Netflix explores ‘Unknown’ with docuseries event

Netflix has commissioned Unknown, a four-part docuseries “event” that tells different stories of adventure and exploration.

Premiering weekly, each of the four films ventures into unexplored regions, and unlocks the secrets of our world through the stories of remarkable people and places never before captured on camera – from unearthing the world’s oldest graveyard to a look at the use of artificial intelligence in warfare.

Produced by Story Syndicate, the first instalment, titled Unknown: The Lost Pyramid, will debut on 3 July. It follows two of the world’s most famous Egyptologists as they seek to unearth ancient treasures.

Unknown: Killer Robots on 10 July explores the high-stakes issue of artificial intelligence being used for military purposes, while Unknown: Cave Of Bones on 17 July follows a paleoanthropologist and his discovery of world’s oldest graveyard – as she tries to prove that an ancient, small brained, ape-like creature practiced complex burial rituals.

The final instalment, Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine, premieres 24 July and goes behind-the-scenes at NASA’s ambitious mission to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, following a team of engineers and scientists as they take the next giant leap in our quest to understand the universe.

Directors for the series are Max Salomon, Jesse Sweet, Mark Mannucci and Shai Gal, with executive producers Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple, Malvina Martin and Jonathan Halperin.