Innovative docuseries Surviving Earth use state-of-the-art visual effects to reveal how prehistoric creatures survived mass-extinction events
Millions of years after their extinction, we remain fascinated by dinosaurs. These prehistoric beasts have permeated pop culture, in projects ranging from umpteen Jurassic Park movies to The Flintstones, while new paleontological discoveries continue to shape our ever-evolving understanding of what they may have looked like and how they lived.
Surviving Earth, a new eight-part series spearheaded by Tim Haines — who brought us the groundbreaking series Walking With Dinosaurs back in 1999 — promises to increase that knowledge even further, by transporting viewers millions of years into the past to witness the extraordinary resilience of life on Earth. “Embracing cutting-edge visual effects with breathtaking stories of triumph, the natural history series recreates the ancient landscapes and strange creatures that once ruled the planet — and shows how they fought to survive during times of extreme upheaval,” declares the synopsis.
“Surviving Earth is a landmark series showcasing how life not only survived but thrived through Earth’s most catastrophic environmental crises,” the synopsis continues. “Using cutting-edge CGI, viewers are transported back to a world of never-before-seen creatures and their remarkable survival stories. From the giant sea scorpions of 450 million years ago to the mighty mammoths and sabertooths of 450,000 years ago, Earth’s epic story is vividly brought to life. Traverse landscapes shaped by meteoric strikes, volcanic eruptions, plunging sea levels and scorching heat storms.”
According to Haines — creative director at U.K.-based production company Loud Minds — looking back at how some species managed to survive the various mass-extinction events that have occurred on Planet Earth is more timely than ever. “In an age when there is so much concern about our changing climate, if we want to know our future we have to understand our past,” he says.
Utilizing cutting-edge digital technology, each episode of Surviving Earth introduces viewers to the bizarre and amazing creatures who populated a vibrant lost world. Viewers will experience how life found a way and survived on a planet where meteors fall, super-volcanoes erupt, seas boil and the land literally moves, told through the stories of the survivors, fighters and lucky ones that shaped the world we live in today.
“This epic event series promises to be unlike anything we’ve seen before, with state-of-the-art technology recreating an immersive view of prehistoric Earth,” says Rod Aissa, executive vice president of unscripted content with NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “With a project of this magnitude, we’re in excellent hands with Universal Television Alternative Studio and Loud Minds onboard bringing it to life.”
CGI technology has developed significantly in the 20-plus years since Walking With Dinosaurs, which allowed Haines and his crew to film in various locations throughout the world, blending that footage with CGI. Those locations, intended to replicate conditions at various points in the planet’s history, included Iceland, Malta, California, Ecuador, Brazil and Northern Canada, with the latter filling in for the Ice Age.
Surviving Earth marks NBC’s second major nature docuseries, following the massive success of last year’s The Americas, which reportedly averaged 5.5 million viewers and has been watched by more than 50 million worldwide.
Shelby Saftel, NBCUniversal Entertainment’s senior VP of alternative programming and development, is hopeful that Surviving Earth will do even better. “You know that you have something special when you start getting texts from all kinds of different people in your lives,” Shaftel tells The Hollywood Reporter, recalling the response he received from The Americas. “I’m in a phase where a lot of my friends have little kids. … They’re watching with their whole families, and that’s really special. That’s what we do this for, and to know people are watching and connecting with it, it’s the best.”
Describing NBC’s foray into big-budget, years-in-the-making nature docuseries as “a giant experiment,” Shaftel points out that Surviving Earth is light years away from The Americas. “It’s a very different proposition — all CGI,” she explains. “It’s on the history of the planet, on cataclysms that have wiped out species, and about how those very few species have survived and thrived and become who we are today. It’s very much a look into the past . . . and it’s another big, exciting swing for us.”
Surviving Earth, airing Thursdays on City & NBC