by Alex Billington
April 14, 2026
Source: YouTube
“There was one series that changed everything…” One of the greatest documentarians ever! BBC and PBS have revealed a new official trailer for Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, one more new doc special this year to celebrate the iconic David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. It will be streaming in May to watch online in both the UK & US. Celebrating 50 years of the series that opened our eyes to the natural world like never before. Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure is the remarkable story behind one of the BBC’s most famous wildlife blockbusters, featuring exclusive interviews with David Attenborough and the original production team. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at them creating the seminal Life on Earth series which originally debuted in 1979 and tried to answer the pivotal question: how life on our planet evolved. They’ve been churning out tons of new Attenborough docs recently: Ocean with David Attenborough last year and A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough also this year, along with this one and a few others in the works. Looks magnificent – an inspiring look back at a remarkable life.
Full trailer for BBC’s doc Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, via YouTube:
“It was one of the most privileged moments of my life.” In 1976, Sir David Attenborough embarked on an ambitious 3-year global odyssey to film Life on Earth, an innovative documentary of unprecedented scale. Attenborough and his team traveled to over 40 countries to document over 600 species and faced extraordinary challenges along the way, including a coup in the Comoros, gunshots in Rwanda, and even threats from Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq. Written & presented by Attenborough, Life on Earth set out to “tell the greatest story in all the world”: how life on our planet evolved. Fifty years after production began, in celebration of Attenborough’s 100th birthday, Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure offers rare, behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the groundbreaking series. Featuring exclusive interviews with Attenborough and his original crew, the special captures the triumphs and setbacks of filming the series during a pivotal era in TV history, when jet travel and color filming were relatively new.
Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure is a 60-mintue doc special directed & produced by acclaimed nature filmmaker Victoria Bobin, director of Attenborough and the Jurassic Sea Monster, Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, an ep of “Nature”, and a producer on many other docs. Made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit for both PBS and BBC together. Executive produced by Mike Davis, Sue Aartse-Tuyn, Diana El-Osta. BBC & PBS will release Bobin’s Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure doc special streaming in US & UK starting May 6th, 2026 coming soon. Who wants to watch?
