The Earth, it seems, is a really large place. Maybe not compared to Jupiter or the sun, but compared to you, me and a chihuahua.
And Earth Day is a really big subject for TV. There will be a flurry of specials that day (Monday, April 22) and the weekend before it, starting Wednesday(April 17) with Netflix’s “Our Living World” (shown here).
Some come from familiar sources. The BBC has a nature marathon on Saturday … the National Geographic Channel starts one Sunday … and both are linking for the future “Home,” a nine-year series that Courteney Monroe, the National Geographic chief, calls “the most ambitious natural history series, potentially, that will ever be seen.”
She also has James Cameron (“Titanic”) producing several shows – including the upcoming “OceanXplorers” and this year’s “Secrets of” series, on the octopus.
“The wealth of information coming in from the science community on everything from bees to penguins … is really endless,” Cameron said. “The natural world is fascinating.”
And filmmakers are paying attention. Coming up, for instance, are coral-reef films on three channels – 8 a.m. Monday on Discovery, 10 p.m. Monday on National Geographic and 8 p.m. April 24 (post-Earth Day) on PBS.
Here’s a sampling:
ARRIVING EARLY
— Wednesday (April 17): “Our Living World,” a four-parter narrated by Cate Blanchett, debuts on Netflix.
— Friday: “Jane” starts its second season on Apple TV+. Jane Garcia uses her imagination (and her fondness of Jane Goodall) to have global adventures.
— Saturday: BBC America has a nature marathon. The new hour (a “Predator v Prey” look at lions) may not fit the Earth Day mood, but others do. It’s “Seven Worlds, One Planet” from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., then various “Planet Earth” hours from 3-8 p.m. and from 9:02 p.m. to 12:12 a.m.
— Sunday: BBC America has more “Planet Earth: The Blue Planet” hours, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
— Sunday: National Geographic has its own marathon. First are reruns on elephants (a portion of “Great Migrations” and then the “Secrets of the Elephant” series), from 4-8 p.m. Then the three-part “Secrets of the Octopus” debuts at 8 p.m., rerunning at 10:52.
MONDAY (April 22, Earth Day)
— Disney+ has its annual epic from Disneynature. This one is “Tiger,” narrated by Priyanka Chopra Jonas. There’s also the separate “Tigers on the Rise,” viewing the scientists, villagers and others who nurtured a revival of the species.
— Discovery has “Beneath the Surface: The Fight For Corals,” at 8 a.m.
— National Geographic has one new hour – “Super Reefs,” at 10 p.m. — and a day full of reruns of documentary series: “Secrets of the Elephant” at 9:50 a.m., “Queens” at 12:50 p.m., “Secrets of the Octopus” at 7:08 p.m. and “Hostile Planet” from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
— PBS has the “Recycling Fairy” on “Sesame Street” at 10 a.m. and “Nature Cat’s Movie Special Extraordinaire” from 12:30-1::30 p.m. At night, it turns serious with an “American Experience” look at the “Love Canal” eco-disaster, from 9-11 p.m.
— The separate PBS Kids channel also has “Sesame Street” (8 and 8:30 a.m.) and the “Nature Cat” special (4:30 and 8 p.m.).
— The Disney Channel has eco-themes on “Spidey and His Amazing Friends” (noon), “The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse” (7 p.m.) and “Miraculous” (8 and 8:30 p.m.).
— HBO has “Trees and Other Entanglements” (2017) at 1:14 p.m.
LATER
— PBS’ “Nova” looks at coral reefs, at 8 p.m. Wednesday (April 24).
ANY TIME
— Disney+ also has the past Disneynature movies, many of which ran in theaters. There are 15 of them, with such titles as “Dolphin Reef,” “Penguins” and “Born in China.” The channel also has other past series, including “Meet the Chimps” and “Great Migrations.”
— Apple TV+ has a variety of series, including “Big Beasts,” “Here We Are,” “Earth at Night in Color” and cartoons, old (“It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown”) and newer (“It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown”).
— Netflix has an “Earth Week Playbook,” directing viewers to past films.
— And there’s more (including some of the past BBC nature series) on Discovery+, Amazon Prime and others.