Nat Geo Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom producer Arrow Media is plotting U.S. expansion with the promotion of Stephen Dost to VP, Content.

Bear Grylls has confirmed that he helped baptize Russell Brand, the British actor and comedian who has faced historical allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Addie Morfoot Contributor A first clip has been unveiled from Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau’s Nat Geo documentary “Fly,” which will screen at Hot Docs on Sunday. The doc follows three couples entwined in the world of base jumping, one of the world’s deadliest sports. Schwarz and Clusiauoree began working on “Fly” for seven years following the death of well-known climber Dean Potter, who lost his life while base jumping at Yosemite National Park.

EXCLUSIVE: Blackfin, the Lionsgate-backed production company behind series including Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, has a new Head of Documentaries.

“Most British producers will find themselves very welcome in America.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Walt Disney Company and National Geographic have unveiled a slate of Earth Day-themed programming as part of their global cross-platform ourHome campaign. Beginning April 19 through April 22, Earth Day-themed content will be featured across ABC News, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Freeform, FX, FXX, Hulu, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo, with ourHome collections on Disney+ and Hulu.

EXCLUSIVE: Jayme Lawson (The Batman) is the newest addition to the cast of the untitled event film, starring Michael B. Jordan, that Ryan Coogler is directing for Warner Bros.

Networks are planning special reports Monday for coverage of the total solar eclipse, a celestial phenomenon when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun.

Halle Bailey (The Color Purple) has been tapped to star alongside Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Holdovers Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph in Universal Pictures‘ untitled coming-of-age pic from director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and producer Pharrell Williams (Hidden Figures), Deadline has learned.

EXCLUSIVE: Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) has been set to lead a new, untitled Universal feature project from director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and producer Pharrell Williams (Hidden Figures), according to multiple sources, who also tell us that 2024 Academy Award winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) is in talks.

EXCLUSIVE: The race to replace Ralph Lee at the helm of BBC Studios Productions is underway, with the studio signaling its ambition by approaching some of the UK’s top unscripted executives.

EXCLUSIVE: Sugarcane has become the latest big documentary deal out of the Sundance Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: No stranger to telling compelling stories about real-life figures who overcome incredible odds, Imagine Entertainment co-founder Brian Grazer is set to unveil his new passion project based on one of the great dynasties in sports.

FX’s John Landgraf’s annual tally of original series has revealed that there were 516 scripted titles on air in 2023, which was a 12% drop from 2022.

Queens is Nat Geo’s latest wildlife series that follows six domains ruled by the fierce and formidable matriarchs of the animal world.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Stanley Tucci has found a new recipe for the popular docuseries exploring Italian cuisine he once whipped up for CNN. The actor has struck a production deal with Disney’s National Geographic that calls for a new ten-part docuseries, “Tucci – The Heart of Italy,” to appear on the Nat Geo cable network. Tucci will explore the cuisine and culture in ten different regions of Italy.

EXCLUSIVE: Stanley Tucci is continuing his Italian adventures.

British TV vet Samir Shah has been unveiled as the new BBC Chair, coming with a major decision on the licence fee imminent.

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary charting an expedition to the ancient capital of Genghis Khan‘s empire is in the works with French outfit Pernel Media.

Harry: The Interview EP Nat Lippiett and BBC factual entertainment commissioner Clare Mottershead have joined Orchard Studios, the nascent UK unscripted indie run by former Amazon UK programs chief Dan Grabiner and ex-The Garden boss Nicola Hill.

National Geographic announced a 2024 premiere date for Genius: MLK/X, the latest installment in Nat Geo’s Genius franchise. Genius: MLK/X will premiere the first two episodes Feb. 1 on National Geographic and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, with two new episodes debuting weekly on all platforms. The news was announced during Nat Geo’s content showcase Wednesday night in NYC.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Genius: MLK/X” has set its premiere date at Nat Geo, the network announced Wednesday. The first two episodes of the eight-episode fourth season of “Genius” will premiere on Feb. 1 on Nat Geo and will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

EXCLUSIVE: Ridley Scott’s Scott Free has appointed Elyse Seder as EVP and Head of Nonfiction and named EVP Marjorie Chodorov Head of Physical Production.

National Geographic has given a green light to No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski, a docuseries hosted by the Queer Eye star, from Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay Global.

EXCLUSIVE: Idris Elba is narrating and exec producing a Nat Geo series about people of color who fought during World War Two. Nat Geo’s Tom McDonald has also unveiled shows on the FBI and a groundbreaking new DNA project being used to identify John and Jane Does across America, as he says he wants to cement the network’s reputation as a “brand of record.”

Move over David Attenborough, there are some new wildlife celebrities in town.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter National Geographic has partnered with Rex on the new docuseries tentatively titled “Top Gun: The Next Generation.” Rex, part of Zinc Media Group, will produce the series for Nat Geo. It follows the students of the U.S. Navy’s most elite fighter pilot program, which was popularized by the blockbuster films “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” starring Tom Cruise.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is staffing up its unscripted division.

EXCLUSIVE: Global docs streamer MagellanTV has struck a multi-year output deal with French producer ZED, with Amazon Women Warriors leading off the pact today.

Caroline Brew editor National Geographic has signed a first-look deal with Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning production company Muck Media for unscripted series and specials. Muck and National Geographic have previously collaborated on “Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller,” which is nominated for nine Emmys at the 2023 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. In “Trafficked,” van Zeller investigates shadow markets, criminal organizations and trafficking networks around the world.