WASHINGTON & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nat Geo WILD announced today that Emmy-nominated actor Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) will narrate the upcoming global miniseries event Savage Kingdom, a rare look at warring animal clans battling for survival in a remote region of Africa that is drying up after years of flood-soaked abundance. The winners are rewarded with the richest hunting grounds in the kingdom, while the losers are fated to exile … or even death. Savage Kingdom premieres Friday, Nov. 25, at 9/8c on Nat Geo WILD and globally this fall in 134 countries and 37 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com or our press site www.foxflash.com, or follow us on Twitter using @NGC_PR. Click here to download trailer.
“When we developed the series, we immediately saw the parallels between the battle for power in George R. R. Martin’s fictional world and the vicious fight for survival in the animal kingdom,” said Geoff Daniels, executive vice president and general manager of Nat Geo WILD. “We knew that Charles Dance could tell this story the way it needs to be told. His chilling voice captures the essence of this tale of the kings of the savanna fighting for the throne, complete with brutal violence, unexpected deaths, surprising characters and even interfamily romance.”
The royal families in the Savage Kingdom are lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs. Each episode is told from one predator’s point of view, resulting in dramatic, character-driven storytelling that seems like scripted drama, but no fiction could do this story justice. Drought is coming, and against an urgent backdrop of decreasing resources the exploits between clans come to a head in rarely seen predator/prey action. There are bold plays for territory, inventive hunting techniques, deaths seen from different animals’ points of view and births of new heirs.
For three weeks this winter, the world will get an unprecedented glimpse into the chaos that ensues when Mother Nature provides water in a bone-dry region then suddenly takes it all away. Shot by Brad Bestelink, an award-winning Botswanan filmmaker, this is not your father’s wildlife special. Savage Kingdom is an epic global miniseries event, complete with rivalries, betrayals, battles and triumphs.
Unlike many natural history specials, every frame of Savage Kingdom was shot in 4K. The team was in the field for more than a year, waking up with the animals, tracking them all day and sleeping on top of their vehicles at night.
Premiere Episodes
Clash of Queens
Premieres Fri., Nov. 25, 9/8c (two hours)
The
lion Matsumi has ascended the throne to become Queen of the Marsh Pride.
An unrivaled hunter, she has yet to prove herself as the leader of the
dynasty that controls the beating heart of her Savage Kingdom —
the great marsh. Lions can be volatile and brutal bedfellows, and
Matsumi’s king and chief protector, Sekekama, gives no second chances to
his enemies, not even his own family. King and queen will be tested as
their archrivals — leopards, wild dogs and especially hyenas — do
everything they can to bring the ruling dynasty to its knees.
Saba the leopard is a killer without rival. She haunts the trees and hills in the heart of the realm. She is solitary, silent and virtually invisible. Saba is the most spectacular and resourceful hunter the Savage Kingdom has seen. Her stronghold, Leopard Rock, sits at the heart of this brutal realm — it is a place where she can vanish into the shadows and avoid running into her rivals. There is no question that Saba can take care of herself, but her strength and resilience will be cruelly tested when she brings two cubs into the realm.
Army of Darkness
Premieres Fri., Dec. 2, 9/8c (two hours)
On
a forsaken ridge of sand that skirts the edge of the Savage Kingdom, a
hyena queen, Zalika, plots her revenge on the Marsh Lions who keep her
clan in exile. Zalika is building an army, and when she has the numbers
she will confront the Marsh Pride once and for all. No longer will the
hyenas eke out an existence in the shadows. But it is a monumental task
for a small band of scavengers. Zalika has to find enough food to keep
the fast-growing cubs satisfied, and that means confronting the Savage
Kingdom’s other clans of predators and stealing their kills.
Not all lions in the Savage Kingdom are born equal — while the Marsh Pride gets the pick of the prey in the Great Marsh and its offspring grow fat on buffalo, the three lionesses of the Northern Pride struggle to find food in the distant forests and hills. Once a great pride in their own right, Satau’s sons were driven out of the kingdom by the Marsh Pride’s brutal males, destroying the family she must now rebuild. In the height of the Savage Kingdom’s harshest season, when the threesome is on its knees, the Marsh Pride moves up to steal the only sanctuary it holds. If Satau cannot lead the pride through the crisis, they face extreme hunger, exile or worse. Is the end coming for the once great Northern Pride?
Big Game of Thrones
Premieres Fri, Dec. 9, 9/8c (two
hours)
The Savage Kingdom welcomes no one. A small but
intensely loyal family of wild dogs is on the run from the barren
wasteland, desperately looking for a safe place to raise six tiny
puppies, but they don’t know the dangers of the realm ahead. The
sanctuary they seek is filled with rivals who stand in their way and
predators who want to eat their young. It will take this family of
renegades everything they’ve got to survive here when they are so badly
outsized and outnumbered.
Rule of the kingdom is reserved for the strong. Five heroes, each with a unique power, head up rival clans struggling for power, clawing their way to the top. Each will kill to protect their dynasty — each would kill to take the throne. The winners are rewarded with the richest hunting grounds in the kingdom, but the fate of the losers is brutal — exile or death. The only way to succeed is to build an army to steal power before the others cut them off at the knees. Fighting to survive, killing to succeed — nothing will stop them from trying to reign supreme over the Savage Kingdom.
Savage Kingdom is produced by Icon Films in association with Natural History Film Unit Botswana for Nat Geo WILD. Icon Films executive producers are Harry Marshall and Laura Marshall. Natural History Film Unit Botswana producer is Brad Bestelink. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Ashley Hoppin, senior vice president of development and production is Janet Han Vissering and executive vice president and general manager is Geoff Daniels.
About National Geographic Channels
The National Geographic Channels form the television and production arm of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and the National Geographic Society. As a global leader in premium science, adventure and exploration programming, the Channels include: National Geographic Channel (NGC), Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Additionally, the Channels also run the in-house television production unit, National Geographic Studios. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with entertaining, innovative programming from A-level talent around the world, and with profits that help support the society’s mission. Globally, NGC is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages, and Nat Geo WILD is available in 131 countries and 38 languages. National Geographic Partners is also a leader in social media, with a fan base of 250 million people across all of its social pages. NGC contributes over 55 million social media fans globally on Facebook alone. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and www.natgeowild.com.
About Icon Films
Icon Films has produced over 300 hours of factual programming for the U.K. and international markets, working with broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, Five, ITV, National Geographic, Discovery Networks, Arte and PBS. Icon Films has a reputation for originality, excellence and entertainment across the breadth of factual genres including science, history, exploration and natural history. Recent productions include “River Monsters” (Animal Planet US), “Africa’s Fishing Leopards” (BBC), “Spawn of Jaws 2: The Birth” (Discovery Channel), “Survive the Tribe” (National Geographic Channels) and “Africa’s Giant Killers” (BBC). Icon Films is run by a senior management team that includes Creative Director Harry Marshall, Managing Director Laura Marshall, Director of Production Andie Clare and Commercial Director Lucy Middelboe.
