“SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS” OFFERS REMARKABLE NEVER BEFORE SEEN MOMENTS ON NAT GEO.
Step onto the ice with these majestic penguin colonies to witness their incredible lifestyle.
On the 20th anniversary of National Geographic’s Academy Award®-winning “March of the Penguins,” SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS changes everything we ever believed to be true. Led by Nat Geo Explorer and Emmy and BAFTA Award-Winning Filmmaker Bertie Gregory, the Series Dives Into the Uncharted World of Penguins, Showcasing Their Most Intimate, Courageous and Downright Charming Moments. Secrets of the Penguins premieres April 20 at 8/7c on National Geographic.
Audiences will be captivated by this remarkable, in depth view of these majestic penguin colonies and what makes their daily and social lives thrive. New information is uncovered and brilliant cinematography brings these creatures to life in the most beautiful, powerful, and intimate ways on screen.
Secrets of the Penguins premieres April 20 at 8/7c on National Geographic. All Episodes stream April 21 on Disney+ and Hulu. Disney Channel will also air the first episode on Earth Day, April 22, at 8/7c.
From the emperor penguins’ revelatory bonds of friendship to the gritty resolve of gentoos and rockhoppers and the astonishing ingenuity of the migrant penguins that reached deserts and far beyond, their incredible traditions and societies echo ours in ways we never dreamt possible — until now. For over two years, BAFTA and Emmy® Award-winning wildlife cinematographer Bertie Gregory has collaborated with world-leading scientists, using cutting-edge camera technology and unique access to capture three world-first episodes that resonate with our lives like never before. The three-part series is executive produced by National Geographic Explorer-at-Large and Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron.
Braving unpredictable odds and unimaginable weather, these brave cinematographers, scientists, and entire production team have captured exclusive and never before seen footage about the most intricate and interesting parts of penguin life. showcasing a bonded pair of emperors practicing egg transfers with a snowball to hone their skills for the moment they would need to transfer a real egg, tenacious chicks navigating brash ice amid climate change, and young penguins using their beaks to hoist themselves out of a crevasse are some of the many thing that make this film unique.
This documentary is apart how The Walt Disney Company celebrated “Earth Month” with an enterprise-wide campaign led by National Geographic to inspire audiences to appreciate the world around us using the power of storytelling. Throughout April, the ourHOME campaign has featured exciting new content releases, digital and experiential activations, and has showcased global efforts to protect, restore, and celebrate the natural world – allowing viewers, fans, and followers to discover there is even more to love about this place we call home.
With breathtaking, award-winning cinematography and cutting-edge camera technology, the series captures even more never-before-seen and rare moments in the wild. For the first time, witness healthy “rockaroni” chicks—a rare hybrid of rockhopper and macaroni penguins—offering a fascinating glimpse into potential evolution and adaptation. Other remarkable scenes include a brave rockhopper fending off a southern sea lion, the first-ever footage of a hidden cave colony of African penguins, and clever Galapagos penguins teaming up for a daring heist: stealing fish straight from pelican beaks and skillfully herding sardine bait balls.
Episodes include the following:
“Heart of the Emperors”
Premieres April 20 at 8/7c on Nat Geo; Streams April 21 on Disney+ and Hulu
The emperors are the largest and strongest penguins, living in the coldest and most extreme environment on Earth. Embedded with an Antarctic colony, National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory encounters social skills never filmed before, discovering bonds forged from birth between family, friends and strangers are the difference between life and death.
“Survival of the Smartest”
Premieres April 20 at 9/8c on Nat Geo; Streams April 21 on Disney+ and Hulu
Millions of years ago, a group of penguins left the ice, riding powerful currents and arriving in strange new lands. They reshaped traditions for deserts and tropics—and even to live among humans. Tested to the extreme, they became perhaps the smartest of all penguins. National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory discovers the penguins’ problem-solving, “talking” and enduring search for new worlds.
“Rebels with a Cause”
Premieres April 20 at 10/9c on Nat Geo; Streams April 21 on Disney+ and Hulu
It takes a special type of courageous penguin to survive the fierce Southern Ocean, but 40 million crowd its isolated, rocky outposts, and they are some of the most successful penguins on Earth. National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory follows the rockhoppers, gentoos and macaronis to discover a world of risk-takers, rebels and unconventional parents.
SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS takes it to a whole new level. Talesmith’s team, led by Bertie and over 70 world-class scientists and filmmakers, embarked on a two-year, globe-spanning adventure—from the rocky beaches of Cape Town and the icy shores of South Georgia Island to the tropical Galapagos and Namibia’s desert caves—capturing penguins like never before. Pushing the boundaries of wildlife filmmaking, a three-person crew endured an astonishing 274 days filming on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica, home to a colony of 20,000 emperor penguins.
Melting ice, frigid temperatures, inner colony quarrels, and predators are just some of the harsh realities that these species face. They showcase their relentless and extraordinary survival skills and will to forge on.