Nat Geo orders first drama series, Aronofsky doc

National Geographic has ordered its first drama series and two big doc projects.

The Fox-owned channel operator has recently reorganised its senior management, and today announced the three new landmark shows, which include Blood Ivory (WT), its first scripted series.

The show comes out of a new development deal with DNA Films & TV (28 Days Later, The Last King of Scotland). The thriller, from Joshua Brand (The Americans), will follow the illegal ivory trade.

Nat Geo has made minis such as Killing Lincoln before, but Blood Ivory will be its first full-fledged series.

“National Geographic has strived to bring the horrors of the ivory trade to the forefront of the global conversation in recent years,” said Courteney Monroe (left), CEO of the National Geographic Global Networks.

She added: “With Blood Ivory, we are hoping to craft a smart, relevant and riveting drama series that will not only be entertaining under the guidance of some of the best storytellers working today, but also drive home the importance of ending a senseless war on the animal kingdom.”

On the doc front, the channel operator has ordered event series One Strange Rock from Jane Root’s Nutopia and Protozoa Pictures, the Darren Aronofsky prodco that counts feature films Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan among its credits.

The project will film for 100 weeks around the world, and in space, and explore how Earth became the ideal place for life.

Monroe said: “We’re going to transport viewers on a mind-bending and thrilling visual adventure that will amaze and surprise.”

The third new Nat Geo project is Original Sin: How Sex Changed the World (WT).

From US prodco World of Wonder Production (RuPaul’s Drag Race), the six-part series will investigate how the sexual revolution over the past 50 years has impacted pop culture, science, politics and society in general.

“In the footsteps of our decades-defining series about how pivotal moments, people and innovations shaped the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, we now turn our attention to a subject that was once taboo, but that impacts everything around us,” said Tim Pastore (right), president of original programming and production for National Geographic Channel.

He added: “This series will explore the myriad ways sex has evolved in public, from ancient art to being front and centre in best-selling novels, technology and politics.”