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NEW YORK – November 25, 2024 – Today, AMC Networks announced that the highly-anticipated landmark natural history series, Asia, is slated to premiere Saturday, January 25 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and will also be available the same day on AMC+. Presented by renowned naturalist and three-time Emmy® Award-winner Sir David Attenborough (Mammals, Planet Earth III), the cinematic series explores each corner of this remarkable part of our planet and journeys through Asia’s most stunning landscapes, uncovering stories of extraordinary unseen animal behavior. Across 7 episodes plus a ‘Making Of’ special filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia – home to the highest mountain range, the deepest ocean, the tallest jungles, and the biggest cave – has been the focus of a BBC AMERICA landmark wildlife series.
In Nepal, the series will follow rhinos playing ‘kiss chase’ in a bizarre courtship ritual. In the foothills of the Himalaya, amidst forests of bamboo, viewers will meet Asia’s shyest and possibly cutest mammal: the red panda. Five thousand meters up on the Tibetan Plateau, audiences will witness a lone wolf relentlessly hunting a herd of antelope for hours on end. In Sri Lanka, the show will join elephants that have learned to become highway thieves – holding up buses to get food from the passengers. And in the rich waters of the Western Pacific, cameras will swim with sea snakes that have learned to team up with fish to hunt. Asia will also explore the conservation challenges facing the continent and shine a light on the potential solutions being championed by the region’s conservation heroes. From the vast Gobi Desert to the jungles of Borneo, and from the polar wilderness of Siberia to the coral seas of the Indian Ocean, this series will showcase the breathtaking diversity of Asia’s wildest places.
Asia, a 7×60’ for BBC One and iPlayer, is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC AMERICA, ZDF and France Télévisions. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producer is Roger Webb, the Series Producer is Matthew Wright and the Commissioning Editor is Sreya Biswas, Head of Commissioning, Natural History. BBC Studios is handling global distribution and facilitated the co-production deals with BBC AMERICA, ZDF and France Télévisions.
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS
Episode 1 – “Beneath the Waves” – Premieres Saturday, January 25 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
Asia has the longest coastline of any continent, and the most abundant coral reefs on Earth. Its seas are connected by some of the world’s most powerful currents and are home to over sixty percent of all marine species. This groundbreaking episode features the charismatic creatures of Asia’s oceans, never- before-seen spectacles and brand-new animal behavior. From giants in the deep ocean, to tiny fish that climb trees, squid that glow in the dark, and grey reef sharks that hunt in their hundreds. Asia’s waters are as spectacular as they are diverse.
Episode 2 – “Above the Clouds” – Premieres Saturday, February 1 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
Asia is the most mountainous continent on earth. From the forested slopes of the tropics to the hostile heights of the Himalaya, Asia’s mountains are home to an astonishing abundance of specialized plants and wildlife. In India, elephants live in high-altitude tea plantations; and in Thailand, mountainous caves hide the planet’s greatest gathering of swifts. In Pakistan, markhor live life truly on the edge, fighting for mates atop towering cliffs; and in Nepal, the forested foothills of the Himalaya provide hiding places for one of Asia’s shyest but most adorable mammals, the red panda.
Episode 3 – “The Frozen North” – Premieres Saturday, February 8 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
In northern Asia, life defies hostile extremes. In Russia’s Lake Baikal, a seal pup must take evasive action when its ice den starts to melt. Hokkaido’s thermal springs are a haven for dancing red-crowned cranes. On the Tibetan Plateau, a lone Himalayan wolf hunts antelope. Fish owls thrive in the forests where Russia and China meet. On the Kamchatka Peninsula, brown bears hunt salmon in preparation for winter. Elsewhere in Japan, bats hibernate beneath snow, while red foxes and sea eagles compete for food. In Arctic Russia, polar bears wait on isolated islands for the return of sea ice.
