Hugh Bonneville To Narrate Nature Docuseries ‘The Secret Lives Of Animals’ For Apple

EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ is doubling down on nature programming.

The tech giant has ordered The Secret Lives of Animals, a ten-part docuseries narrated by Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville.

It is the latest wildlife project for the streamer, which has previously aired series including The Year Earth Changed, Tiny World, Earth at Night in Color, Prehistoric Planet, Big Beasts and Earthsounds.

The Secret Lives of Animals will launch on December 18 and feature never-before-seen footage of rare animal behaviors, highlighting the intelligence of the natural world.

It is Bonneville’s latest nature docuseries; he previously narrated Netflix’s The Hidden Lives of Pets.

It also marks the third collaboration between the BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Apple TV+, following Prehistoric Planet and The Year Earth Changed.

The series will highlight 77 unique species in 24 countries over three years, many captured on film for the first time.

Each episode delves into pivotal moments in the life cycles of various animals—from birth and leaving home to raising a family, and from finding food to growing old—showcasing their remarkable intelligence and adaptability. Highlights include a trashline orbweaver spider constructing a deceptive “self-portrait” puppet to deter predators, the first-ever recorded communication among olive ridley turtle hatchlings while still inside their eggs, and a unique symbiotic relationship between a dotted humming frog and a burrowing tarantula.

The series comes from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the division behind the Frozen Planet and Planet Earth franchises. It is exec produced by Matt Brandon (Planet Earth III) and Roger Webb (Mammals).