"Nature's" 42nd Season Highlights Epic Animal Journeys and Intimate Bonds, Wednesdays at 8/7c Beginning October 18 on PBS

Features a brand-new Spy in the Ocean miniseries, alongside documentaries on grizzlies, whales, shorebirds and ancient sea monsters

Preview Season 42 at pbs.org/nature

(NEW YORK - August 29, 2023) The WNET Group's Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning series Nature announced its upcoming season with new episodes Wednesdays at 8/7c beginning October 18 on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS app. Season 42 opens with The Platypus Guardian, which follows Pete Walsh, a Tasmanian man who befriends a platypus he names Zoom. With the help of experts, Pete learns more about the platypus' secret world in a mission to protect them from the dangers of urban development.

In the four-part Spy in the Ocean miniseries, groundbreaking hidden cameras give new perspectives on the creatures that call the ocean home. In Big Little Journeys, meet six tiny travelers risking it all to complete big journeys against the odds. See a filmmaker and a sperm whale attempt to communicate with each other in extraordinary footage never before seen in Patrick and the Whale. Witness a Ukrainian YouTuber documenting the work that Ukrainian citizens have done to rescue and care for the pets and zoo animals abandoned during the war. In more upcoming episodes, gorillas, grizzlies, shorebirds and more species under threat are given a fresh perspective through the lens of tireless filmmakers and conservationists.

"Our ever changing and increasingly complex relationship with the natural world is on full display this season on Nature," said Fred Kaufman, executive producer for Nature.

New Nature Season 42 documentaries include:

Nature: The Platypus Guardian (Season 42 premiere)

Premieres Wednesday, October 18 at 8/7c on PBS

Witness the story of an extraordinary man and a mysterious animal living on an island at the end of the world... Tasmania. Pete Walsh is a Tasmanian with no background in natural history, yet he's become obsessed with one of nature's least understood creatures, the platypus. Before it is too late, Pete is on a mission to observe and understand these animals and save them from urban development in the capital city of Hobart. Pete befriends one particular female platypus he names Zoom. She lets him into her secretive world and Pete learns more about the life of this enigmatic species, capturing unique footage of their behavior.

Nature: Spy in the Ocean (four-part special)

Premieres Wednesdays, October 25 - November 15 at 8/7c on PBS

The latest installment of the popular Spy in the Wild series takes place in the ocean, the largest ecosystem on Earth. This four-part Nature miniseries deploys animatronic spy cameras disguised as marine animals to secretly record behavior in the wild. These uncanny robotic look-alikes take us to places where no spy has gone before. They will swim, float, paddle, waddle, drift and fly into every nook and cranny to film rarely seen behavior that reveals how ocean animals possess emotions and behavior similar to humans - including the capacity to love, grieve, deceive and invent.

Nature: Big Little Journeys (three-part special)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

Small animals, even tiny ones, must sometimes make epic journeys to find a home or a mate. While the distances may not seem monumental to us, to these little creatures the journey is monumental. Grasses appear like skyscrapers, mounds become mountains and raindrops fall as big as cars. Meet six heroic, tiny travelers risking it all to complete big journeys against the odds.

Nature: Grizzly 399 (working title)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

The most famous bear in Yellowstone is responsible for 22 descendants. Grizzly 399 has become a symbol of the clash between humans and the wild, as well as a measure of success for her species as it creeps back from the brink of extinction. Now, the stakes are higher than ever as the State of Wyoming petitions the federal government to remove grizzlies from the endangered species list - which would make it legal to hunt bears for recreation. But 399 is far more than just a symbol, she's the protagonist of a riveting story full of twists and turns, hope and heartbreak.

Nature: Attenborough and the Jurassic Sea Monster

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

Sir David Attenborough unearths a once in a lifetime discovery: the fossil of a giant Pliosaur, the largest Jurassic predator ever known. Follow a team of forensic experts on a perilous expedition to excavate the skull, uncover the predatory secrets lying deep inside the fossil, and unlock clues about the life of this giant sea beast.

Nature: Patrick and the Whale

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

For years, Patrick Dykstra has traveled the globe following and diving with whales, learning how whales see, hear and perceive other creatures in the water. In Dominica, Patrick has a life changing experience - a close encounter with a sperm whale he names "Delores." Witness Patrick and the whale attempt to communicate with each other in extraordinary footage never before seen.

Nature - Raptors: A Fistful of Daggers (two-part series; working title)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

The planet's most successful large predators are a group of birds known as raptors. United by a hooked beak, a taste for flesh and a set of razor-sharp talons, these birds of prey have conquered the globe. Raptors dominate every habitat in which they live. Learn more about eagles, hawks, and falcons as well as the lesser-known hunters like the secretary bird, the caracara, kites and more.

Nature: Ukraine Animals (working title)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

Ukrainian YouTuber Anton Ptushkin documents the work that Ukrainian citizens have done to rescue and care for the pets and zoo animals abandoned during the war. Before the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had the second-highest population of pets per capita in the world. In the face of violence, pets and their owners became symbols of resistance, heroes and frontline volunteers. See how a national tragedy transformed into a global story of incredible devotion and love.

Nature: Flyways (working title)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

Shorebirds fly thousands of miles each year along ancient and largely unknown migratory routes called Flyways. Species travel from feeding grounds in the southern hemisphere to breeding grounds in the Arctic regions and back again, flying up to nine days non-stop without food or water. But their populations are crashing. Follow a conservation movement of bird-loving experts and citizen scientists as they mobilize to the challenge of understanding and saving shorebirds.

Nature: Gorilla (working title)

Premieres Winter/Spring 2024 on PBS

Gabon's Loango National Park is home to a group of western lowland gorillas that have become accustomed to biologists who have studied them for almost 20 years. This documentary presents an intimate look at a silverback and his family, and features a newborn baby gorilla, brave researchers, forest elephants, buffalos and the last remaining wild coastline in the African tropics.

Led by executive producer Fred Kaufman, Nature pioneered a television genre that is now widely emulated in the broadcast industry, bringing the natural world to millions of viewers. Consistently among the most-watched primetime series on PBS, Nature continues to innovate through original digital programming and a commitment to converting viewers into doers. The series has won more than 700 honors from the television industry, the international wildlife film communities and environmental organizations, including 21 Emmys and three Peabodys. Nature received two of the wildlife film industry's highest honors: the Christopher Parsons Outstanding Achievement Award given by the Wildscreen Festival, and the Grand Teton Award given by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The International Wildlife Film Festival honored Kaufman with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Media.

Nature's website, pbs.org/nature, features full episodes, short films, digital series, behind-the-scenes content, news articles, educational resources and more. Nature's award-winning podcast, Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, is launching its third season this fall.

Nature is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. Classic episodes are available on various FAST channel platforms and on PBS Passport.

Nature is a production of The WNET Group for PBS. Fred Kaufman is Executive Producer. Bill Murphy is Series Producer. Janet Hess is Series Editor. Danielle Broza is Digital Content & Strategy Lead.

Support for Nature is made possible in part by the Arnhold Foundation, The Fairweather Foundation, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Charles Rosenblum, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Sandra Atlas Bass, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

Websites: pbs.org/nature; facebook.com/PBSNature; twitter.com/PBSNature; instagram.com/pbsnature; youtube.com/naturepbs, tiktok.com/@pbsnature, #NaturePBS

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