BBC Debuts the Trailer for David Attenborough's Latest Endeavor, 'Parenthood'

When I was a child growing up, my parents didn't have a TV. Since leaving home, I've never not had screens of some sort surrounding me, and in my 20s, the TV was always on as I fell asleep. My favorite thing to put on? The Science Channel, which was still actually running the type of programming it says on the label. Every night, I would put it on, find the David Attenborough reruns, and fall asleep to the sounds of him telling me about places in a world I doubt I'll ever see.

I did that for so many years that Attenborough's voice is now a tonic of sorts, a Pavlovian baritone telling my brain it's time for bed. When bad things happen, I find myself turning to those reruns on streaming and putting them on in the background because it's much preferable to anything else.

Today, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it is shutting down. The shock on social media feels odd, like that town that voted to defund the library and then was shocked when there was no more library. The rescission has passed; there's no new funding in the proposed budget, and probably won't ever be again. The funding crisis will affect everyone, so don't think that PBS stations in large cities will somehow be exempt because wealthy donors will bail them out. 

We at Telly Visions are, naturally, devastated. Reader, when the BBC handed me an Attenborough trailer this afternoon, I cried just to listen to it.

Here's the series synopsis:

A definitive natural history series about life’s greatest challenge- raising children. Featuring never-before-seen animal behaviours, this breathtaking new series delivers a universal message about the importance of preserving the natural world. Narrated by David Attenborough, it focuses on the incredible stories of devotion, ingenuity, and sacrifice of animals to ensure the survival of their young.

Parenthood was already picked up by PBS's Nature program and is expected to air on local stations and PBS Passport as part of the show's 44th season. Much like his other most recent series, Planet Earth: Asia, Attenborough did not travel with the camera crew; instead, he narrated the film after it was completed. The five-episode series was directed by Jeff Wilson, who also served as the series producer. Keith Scholey is the executive producer, and Tara Knowles is the production manager.

Parenthood will debut on BBC One on Sunday, August 3, 2025, and is expected to follow on most local PBS stations sometime during the 2025-2026 television season, most likely airing on Wednesdays. Nature does not typically offer binge drops on premiere day for PBS Passport members, so we expect this to be an air-and-stream weekly event series that will debut simultaneously on the PBS app, the PBS Documentary Prime Video Channel, and your local PBS stations, with one episode per week. 

Further bulletins as events warrant.