New David Attenborough docuseries ‘almost Shakespearean’ in feel, says producer

A new BBC docuseries narrated by Sir David Attenborough is “almost Shakespearean” in feel due to its “rich stories” and “high drama”, an executive producer has said.

Six-part wildlife series, Kingdom, follows four animal families – a lion pride, a wild dog pack, a hyena clan and a leopard family – over the course of five years as they compete for survival and dominance in a corner of Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park known as Nsefu.

Mike Gunton, creative director of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, said: “If I had to pick one word to describe Kingdom, it would be ‘intensity’.

“It’s almost Shakespearean in its feel, and it’s incredibly ambitious in its scale.

“It’s a story that speaks across the ages because it focuses on four families in one location, all struggling to survive.

“They’ve got their internal struggles, but they’ve also got struggles against the other rival families. And this creates a really intriguing tapestry of rich stories.

“It’s high drama – it’s got a bit of Game of Thrones, it’s got a bit of Succession, but it’s also got a bit of The Lion King.

“But Kingdom also has this wonderful warmth about it. It can be quite a white-knuckle ride at times, but there are also some wonderful moments of beauty and tenderness.

“We’ve tried to construct it as a bingeable continuing narrative.

“We filmed over five years, which is the longest we have ever continuously filmed in one location, and that in itself is quite an achievement.

“There are, of course, risks to putting all your eggs in one basket by focusing solely on one location, but it has absolutely paid off with Kingdom.

“We worked closely with the local scientists and conservationists on the ground in Nsefu.

“A lot of them have been there for generations, so they know all the stories, the backgrounds and the family lineages of all the main players.

“That gives us a huge advantage in figuring out what’s going on between these four families.”

Mr Gunton said the voice of Sir David, 99, is needed “to guide you through it (the series) and to reassure you that it will be all right in the end”.

The naturalist has been on our TV screens for more than seven decades, presenting programmes such as Planet Earth and The Blue Planet.

Last month, he broke Dick Van Dyke’s record for the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy when he picked up the award for daytime personality, non-daily, which he won as host of Netflix’s Secret Lives Of Orangutans.

“There’s going to be some ups and downs, but it’s worth the journey”, Mr Gunton said.

“I suppose it’s just having him (Sir David) hold your hand, saying, this is going to be a bumpy ride, but stick with it, it’s going to be amazing.

“And he does that so brilliantly. Nsefu is a dynamic place, stuff happens completely out of the blue and things are constantly changing.

“It’s sometimes rough and raw, but it’s also gorgeous and beautiful. Having David there brings that safety.”

Filming required a team of more than 170 people, including more than 90 local Zambian crew members and wildlife experts, according to the BBC.

To capture the behaviour of the four animal families, the team used a mix of long lens camera systems, camera traps, drones, thermal imaging cameras, car rigs, helicopter rigs and infra-red-light cameras.

In episode one of the show, leopard mother Olimba is seen bringing up her two cubs when things go awry and her young son goes missing as some threatening lions appear on the scene.

Kingdom airs Sunday November 9 on BBC One at 6.20pm. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer.