The award-winning natural history series, Prehistoric Planet, is returning for a second season. Apple TV+ has renewed the Sir David Attenborough-narrated BBC Studios series for five new episodes, set to air on May 22.
According to a recent report by Deadline, Prehistoric Planet has been given the go-ahead for a second season. “The award-winning first season of Prehistoric Planet brought dinosaurs back to life in a way global audiences had never seen before,” Creative Direct of Apple TV+’s Europe division, Jay Hunt, said, before revealing it sparked interest in a new season. “Collaborating with the brilliant Jon Favreau and our fantastic partners at the BBC, we are thrilled that viewers will once again have the opportunity to be immersed in our world as it was 66 million years ago and to experience even more weird and wonderful creatures." The new series will premiere globally for five episodes from May 22 on Apple TV+, with each episode released over a five-day week-long period.
The new series will see the return of Attenborough as the narrator of the series. Attenborough, a nature historian and environmental advocate, is well known for his narration, writing, and production of other documentaries and series, including Saving Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet, and Our Planet. Prehistoric Planet is an extension of Attenborough’s decades-long work advocating for the preservation of the environment and all of Earth’s species, where he cautions viewers about the dangers facing our planet today.
The new series will also allow viewers to learn about new dinosaurs, as well as make a return to species previously covered in the first season. One of the new dinosaurs set to be explored in the one-of-a-kind immersive experience is the Tarchia, one of the largest members of the Ankylosauri family. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, on the other hand, will make another appearance in this new season. Previously, viewers were shocked to learn that the species, which is largely shown as a fierce predator in movies and television shows, were also capable swimmers and tender partners when mating. Whilst scientists continue to learn more about the extinct species, the series consulted paleontologist Darren Naish to share this information.
The first season of Prehistoric Planet premiered in May last year. The series, which also ran on a five-day week-long schedule and has a 100% critic's score on Rotten Tomatoes, explored the latest knowledge of the inhabitants of Earth from millions of years ago through the use of state-of-the-art technology. Executive-produced by Favreau, Mike Gunton, and BBC Studios Natural History Unit (Planet Earth), the series uses the photorealistic visual effects of MPC (which were seen in Disney live-action films such as The Lion King (2019) and The Jungle Book (2016)) and concept art created by Jellyfish Pictures (The Book of Boba Fett (2021)). An original score by Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman, and Kara Talve (for Bleeding Fingers Music) was used for the first season. The show has received several award nominations (including for the Annie Awards and Cinema Eye Honors Awards), and won the Outstanding Score and Best Original Score awards for a Documentary TV Series at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) in 2022.
Season 1 of Prehistoric Planet is currently streaming on Apple TV+.