Silverback Films


Netflix expands natural history slate with Morgan Freeman & David Attenborough projects

Netflix has expanded its natural history slate with the commission of six new docuseries, including two shows narrated by Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman and a follow-up to Our Planet. The 6 x 45-minute Our Universe will debut on the streamer on 22 November. Narrated by Freeman and hailing from BBC Studios, the show blends wildlife footage […]

TBI Weekly: Why cheaper tech will surface new voices in natural history

As 2022 gets into its stride, natural history is again making an impact on screen and on the commissioning slates of new and established buyers. Tim Dams explores how cost-efficient technologies are opening up myriad new opportunities for this classic genre. For those in the natural history TV business, the past few years have been […]

Show of the week: A Perfect Planet

This blue chip natural history programming focuses on the forces of nature to explore how they drive, shape and support Earth’s great diversity of life. From Kamchatka to the Galapagos, China to the Bahamas, no expense has been spared on delivering stunning footage from locations around the world to provide insights into our planet. Expect […]

BBC & Prince William unveil landmark environment show ‘Earthshot’

The UK’s BBC has ordered a major five-part factual series exploring how the world’s natural resources can be protected, after partnering up with Prince William on a new £50m ($65m) scheme to improve the environment. Earthshot: How To Save Our Planet (working title) is being developed and produced by A Perfect Planet’s Silverback Films. The […]

Nine Network, Movistar+ strike pre-sale deals for BBCS’s ‘Perfect Planet’

Nine Network in Australia, Movistar+ in Spain and public broadcasters across the Nordics have all struck pre-sales deals for BBC Studios’ new blue chip natural history series A Perfect Planet. The five-parter is produced by Silverback Films for BBC One in the UK and US partner Discovery, with China’s Tencent Penguin Pictures, ZDF in Germany, […]

Cracking down on co-productions

Alastair Fothergill, producer of Netflix’s Our Planet, has warned that SVOD players “will not consider co-productions” around natural history in the future as the digital giants look to plant their flags in the genre. Manori Ravindran reports The veteran natural history producer, who left the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU) in 2012 to set up […]

Natural history co-pros unlikely as genre evolves for SVODs

Alastair Fothergill, producer of Netflix’s Our Planet, has warned that SVOD players “will not consider co-productions” around natural history in the future as the digital giants look to plant their flags in the genre. The veteran natural history producer, who left the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU) in 2012 to set up Silverback Films, suggested […]

Netflix goes up against BBC with Attenborough-narrated series

Sir David Attenborough is embarking on his first Netflix original. The British presenter, who has historically worked with the BBC, is to narrate forthcoming Netflix doc series Our Planet, the long-simmering series from Planet Earth and Blue Planet director Alastair Fothergill’s Silverback Films, in collaboration with the WWF. The project was first announced in 2015 […]

Netflix goes blue-chip with Planet Earth creators

Streaming service Netflix is going after the blue chip factual audience by commissioning a landmark 4K natural history series from the creators of the BBC hit Planet Earth. The subscription on-demand platform has partnered with wildlife organisation WWF and Alastair Fothergill’s Silverback Films on Our Planet, which will run to eight parts. Silverback previously produced […]

Alastair Fothergill on The Hunt

Alastair Fothergill embodies blue-chip documentary more than any other filmmaker and with his latest series, The Hunt, sought to push the boundaries of the high-end factual genre once again. The series takes a look at nature’s predators, but in a new light by also telling the stories of their victims. “Natural history predator sequences are […]