The Green Planet is a 2022 British nature documentary series that explores plants and their connection to animals and the environment. It was produced together by the BBC and PBS, along with other organizations, and made by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit. David Attenborough narrated and presented the series.

The series used time-lapse photography, drones, and special camera equipment called "Triffids" to show how plants move over long periods, but displayed in real time. It first aired on BBC One on January 9, 2022, and had five episodes. Later, it was available on BBC iPlayer and shown on other networks worldwide.

Filming took three years and happened in 27 countries. Producer Paul Williams hired engineer Chris Field to create new filming technology for the series, inspired by a prototype shown in a Kickstarter video. The music was composed by Benji Merrison and Will Slater. A special augmented reality experience in London and an online content project were created to support the series.

The Green Planet was very popular in the United Kingdom, with its first episode watched by 5.4 million people. Critics gave it good reviews, praising its quality, storytelling, and focus on environmental themes.

Episodes

The series has five episodes, each focusing on a unique theme and setting. Each episode ends with a part that explains the tools and techniques used to film the episode.

— David Attenborough's opening statement

— David Attenborough, in his closing statement

Production

In January, the release of The Green Planet, a five-part documentary about plant life, was announced. The series is narrated by David Attenborough and was created through a partnership between PBS and BBC Studios Natural History Unit. It was also worked on by Open University, CCTV-9, Bilibili, ZDF, France Télévisions, and NHK. Attenborough described the project as a "passion project." In an interview with The Irish News, he said, "The world is green—it's an apt name for the series. People’s understanding of plants is limited, but this series will help explain their importance."

Filming began in early 2019 and lasted more than three years. It took place in 27 countries, including Japan, Croatia, Costa Rica, and the United States. The series used a "plant's-eye view" to show how plants grow and move. Time-lapse photography was used to capture slow plant movements. One cactus was filmed continuously in time-lapse for three years, the longest such study by the BBC. Technologies like drone-mounted cameras and motion-control robotics helped record plant movements, defense strategies, and growth. Two FPV racing drone pilots were hired because drones are faster and more eco-friendly than helicopters. Creative director Mike Gunton said the pilots had "the skill to operate drones with great precision."

Specialized camera tools called "Triffids" were created for the series. The "Triffids" were developed by Chris Field, a former military engineer. He was inspired by the BBC documentary Planet Earth to create timelapse camera technology. He also built robotic tools that could move around plants while recording them in timelapse. Producer Paul Williams discovered Field’s work after seeing a timelapse video of Venus flytraps on Kickstarter. Based on that, Williams hired Field to develop new tools for The Green Planet. The name "Triffids" came from John Wyndham’s 1951 science fiction novel The Day of the Triffids, which features mobile, carnivorous plants.

This is the first plant-focused documentary Attenborough has made since Plants Behaving Badly in 2013. In the fourth episode of Green Planet, Attenborough returned to a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. The bush had appeared in The Living Planet, a series he filmed in 1982. Over 40 years, the bush grew only a quarter of an inch.

Original music for the series was composed by Benji Merrison and Will Slater.

Premiere

The series began at the IMAX Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31, 2021. The event happened during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. English actress Maisie Williams gave a speech to introduce the first episode. Attenborough also spoke at the summit and received a long round of applause.

The series was planned to start in the United States on July 6, 2022, on PBS. It would air every week.

Broadcast

The series first aired on BBC One on January 9, 2022. Later episodes were shown every week on the same channel. After each broadcast, episodes were also available to watch on the BBC iPlayer video-on-demand service.

In 2021, BBC Studios sold the series to many international networks before it was made. These included Nine Network in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, Radio Canada, DR in Denmark, ERR in Estonia, LTV in Latvia, LRT in Lithuania, Movistar Plus+ in Spain, NRK in Norway, Friday! in Russia, and RTVS in Slovakia. The series was also sold to BBC Earth for broadcast in Africa, Asia, Poland, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Turkey, Canada, and the Nordic countries.

On January 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would be shown every week on PBS in the United States, starting on July 6, 2022, and ending on August 3, 2022.

Reception

The series received strong praise from critics for its visual style, use of new technology, narration, presentation, storytelling, and message about the environment. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 100% approval rating from 5 reviews.

Harry Cockburn of The Independent said the show brought "a lot of drama, deep ideas, and creative ways to show the story" to its subject. Carol Midgley of The Times gave the series five stars, noting that it sometimes felt "like a scary movie" and at other times was "similar to a movie about plants." Anita Singh of The Telegraph compared some of the show's images to those in horror films and gave it four out of five stars. The series received five-star reviews in The Financial Times and The Guardian. Natalie Bennett of The House praised the series overall but noted it focused too much on conflict and struggle, like many nature documentaries, and did not show how different species work together.

The series was also praised for helping people understand environmental issues and climate change. Critics highlighted the show's message about protecting and valuing plant life. Steve Clarke of Variety said it showed a new willingness from TV creators to include truths about environmental harm alongside scenes of beautiful animals and natural landscapes. An editorial in The Guardian described the series as focusing on "plant blindness" by showing the importance of plant life.

The series was nominated for the Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award in 2024.

The first episode of the series averaged 4.5 million viewers in the UK, reaching a high of 5.4 million.

Related exhibitions and initiatives

BBC Studios created the Green Planet AR Experience, which was inspired by a television series. This project received support from the UK government's 5G Create competition. The augmented reality display opened at Piccadilly Circus on February 11, 2022, and will stay open until March 9, 2022. It was made possible through a partnership between BBC, EE Limited (a 5G network provider), and Factory 42.

In February 2022, the BBC Natural History Unit and the Moondance Foundation started #OurGreenPlanet, a conservation effort inspired by the same television series.