BAFTA Award-Winning Actress Helena Bonham Carter to Narrate BBC America’s New, Original Natural History Series “Eden: Untamed Planet”

BBC AMERICA announced today that the BAFTA Award-winning actress Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, The King’s Speech) is set to narrate the network’s new, original natural history series Eden: Untamed Planet, which will be simulcast weekly on BBC AMERICA and AMC starting Saturday, July 24 at 8PM ET/7c. In addition, episodes will be available on AMC+ the same day they air.

Eden: Untamed Planet invites viewers to travel to the far corners of the planet and discover the secrets of Earth’s few remaining untouched lands, all flourishing with rich biodiversity. Isolated from the rest of the world, life here exists as nature truly intended.

While the remoteness of these Eden’s has protected them from the most damaging effects of human interference, the series will also reflect on the survival of these rare, precious, and unique environments amid the perils of the modern world.

Delicately balanced, species-rich, unique ecosystems – this series embarks on a breath-taking journey to Earth’s last Edens.

As a part of BBC AMERICA’s Wonderstruck programming slate, the six-part series, in addition to a ‘making of’ episode, is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) production for BBC AMERICA. The BBC Studios NHU is responsible for producing award-winning and critically-acclaimed series, such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Life and Seven Words, One Planet. BBC Studios is distributing internationally.

Eden: Untamed Planet is executive produced by Mark Brownlow (Blue Planet II, Planet Earth), series produced by Steve Cole (Thailand: Earth’s Tropical Paradise), scored by Russell Emanuel, and composed by Denise Santos and Austin Hammonds for Bleeding Fingers Music.

EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS

Episode One – “Borneo: Sacred Forest” – Premieres Saturday, July 24 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC and AMC+

Borneo is the richest rainforest island of all; home to 60,000 species of plants and animals. 6,000 of them are unique – and more are discovered almost daily. But this ‘paradise’ is an illusion; the lush forest is effectively growing on a desert, the soil shallow and nutrient poor, leeched by eons of incessant rain. We’ll discover how the intense competition for nutrients here has led to it becoming one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.

This primeval rainforest is one of the oldest in the world, with the tallest tropical trees of all. Straddling the equator, its climate is wet and hot year-round, allowing a myriad of creatures to thrive. Beneath mist-shrouded mountains and dark jungle canopy, this mysterious world is bursting with life.

Produced and Directed by Ingrid Kvale.

Episode Two – “Namib: Skeleton Coast and Beyond” – Premieres Saturday, July 31 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC and AMC+

The Namib Desert is one of the oldest of all, giving rise to more indigenous species than any other. With 50-degree Celsius temperatures and annual rainfall that is measured in millimeters, how is this possible? We’ll reveal its hidden water sources – such as the mysterious sea fog that sweeps across its Skeleton Coast.

Strange and marvelous desert specialists share this unexpected Eden with giants – lions, elephants, and even giraffes. From its ‘Skeleton Coast’ through the ‘sea of sand’ to the haze of distant mountains, this ancient land flourishes with life where none seemed possible.

Produced and Directed by Hannah Hoare.

Episode Three – “Luangwa: The Emerald Valley” – Premieres Saturday, August 7 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC, and AMC+

At the very end of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, there’s a ‘land that time forgot’ – the rolling grasslands of the Luangwa Valley. As we travel through the seasons, we find the secret to this Eden’s great riches – the annual flood of the mighty Luangwa River.

Here, the ‘real’ Africa lives on in abundance that is just a memory elsewhere. Luangwa River and its cycle of annual flooding offers up winners and losers, depending on the season. Everything has adapted to take advantage of this ebb and flow and the balance of power constantly changes. During the flood, herbivores range far and wide, making life tough for big cats that depend on prey density. In the dry season the imperative to drink forces herds to congregate near the river… and hungry carnivores cash in.

Produced and Directed by Valeria Fabbri Kennedy.

Episode Four – “Galapagos: Enchanted Isles” – Premieres Saturday, August 14 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC, and AMC+

In the far-flung tropical Pacific, around 1,000 km from anywhere, lie the Galapagos Islands. On a journey from the lava ramparts of its coast to its fiery heart, we’ll discover how this place became one of the most important areas of biodiversity in the world.

Only the hardiest pioneers could reach this otherworldly outpost – tossed here by storms and strong currents, but they found a virgin land of endless possibilities. With no competition, they could rule supreme – turning this seemingly inhospitable place into their very own Eden. Now, Galapagos is home to almost 2,000 species found nowhere else; 97% of its reptiles and mammals are unique.

Produced and Directed by Joanna Haley.

Episode Five – “Patagonia: The Ends of the Earth” – Premieres Saturday, August 21 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC and AMC+

At the far tip of South America, lies a magical realm that seems frozen in time. Known as ‘the end of the world,’ this is Patagonia. Voyaging from high Andes to coastal fjords, we’ll learn that to survive here you have to be as extreme as the country itself – either specialize in one habitat or be tough enough to live in all.

Remote and still largely untouched by humans, Patagonia is a mercurial medley on a grand scale. Its unpredictable polar winds, poisonous lagoons, driest of dry deserts, and vast, groaning ice fields make this a hostile place to call home… and yet its inhabitants thrive.

Produced and Directed by Justine Allan.

Episode Six – “Alaska: Last American Frontier” – Premieres Saturday, August 28 at 8PM ET/9c on BBCA, AMC, and AMC+

In Southeast Alaska, there’s an ice-bound Eden. Home to possibly the richest temperate rainforest of all, it has the densest concentration of grizzly bears in the world. In a story that follows the seasons, we’ll see that the secret to its great abundance is nature’s greatest migration – the salmon run.

Untamed and inaccessible, this region remains a stronghold for some of North America’s most secretive and charismatic animals. Harsh winters and brief summers can make survival here a toss of the dice, but, one way or another, every animal and plant found here relies on the injection of vital nutrients into the landscape provided by the salmon run. Unbelievably, the arrival of this annual spectacle even allows giant trees to prosper.

Produced and Directed by Emma Fraser.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Eden: Untamed Planet is a six-part series plus a seventh ‘making of’ episode, premiering on Saturday, September 4 at 8PM ET/9c on BBC AMERICA. The episode will also be available on AMC+ on the same day.