Episode 4 – “Tangled Worlds” – Premieres Saturday, February 15 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
Asia’s jungles are exceptionally diverse, but while they provide shelter, food and opportunity, they are also full of dangers and hidden threats. In monsoon forests, tigers tenaciously hunt their prey, and prehistoric-looking rhinos play courtship games akin to ‘kiss chase.’ In tropical rainforests, female orangutans must search far and wide to find their perfect mates. And in the little-known forests of Iraqi Kurdistan, a new Persian leopard population is growing amidst minefields.
Episode 5 – “Crowded Continent” – Premieres Saturday, February 22 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
In Asia, the most densely populated continent, animals have developed extraordinary ways to seize the opportunities of the human world. From tigers entering a city to hunt easy prey, to elephants stopping traffic to demand food from motorists. A small park in central Bangkok supports three hundred giant lizards while a flying squirrel in Taipei has made a cozy home in a school. Yet, the changing human world creates unprecedented challenges: proboscis monkeys are forced to venture uncomfortably closer to humans and swifts in Jerusalem face tough competition for nest sites.
Episode 6 – “The Arid Heart” – Premieres Saturday, March 1 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
In the heart of Asia lie vast arid lands. These deserts and dry grasslands are so hostile, they push life to the limit. Here, one of the rarest animals on earth, the Gobi Bear, searches desperately for water, and bizarre looking long-eared jerboas use their striking features to catch insects. Asiatic lions must do whatever it takes to find food and juvenile cormorants resort to cannibalism to survive. On the arid grasslands, Pallas cats need ingenious ways to get close to their prey, Mongolian Gazelles must battle harsh winters and human barriers, and takhi horses are terrorized each night by Mongolian wolves. Life in the Arid Heart demands extraordinary resilience – those that live here are Asia’s great survivors.
Episode 7 – “Saving Asia” – Premieres Saturday, March 8 at 8pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
Remarkable people are dedicating their lives to saving Asia’s extraordinary wildlife, using ingenious solutions. In Borneo, we follow a sun bear being released back into the wild; and in Java, we see how a breeding program is saving the Javan green magpie. In Japan, orphaned shark embryos are being raised in an artificial uterus. And off Bali, fishermen are trialing new technology that could stop rare species being caught in their nets. We witness a Nepali police raid disrupting the illegal wildlife trade, and also join a 24-hour wildlife rescue team saving Sunda pangolins in urban Singapore.
Episode 8 – The Making Of Asia” – Premieres Saturday, March 8 at 9pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA and AMC+
This episode goes behind the scenes with the production team of Asia.
About BBC AMERICA
BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming and the definitive television home and co-producer, in partnership with BBC Studios, of the most iconic natural history series and franchises including Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Dynasties, Eden: Untamed Planet, Frozen Planet and Seven Worlds, One Planet and the forthcoming Asia. Wholly owned and operated by AMC Networks, BBC AMERICA’s most notable series, including Killing Eve, Doctor Who, Orphan Black, Luther and The Graham Norton Show, among others, have attracted widespread critical acclaim and garnered Emmy® Awards, Golden Globes®, Peabody Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, TCA Awards and more.
About AMC+
AMC+ is the company’s premium streaming bundle featuring an extensive lineup of popular and critically acclaimed original programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV and full access to targeted streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited, which feature content such as A Discovery of Witches, Creepshow, and Boyhood. The service features a continually refreshed library of commercial-free content, with iconic series from the AMC Networks portfolio including Mad Men, Halt & Catch Fire, Hell on Wheels, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Rectify, Portlandia, Orphan Black and series from The Walking Dead Universe, among many others. The service also offers a growing slate of original and exclusive series including Gangs of London, Dark Winds, and the first two series in a new Anne Rice universe, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. With new movies released every Friday, AMC+ is the newest destination for exclusive film premieres direct from theaters all year long. AMC+ is available in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Spain and is available in the U.S. through AMCPlus.com, the AMC+ app, and a number of digital and cable partners.