Discovery, Elba take swing at kick boxing

Discovery Networks International (DNI) is linking up again with Idris Elba on a show that  follows the actor as he prepares to become a professional kick boxer.

Idris Elba: Fighter sees the actor undergo kickboxer training

Idris Elba: Fighter will see the Luther star face physical and mental challenges as he trains to become a professional kickboxer and compete against “a seasoned brawler in a no-holds-barred bout.”

The 3×60 series is being shot in the UK, Cuba, Japan, South Africa and Thailand and is being produced by Shine North and Elba’s production company Green Door Pictures.

It will air on DNI’s factual channels in more than 220 countries and territories, including the UK and US, beginning in early 2017. Elba previously worked with Discovery on racing series No Limits.

Marjorie Kaplan, president of content at DNI, said the “raw yet intimate series will show a side of Idris that viewers and fans won’t get from his spectacular film work.”

In related news, DNI has ordered a two-hour documentary about an extraordinary troop of chimpanzees in Uganda.

Rise of the Warrior Apes features four apes and explores how they rule a huge area of the jungle. The film, produced by the UK’s Keo Films, is from director James Reed (Jago: A Life Underwater) and has been slated to premiere on DNI’s global networks and on Animal Planet in the US in early 2017.