Blue Ant Media announced Wednesday its wildlife and nature channel Love Nature has greenlit two new original programs.
Produced by Passion Planet in partnership with The WNET Group, the one-hour documentary HumanLike: The Chimps of Fongoli looks at how a group of chimpanzees have adapted to survive in an extreme environment, the Fongoli region of Senegal on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
“The film traces the remarkable 25-year story of how American Primatologist Jill Pruetz and local chimp expert Dondo “Johnny” Kante got so close to the chimps that they uncovered a wealth of unique behaviors that might just reveal secrets about our own evolutionary past,” says a Blue Ant press release.
The other greenlit program is Aussie Snake Wranglers: Deadly Pursuit (Season 1), a six-episode series that follows a group of professional snake catchers on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. The series is produced by Breakout Productions with the support of the South Australian Film Corporation.
“This fast-paced reality series follows the busiest snake-catching team in Australia as they go head-to-head with some of the deadliest snakes on the planet,” reads a description. “Led by venomous snake guru Stuart McKenzie, the team answers multiple distress calls a day from everyday Aussies whose homes have been invaded by snakes that can disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving families distraught and fearing for their lives.”
Both titles will premiere on Love Nature’s linear and streaming channels worldwide. They will also roll out on Sky Nature in the U.K., Italy and Germany in addition to premieres across co-commissioning territories. Blue Ant Studios oversees licensing opportunities for the new titles outside of commissioning territories.
“Love Nature viewers enjoy a wide range of natural history series. Over the last decade, we have built a portfolio of wildlife series that appeals to our global audience. These two new titles add to our channel’s diversity of offerings,” said Alison Barrat, senior vice president and head of content at Love Nature, in the press release. “Each of these new titles explores the connection between human and animal species. They both tap into a different aspect of our global fascination with wild species.”
Photo from HumanLike: The Chimps of Fongoli courtesy of Blue Ant Media
