Off the Fence. While the story of the octopus and diver is a love story, it’s also a detailed portrait of the creature. Audiences aren’t always looking for big action sequences. “They want the intimacy of the character they’re following. It’s the life story,” says Bean. Bean has seen demand for more educational


shows, for the likes of TV channel Love Nature, “very family orientated and immersive.” The tone is more entertainment, less jeopardy. “More and more for certain broadcasters we’re having to cut away from the moment of the kill,” she says. “The most likely viewer is parents with kids watching, something that isn’t going to offend anyone. If, after dinner, they’re going to watch wild dogs rip apart an antelope, it’s not going to be a very good digestif.” At True to Nature, Darke is creating teams with


blended skills to find new forms and approaches to natural history. Citing the example of Dreamflights, a mash-up of mindfulness, celebrity voices and wildlife, she describes “the moment of creative alchemy, the mixing of genres with nature at its heart -from drama to sport, to fact ent, to mindfulness, it gives you an enormous creative playground.” Sometimes, new scientific discovery inspires


a production. “You’re not going to win a whole big commission on a new piece of scientific


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televisual.com Summer 2022


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