Netflix’s Life on Our Planet | What is it about, when does it arrive and is David Attenborough involved?

It’s not your standard nature programme coming to Netflix this week, with the Morgan Freeman narrated ‘Life on Our Planet’ not simply content on nature at the present, but instead delving into the four-billion-year history of Earth. The series also boasts an impressive name in the executive producer credits; hallowed filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Speaking to Netflix about the reasons behind dramatizing the nearly four billion-year history of life on Earth, one of the series producers, Keith Scholey explained “We’d just finished the first season of Our Planet and started to think what the next big series could be — a true landmark series that would also make people sit up and take notice. It was at this point that we wondered about tackling the biggest story of all — the story of life.” 

“We of course remembered the first ever David Attenborough series, Life on Earth, which was way back in 1979 when Alastair [Fothergill, another producer on the project] and I were both university students. That series made waves at the time but no one had touched that subject since. The reason why it had been ignored is that it’s too hard! It’s too big a story to tell, plus it would require an awful lot of realistic CGI to do it properly. But at Silverback we love a challenge, and feeling that we could overcome those hurdles, we decided we must try!”

Netflix even managed to get some quotes from the narrator, Morgan Freeman, who explained (and apologies if his voice has entered your head reading this): “Every single living thing alive today can trace its heritage back four billion years. This series will explore the most important milestones in the history of life. This is the story of the great battles for survival and the dynasties that would take over the world. This is the story of life.”

“We are the first species in the four billion-year story of life to understand what is happening to our world. We are also the first species to understand what is needed to put it right. Our intelligence got us this far and it’s the only thing that can save us. Our future and that of the planet is yet to be written. How we act now will determine the next chapter in the story of life.”

What is ‘Life On Our Planet’ about?

Today there are 20 million species on our planet, yet what we see is just a snapshot in time — 99% of Earth’s inhabitants are lost to our deep past. The four billion-year story of what happened to these dynasties — their rise and their fall — is truly remarkable. Life on Our Planet uses the latest science and technology to bring long-extinct creatures back to life, presenting the incredible story of life’s epic battle to conquer and survive on Earth. 

Organized around the five mass extinction events that have forever shaped the planet, plus the sixth we’re facing today, the series brings creatures known only from fossils to life in a dramatic, photoreal fashion. These stunning scenes are presented alongside cutting-edge natural history sequences, showcasing the unique evolutionary advantages modern species have inherited from their ancestors in ways that have never been seen before. Audiences will see the story of life unfold through its most pivotal moments: from the first single-celled life form, to the first animals to move out from the sea and onto land, to the first creatures to take flight. 

Revisiting one of Earth’s longest-lived dynasties, the dinosaurs, viewers will bear witness to the cataclysmic downfall that led to the age of the mammals and the rise of the most dangerous animal the Earth has ever seen: us.

Is Sir David Attenborough involved in ‘Life on Our Planet?

Not on this occasion though we understand the confusion. Sir David Attenborough also had a Netflix series titled ‘David Attenborough: Life on Our Planet’ which served as ‘Attenborough’s witness statement for the natural world.’ Though both Netflix titles share the same name, Attenborough is not involved in this production.

When does ‘Life on Our Planet’ arrive on Netflix?

‘Life on Our Planet,’ narrated by Morgan Freeman, arrives on Netflix on October 25 2023