The Serengeti, a rich ecosystem in northern Tanzania, is known for its vast grasslands and prancing zebras. What it isn’t known for is drama. But that’s about to change with Sony BBC Earth’s latest show, Serengeti . In the six-part series to hit the screens this August, we meet a lonely lioness, a passionate baboon and many other animals from deep in the heart of Africa.
In their world
“In India, you have a whole collection of animals living cheek by jowl. The Serengeti is bigger, with higher concentration of animals, and it is the connection they have to one another that makes it a special place,” says Emmy winner John Downer, executive producer of the dramatised show. The wildlife documentary speaks to the emotions and family lives of the animals, to engage the viewer differently and offer them something new in the genre.
After 30 years of making wildlife films such as Snow Bears , and Earthflight , Downer says this is the story he wanted to tell. “Since I started making films, this was my dream — to be in their world, with them, and follow their lives, families, and misfortunes. We started developing camera techniques to get up close with them, and with Serengeti , we had to take these techniques further. Because we spent so much time with the animals, we became invisible to them — we were part of the landscape.”
On the go
The idea to use drama as a form in wildlife filmmaking came from American Idol creator Simon Fuller. Downer tells me how Fuller went to Africa on a safari and came back asking why we aren’t telling the story of the animals there. “Even though rough story lines of the show were scripted based on the behaviour of the animals, most of the events couldn’t have been written because we didn’t know they would happen,” he says, adding, “We had to listen to what the animals were telling us and just put that together for the audience.”
African adventure Stills from the show and John Downer
The show, which traces a year of their lives, took twice as much time to film. We meet these animals up-close as they go about their daily lives. “We filmed in the monsoon, when the plains got flooded, and we filmed during droughts. We filmed during times when the flies were unbearable that even the animals wanted to get away from them, and so they would climb trees. We would climb after them, trying to film them, and the flies would further turn their attention to us. So much of it was challenging and uncomfortable,” says Downer.
Human connect
The beauty and brutality of the region come alive in this series, which aspires to connect the viewer to nature, while also offering insights into human experience, which aren’t different from those within the animal kingdom. “Early man walked those plains with the animals, and we were once part of that ecosystem. We keep trying to distance ourselves from that world now, but I hope there are learnings we can take away from the show that will make people want to get that connection back.”
Serengeti airs this August on Sony BBC Earth
