BBC AMERICA and BBC Factual announced that naturalist Sir David Attenborough (Mammals, Planet Earth III) will present Asia, a seven-part natural history series about the wildlife on our planet’s largest continent. Covering the length and breadth of Asia, the series will reveal its most remarkable landscapes and animals, and stories featuring dramatic, previously unseen behavior. Asia will premiere on BBC AMERICA and AMC+ in 2025.
Filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia has been the focus of a landmark BBC wildlife series. 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 variety of Asia’s wildest places.
Seven, one-hour episodes will feature dramatic wildlife stories from each corner of the continent. In Nepal, we’ll follow rhinos taking part in a bizarre courtship ‘kiss-chase’ ritual. In the foothills of the Himalaya, we’ll meet the red panda, Asia’s shyest (and possibly cutest) mammal – amidst forests of bamboo. Five thousand meters up on the Tibetan Plateau, we’ll witness a lone wolf hunting a herd of antelope, relentlessly chasing them for hours on end. In Sri Lanka, we’ll 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, we’ll swim with sea snakes and fish that have learned to team up, in order to hunt together in huge shoals.
Filming locations include Lake Baikal, the vast taiga forest, the Lut Desert in Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter. The series also features several Asian cities – Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei, Bhopal, Hanoi and Singapore.
Asia is the largest continent, and no other place is as rich in superlatives. It has the highest mountain range; the deepest ocean the tallest jungles; and the biggest cave.
Asia’s wildlife is equally impressive. The continent is home to six species of bear, three species of rhino and five species of big cat – more than Africa. It is also the land of the unexpected – the mysterious sea bunny, bizarre mudskipper, elusive purple frog, and fluorescent deep-sea squid.
This contemporary view of Asia will celebrate the diversity of life on the continent but will also feature the conservation challenges and potential solutions. On a continent that is home to well over half the world’s human population, there is a growing movement within Asia to protect its wild places and animals – these stories of conservation heroes will feature prominently in the series.
Iconic landscapes and intimate behavior will be filmed using the very latest techniques, allowing audiences to experience the beauty and wonder of Asia like never before.
Asia, a 7×60′ for BBC One and iPlayer, is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC AMERICA, France Télévisions and ZDF, in deals facilitated by BBC Studios, who hold global distribution rights. 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.