The Americas: NBC's Nature Docu-series, Narrated by Tom Hanks, Sets Feb. 2025 Premiere: Details
Tom Hanks has taken us on countless fictional adventures, now he's taking viewers on a deep dive into the real world in The Americas.
There are few people so universally beloved as American actor Tom Hanks. His career spans decades, taking viewers on fantastical adventures in Splash (1984) and Big (1988). Later, Hanks taught everyone how to flirt online in You’ve Got Mail (1998), reminded us that the real journey is the friends we make (out of volleyballs) along the way in Cast Away (2000), and carried viewers on the most death-defying space mission of all time in Apollo 13 (1995).
Of course, Hanks’ most well-known and enduring character (besides David Pumpkins) might be the eponymous role of Forrest Gump (1994), which took viewers on a 142-minute journey through 20th century America. Now Hanks is taking a wider look at the continent and its southern counterpart in NBC’s upcoming 10-part nature documentary series, The Americas, premiering February 23, 2025, on NBC and Peacock.
Tom Hanks Takes Viewers from Pole to Pole in NBC Nature Documentary Series The Americas
“We asked ourselves, who is the American version of [well-known British documentarian] David Attenborough? We agreed internally there was a list of one: Tom Hanks,” President of Universal Television Alternative Studio Toby Gorman told The Hollywood Reporter. Hanks’ narration will be accompanied by music from two-time Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
The unscripted documentary series will premiere alongside other hotly anticipated NBC series including Suits LA, The Hunting Party, and Grosse Pointe Garden Society. The Americas opens with a two-hour series premiere on Sunday February 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. After broadcast, episodes will then be available to stream on Peacock next-day.
RELATED: Everything To Know about The Americas on NBC
Filmed over the course of five years and 180 expeditions across North and South America, The Americas takes viewers from pole to pole, from the frigid southern tip of Chile to the frozen northern limits of the Arctic Circle. Along the way, viewers will experience incredible never-before-seen landscapes and astounding geological features on an 8,700-mile journey. They’ll cross a great, sprawling super-continental landmass, the Americas, and encounter the plants, animals, and people who live there.
The Americas unprecedented scale and ambition delivers remarkable world firsts; new species, new intimate courtship, dramatic deep-sea hunting and some of nature’s strangest stories – even a frog that seems to defy death every day. Each hourlong episode features a different iconic location across 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.”
When and Where to Watch The Americas
The Americas comes from Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group. It was produced in association with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, known for its incredible natural history content. The series was executive produced by Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning wildlife producer Mike Gunton (Life, Planet Earth II, Dynasties).
When does The Americas premiere on NBC?
The series will premiere February 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with a special two-hour episode.
Following the premiere, the series will move into its ordinary 8:00 p.m. Eastern time slot, beginning March 2, 2025. Episodes will also be available to stream on Peacock. After all 10 episodes have aired, an eleventh bonus episode will dive into the behind-the-scenes strategies and technologies that allowed for this breathtaking view into the natural world.
