The Americas is a Hit - Could NBC Do More Shows Like It? "We're Definitely Discussing..."
The folks behind the ambitious project are considering a potential return to the natural world.
Following the explosive success of NBC's The Americas (all 10 episodes are now streaming on Peacock here), the forces behind the ambitious nature docuseries are considering the options for some sort of follow-up.
"We’re definitely discussing it internally," Toby Gorman, President, Universal Television Alternative Studio, said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
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"It’s early days," he continued. "I think it’s fair to say [The Americas] is exceeding all of our expectations, and we are absolutely starting to think about what a second season would look and feel like. It’s another long endeavor. It’s years in the making, so if we’re lucky enough to go again, it’s not something people would see for a few years. But there certainly seems to be an encouraging narrative as to why we would do it again. We truly didn’t know — this was a giant experiment, but it’s worked out."
Will there be more nature docuseries like The Americas on NBC?
While nothing is confirmed yet, Universal Television is exploring a potential follow-up endeavor, whatever form that might take.
Like Gorman said, however, even if a decision is made to move forward on another installment, audiences won't see anything for quite awhile (The Americas took half a decade of intense work to create).
With that said, Universal Television Alternative Studio and NBC do have another documentary-based series coming down the pipeline in the near future: Surviving Earth. Produced in conjunction with Loud Minds (Walking With Dinosaurs), the show will explore a number of mass extinction events throughout our planet's history.
"We’re in the final stages of post-production on it," Gorman said. "It’s a very different proposition — all CGI. It’s on the history of the planet, on cataclysms that have wiped out species, and about how those very few species have survived and thrived and become who we are today. It’s very much a look into the past, but it’s coming together well, and it’s another big, exciting swing for us."
How to watch The Americas
Narrated by Tom Hanks and scored by Hans Zimmer, all 10 episodes of The Americas — "The Atlantic Coast," "Mexico," "The Wild West," "The Amazon," "The Frozen North," "The Gulf Coast," "The Andes," "The Caribbean," "The West Coast," and "Patagonia" — are now streaming on Peacock alongside a special making-of documentary.
The NBCUniversal platform boasts two different plans: Premium ($7.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($13.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). Students, meanwhile, can enjoy Premium for $2.99 a month for an entire year!
