In Secrets of the Penguins, this latest installment in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning “Secrets of” franchise takes viewers to the farthest corners of the world to witness penguin behaviors captured on film for the first time. The series, which features award-winning Nat Geo Explorer Bertie Gregory, showcases the cute and fluffy flightless birds as they brave some of the most extreme environments on earth. Narrated by Blake Lively (Another Simple Favor), the three-part series premieres 22 April 2025 at 6pm (CAT) on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, StarSat 221), with all episodes streaming 21 April 2025 on Disney+ in South Africa.
While many documentaries have explored penguins, Secrets of the Penguins takes it to a whole new level. The team, with over 70 world-class scientists and filmmakers, embarked on a two-year, globe-spanning adventure – from the rocky beaches of Cape Town and the icy shores of South Georgia Island to the tropical Galapagos and Namibia’s desert caves – capturing penguins like never before. Pushing the boundaries of wildlife filmmaking, a three-person crew endured an astonishing 274 days filming on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica, home to a colony of 20,000 emperor penguins. Facing one of the planet’s harshest environments, they captured never-before-seen moments like a bonded pair of emperors practicing egg transfers with a snowball to hone their skills for the moment they would need to transfer a real egg, tenacious chicks navigating brash ice amid climate change, and young penguins using their beaks to hoist themselves out of a crevasse.
World-renowned scientists and conservationists
With breathtaking, award-winning cinematography and cutting-edge camera technology, Secrets of the Penguins captures even more never-before-seen and rare moments in the wild. For the first time, witness healthy “rockaroni” chicks – a rare hybrid of rockhopper and macaroni penguins – offering a fascinating glimpse into potential evolution and adaptation. Other remarkable scenes include a brave rockhopper fending off a southern sea lion, the first-ever footage of a hidden cave colony of African penguins, and clever Galapagos penguins teaming up for a daring heist: stealing fish straight from pelican beaks and skillfully herding sardine bait balls.
The family-friendly series taps into the passion and expertise of world-renowned scientists and conservationists, including National Geographic Explorer and marine biologist Dr. Pablo Borboroglu, conservation biologist Dr. Michelle LaRue, African penguin expert Dr. Andrea Thiebault, doctor of veterinary medicine Dr. Gustavo Jiménez Uzcátegui, penguin expert Dr. Jessica Kemper, and marine biologist Dr. Katta Ludynia.
Secrets of the Penguins episodes include the following:
- “Heart of the Emperors”
The emperors are the largest and strongest penguins, living in the coldest and most extreme environment on Earth. Embedded with an Antarctic colony, National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory encounters social skills never filmed before, discovering bonds forged from birth between family, friends and strangers are the difference between life and death.
- “Survival of the Smartest”
Millions of years ago, a group of penguins left the ice, riding powerful currents and arriving in strange new lands. They reshaped traditions for deserts and tropics—and even to live among humans. Tested to the extreme, they became perhaps the smartest of all penguins. National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory discovers the penguins’ problem-solving, “talking” and enduring search for new worlds.
- “Rebels with a Cause”
It takes a special type of courageous penguin to survive the fierce Southern Ocean, but 40 million crowd its isolated, rocky outposts, and they are some of the most successful penguins on Earth. National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory follows the rockhoppers, gentoos and macaronis to discover a world of risk-takers, rebels and unconventional parents.
Previous “Secrets of” seasons include Secrets of the Octopus, narrated by Paul Rudd; Secrets of the Elephants, narrated by Natalie Portman; and Emmy-winning Secrets of the Whales, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. All installments are currently streaming on Disney+.
What: Secrets of the Penguins
When: Premieres 22 April 2025 at 6pm (CAT) on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, StarSat 221), with all episodes streaming 21 April 2025 on Disney+ in South Africa
WS
