Plimsoll Productions, part of ITV Studios, has been commissioned by parent company ITV to produce the six-part global events series Extreme Planet Earth.
The series – three years in the making – will underscore the high-stakes battle for wildlife survival in an era of extreme weather, wildfires and environmental upheaval. Extreme Planet Earth, for ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player next year, will showcase how the planet’s most extraordinary creatures endure and evolve in the face of instability.
Extreme Planet Earth will film elephants in Borneo navigating treacherous floodwaters; wombats in Australia with fires raging around them; a leopard in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi struggling with a brutal drought; Caribbean flamingos in Mexico facing up to the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record; and clownfish on the Great Barrier Reef fighting to withstand a marine heatwave.
Conservationists and scientists are already working among the planet’s harshest conditions, intervening to protect species with groundbreaking initiatives. Their efforts will also be a part of the story.
Mark Brownlow, Creative Director of Natural History for Plimsoll Productions, said: ”Wherever you live on the planet, you can relate to extreme weather. From the devastating fires in Los Angeles to floods across Europe, extreme weather is constantly breaking news and affecting us all. In Extreme Planet Earth, we are going to unveil how our favourite wildlife faces these challenges with sheer courage, resilience, and determination.”
Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual ITV adds: “This series is unique in charting the impact of wild weather on wildlife – and Plimsoll deploying a combination of outstanding visuals, gripping storytelling and anthropomorphic approach will bring to life the drama of the animal kingdom grappling with an issue that affects all of us.”
Grant Mansfield, Martha Holmes and Mark Brownlow are executive producers, with Seb Illis serving as showrunner. Commissioned by Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual ITV and Sue Murphy, Head of Factual Entertainment ITV, co-produced with the ARD Group in Germany, in association with and distributed by ITV Studios.
The series continues Plimsoll’s legacy of delivering high-impact, globally resonant storytelling, following the successful second season of Disney+’s A Real Bug’s Life, narrated by Awkwafina, and National Geographic’s Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold.
Plimsoll is also in production on multiple projects, including National Geographic’s Surviving Pompeii with Tom Hiddleston.
Pippa Considine
Share this story
