Nat Geo Wild goes live with Big Fish

US cabler Nat Geo Wild has commissioned a live animal welfare series from US prodco Big Fish Entertainment.

Geoff Daniels

Four-week event series Animal ER Live will explore animal emergencies in real time as they occur in animal hospitals and mobile vets across the US.

The show will be anchored by a team of veterinary experts in a New York studio, with cameras trailing teams of specialised vets working through the night to save pets’ lives. The series will air on Saturday and Sunday nights at 21.00 from March 30.

Animal ER Live comes off the back of the success of MGM-owned Big Fish’s A&E series Live PD.

Big Fish’s Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino, Meghan Spielberg and Richard Hall will exec produce alongside Tracy Rudolph for Nat Geo Wild. Senior VP of natural history programming and development Janet Han Vissering and executive VP of global unscripted entertainment Geoff Daniels will oversee the project for the channel.

“Nat Geo Wild’s commitment to series devoted to animal caregivers has been at the core of our success for almost 10 years,” said Daniels.

“Building on our track record of going live into the wild with innovative experiences like Safari Live and Yellowstone Live, we’re always looking for new ways to engage our animal-loving audience, which is what makes this collaboration with Big Fish Entertainment the perfect fit.”