James R | On 15, Apr 2021

Season 2 of Earth at Night in Colour premieres on Friday 16th April

Nature documentaries have long been a staple of TV, but they’ve come into their own more than ever in recent years. That’s partly because they provide a timely and important reminder of our planet’s natural wonders – at a point where acting to stop the looming environmental crisis on our hands has never been more urgent. It’s also partly thanks to the often stunning visuals that lend themselves to our UHD streaming age.

The latter particularly come into their own in Earth at Night in Colour, the Apple TV+ series that does exactly what it says on the tin: using cutting-edge cameras and a rather nifty post-production process, it presents the dark side of nature with vivid clarity, shining a spotlight on the nocturnal life that unfolds on our planet while humans are fast asleep.

The first season showed a new side to a pride of lions, giving us a chance to see just how far a lioness will go to find a cub she’s lost and support her family. Season 2 shows us a herd of elephants changing the way they move to avoid lions picking them off, but also elephants battling hyenas by waterholes and tiny plankton and rays in the ocean – and a pangolin for good measure.

The idea of showing us the never-before-seen behaviour of animals is a good hook for a series in a crowded TV landscape, and Apple doesn’t skimp on the budget needed to deliver on the wow factor – and balance out ant tendencies towards anthropomorphism. It also splashes the cash required to bring in the starriest narrator around: Hiddleston. While David Attenborough is the king of this jungle, the Avengers star proves a more then adept substitute, narrating this nocturnal series with an infectious sense of admiration and awe but also with a cheeky sense of humour. Combined with a 30-minute runtime that distinguishes it from the pack of hour-long nature series, and Apple TV+ has a flagship wildlife show that delivers more than meets the eye.

 

Earth at Night in Colour is available on Apple TV+, as part of a £4.99 monthly subscription, with a seven-day free trial. For more information on Apple TV+ and how to get it, click here.

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