Blue Ant Media on Monday announced the greenlight of a slate of new and returning factual original programs, spanning science, history and wildlife.
Four of the history and science titles are produced in-house by Blue Ant Studios, including Engineering from Above Season 2 (eight episodes x 60 minutes), How to Survive History (eight x 60’), Secret Ops: Revealed (eight x 60’) and Disasters from Above (no details provided).
The greenlit natural history titles include two series from WildBear Entertainment, Big Cats, Nine Lives (three x 60’) and Legion of the Shark (three x 60’), and the 90-minute special Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers produced by Fin & Fur Films.
Blue Ant said in a press release the new titles will be programmed across Blue Ant’s pay-TV and streaming portfolio and will also be available for international licensing through the company’s distribution arm.
“These latest greenlights reflect our continued investment in distinctive factual programming from both Blue Ant Studios and independent production partners,” Craig Junner, executive vice president and general manager of global channels and streaming at Blue Ant Media, said in the press release. “Our integrated channels, rights and streaming model allows content commissioned for both our Canadian networks and global channel brands to move across platforms and territories, extending its reach through our owned services and international licensing.”
Greenlit for a second season, Engineering from Above explores iconic engineering marvels through a unique view from above, answering the “how and why” behind these inspiring feats of human ingenuity. The series is produced with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund.
Each episode of How to Survive History examines multiple catastrophic events and investigates the unbelievable stories of those who made it out alive. From shipwrecks to volcanic eruptions and plane crashes, the series explores incredible accounts of human resilience and courage, and delves into the pivotal decisions, circumstances and lucky breaks that allowed them to live when so many did not.
Secret Ops: Revealed tells the hidden stories behind secret operations from the 20th and 21st centuries, delving into shadow wars, arms deals, rogue assassins and drug cartels. For each investigation, a team of historians and intelligence specialists examine declassified material inside an operations-style briefing room, reconstructing events step by step and examining the consequences that followed.
Big Cats, Nine Lives explores the multiple stages of the lives of lions, leopards and tigers, from vulnerable cubhood to power, conflict and eventual decline. “Across the savannas of Africa, the forests of India and the mountains of Asia, each big cat has evolved radically different strategies to endure. Yet all face the same universal challenge — to grow, compete, reproduce — and ultimately to survive. This is not just natural history, it is life, lived nine times,” reads a series description in the press release.
Legion of the Shark, told in the style of The Lord of the Rings, examines how sharks survived through Earth’s five great cataclysms — ice, poison, fire, shadow and stone — which created mass extinction events that few other species survived. “Today, the descendants of those legions still swim our oceans as protectors of ecosystems, defenders of territory, and as lone knights in search of riches,” the press release says.
Narrated by Texas-born, Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke, Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers showcases the abundant diversity of wildlife in the Lone Star State while confronting the critical water challenges facing a rapidly growing population. This one-off special takes viewers “from the rugged Rio Grande to the thriving waters of the Sabine and Neches, encountering resilient otter families, strutting turkeys, and mysterious Alligator Snapping Turtles along the way,” the release says.
Photo from Season 2 of Engineering from Above, courtesy of Blue Ant Media
