New BBC America Nature Series 'Chasing the Rains'

While Doctor Who gears up to become Disney+'s newest franchise for 2023 and Luther arrives in theaters for the first time, BBC America is doubling down on nature specials. The current success of Frozen Planet II was almost assured since anglophiles across the globe love David Attenborough. The series is also a prelude to Planet Earth III, making it even more appealing. Unfortunately, Planet Earth III has been delayed, the original U.K. release was supposed to be for the BBC centennial in the fall of 2022, but the series is now listed as "coming in 2023." With a possible year-long wait, BBC America has decided to pick up Chasing The Rains as its Earth Day special.

A Sky Nature production in conjunction with Love Nature, Maramedia, and Arte France, Chasing the Rains initially debuted on French TV in December 2022. It is scheduled to arrive on Sky in the U.K. in March 2023. Narrated by the majestic Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton), the four-part documentary focuses on southwest Kenya and west-central Africa, exploring some of the last areas that still remain untouched by human habitation, even as climate change becomes an intractable force of life for the endangered animals living there, including families of elephants, cheetahs, and wild dogs.

The series sizzle reel gives fans an idea of the type of footage directors Justin Purefoy and Faith Musembi bring to the series.

Here's the show's synopsis:

This epic four-part series takes audiences on a journey into one of the most majestic, unspoiled, and rarely filmed areas in Africa. Featuring an in-depth look at the wildlife that struggle to survive through cycles of drought and dramatic rainfall, the series was filmed beyond the jagged peaks of Mount Kenya, in the great rangelands of the north, beginning at the end of the long rains, when river valleys, plains, and mountains are flushed with new growth. Water is the lifeblood of this sprawling landscape, and all life here dances to the tune of the rains. Many months or sometimes years pass before a drop of rain falls, so all species must learn to survive these droughts, which are increasing in intensity due to climate change.  

Chasing the Rains premieres on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET on BBC America and airs on a one-episode-a-week schedule. Each episode will stream on AMC+ starting the same day.