The PLANET EARTH documentary series didn’t need a younger sibling, but HUMAN PLANET arrived to expand the conversation. This eight-part BBC Discovery collaboration explores the ways humans adapt to the places they inhabit, revealing how climate and landscape shape the daily choices people make.
HUMAN PLANET travels across 40 countries, focusing on the diverse human-inhabited environments. Journeys span from Borneo to the Swiss Alps and Nepal’s high valleys, capturing everyday activities such as outsmarting lions, tracking elephants, pursuing sharks, and shepherding camels.
Canada receives a thoughtful nod as well. In Episode 3, Arctic Life in the Deep Freeze, Churchill in Manitoba and broader northeastern Canada are featured to illustrate life in one of the planet’s most extreme frontiers.
Visually, the series delivers striking imagery without relying on gimmicky effects. It favors natural cinematography that lets landscapes speak as much as the people who live in them. The storytelling stitches practical demonstrations with human narratives, offering discoveries that unfold with each new scene rather than following a canned arc.
Unlike scripted fiction, HUMAN PLANET presents scenarios whose outcomes are not known in advance. The episodes prompt viewers to weigh how different communities meet hunger, shelter, water, and safety, and to consider how cultural practices and environmental forces shape daily life across the globe.
For audiences in Canada and the United States, the eight episodes stand as a panoramic look at how people survive and thrive in deserts, forests, mountains, rivers, and icy regions alike. The program showcases a broad range of cultures and climates, inviting curiosity about human life in all its forms.
Thanks to the BBC and Discovery for delivering a mind-expanding documentary experience that illuminates the resilience and creativity of people everywhere. Streaming is available through BBC and Discovery platforms.