National Geographic Reveals Slew of New Highlights

National Geographic has unveiled a number of new highlights coming to its schedule, including more From Above specials and the acquired series City So Real.

Nat Geo is building out its franchise of From Above specials, taking to the skies over India, ancient China, Egypt and Europe. With earlier iterations featuring aerial footage of China, Egypt, Europe, Japan and New Zealand, National Geographic has four new epic chapters coming. India From Above and Ancient China From Above will premiere in 2020, while Egypt From Above: Past Meets Future and a second season of Europe From Above will debut in 2021.

The channel acquired City So Real, an official indie episodic selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, set to premiere on the network this fall. From twice Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Steve James (America to Me, Hoop Dreams) and his longtime producing partner Zak Piper (Life Itself, The Interrupters), the portrait of contemporary Chicago delivers a deep, multifaceted look into the soul of a quintessentially American city, set against the backdrop of its history-making 2019 mayoral election. From Participant and Kartemquin Films, City So Real’s story was originally conceived as four one-hour episodes, but the premiere on National Geographic will exclusively feature an epic fifth episode that follows the COVID-19 pandemic and social uprising following George Floyd’s death.

Golden Globe- and BAFTA Award-winning actress Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Avatar, Gorillas in the Mist) will narrate the global television event Secrets of the Whales, which chronicles the whale way of life and their challenges and triumphs in an ever-changing ocean. Renowned filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large James Cameron will serve as executive producer. Secrets of the Whales will premiere globally on Earth Day 2021 in 172 countries and 43 languages. The four-part event series is the work of acclaimed National Geographic Explorer and photographer Brian Skerry.

More than three weeks into its annual Sharkfest, National Geographic has revealed the headliner Shark Beach (working title), featuring Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers). An enthusiastic surfer and renowned environmentalist, Hemsworth embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime mission to investigate the measures put in place to safeguard our co-existence and to uncover the complicated truth behind the alarming increase in shark attacks in Australia. Shark Beach is produced by Nutopia (The World According to Jeff Goldblum, One Strange Rock).

With insights from CIA profilers, criminal psychologists, religious scholars, battle-tested military experts and men who personally knew bin Laden, the one-hour event special Bin Laden’s Hard Drive has been more than a year in the making. The production sifts through the trove of personal moments and the extremist content he created to piece together the story of the multifaceted man behind the headlines. It is slated to premiere September 10.

National Geographic has greenlit Virus Hunters, produced by ABC News’ Lincoln Square Productions. Premiering November 1, Virus Hunters will reveal the raw and chilling stories of those heroic experts currently searching to identify the chain of events that could cause the next global pandemic.