NBC orders landmark BBC Studios series

US network NBC has ordered a 10-part nature series exploring the Americas from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit.

Paul Telegdy

Set to air in 2024, The New World will take in North, Central and South America, exploring the landscapes, wilderness and creatures that inhabit the region.

Mike Gunton (Life, Planet Earth II, Dynasties) is exec producing the series for the Natural History Unit, in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio.

Gunton said: “The New World will bring an entirely new and intense perspective of this vast, diverse and extraordinary supercontinent. For a natural history filmmaker, it has everything. Spanning 8,700 miles, poles at each end and the equator at its heart, it really does stand apart. This is the chance to tell not only a unique story of scale and drama but also of the interconnectivity and fragility of life.”

Paul Telegdy, chairman of NBC Entertainment, added: “The New World is a massive piece of four-quadrant commercial entertainment that has the capacity to capture the curiosity and minds of millions. I believe that great storytelling told on a broad scale has the power to produce wide-sweeping cultural change, and this project has all the makings to deliver on that potential.”

Dwayne Johnson
(photo: Eva Rinaldi)

The four-year project marks NBC’s first venture into the natural history space for a global audience.

In related news, NBC has given an 11-episode order to a single-camera comedy based on the early life of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Young Rock will be executive produced by Johnson, Nahnatchka Khan, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. The show will be produced by Universal Television, Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions.

The pilot was co-written by Khan and Chiang. Johnson will appear in each episode.

The network has also ordered a third season of its craft-making series Making It, hosted by Parks & Recreation stars Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman,  and given its hospital drama series New Amsterdam a three-year renewal, taking it through to the 2022/23 season.