Nat Geo's ‘Underdogs' Turns Weird Wildlife Into Must-See TV

Forbes

7 hours ago

A portrait of a dusky langur.
National Geographic/Karl Davies
For more than a century, National Geographic has made icons out of elephants, whales, and lions. But what about butt-glowing larvae or manatees that fart to stay afloat? Those unsung misfits finally get their moment in Underdogs, a new five-part wildlife series narrated by Ryan Reynolds.
Underdogs is unique among nature documentaries. It is anything but another majestic voiceover about alpha predators. This is nature storytelling flipped inside out, spotlighting the overlooked, misunderstood, and just plain bizarre animals that keep ecosystems humming behind the scenes.
And with Reynolds narrating, it's also genuinely funny.
To better understand what went into creating this wildly unique series, I spoke with Doug Parker, field director and assistant producer on Underdogs. Parker is no stranger to extreme environments—but even he admits this series pushed him to the edge.
'There was one day in Greenland,' Parker told me, 'we were filming barnacle geese on a cliff face 400 feet up. Suddenly, we heard thunder. It wasn't rain. It wasn't lightning. It was an avalanche, crashing down the valley just feet from the nest.'
His team had debated filming from a ledge nearby but decided it was too risky. 'Thankfully, we followed our safety protocol. If we hadn't, we might not be having this conversation.'
It's easy to forget that these shows require cutting-edge tools to capture behavior most people have never seen before. Parker stressed that the success of Underdogs—especially the empathy and comedy it relies on—comes down to technology.
'You can't have comedy without empathy, and you can't create empathy without immersing yourself in the world of the character we're showing you,' he said. That immersion came from rigs like the RED Raptor on a motion-controlled buggy system, which let the crew mimic the stealthy crawl of an elephant seal sneaking through a beach harem.
For scenes inside New Zealand's glowworm caves—where any stray white light would ruin the bioluminescent spectacle—they used cameras like the Sony FX6 and A7S paired with ultra-fast macro lenses.
'It looks like a starry sky,' Parker explained. 'We lit the cave with light that matched the glowworms' own wavelength. That, paired with motion control rigs and low-light sensors, let us show how they lure prey—without interfering.'
This isn't just flashy gear. It's what makes the difference between a quick glimpse and a story. And it allowed the crew to capture moments never filmed before, like the glowworm's predatory hunt or an avalanche thundering past a bird's nest.
Each Underdogs episode explores a different survival strategy. 'Superzeroes' kicks things off with creatures whose powers seem made up—like a shrimp that stuns prey with a sonic blast as hot as the sun. 'Terrible Parents' reveals awful parenting decisions in the animal world, from koalas feeding poop to their young to geese nesting on cliffs.
In 'Sexy Beasts,' Reynolds follows creatures navigating the messy world of attraction. One standout is Sebastian, a bowerbird in Australia who arranges trash—including toy handcuffs and bottle caps—outside his stick tunnel to impress a mate. 'We looked at 45 different bowers,' Parker recalled. 'Sebastian's was right next to a gas station. Watching him strut around while couples came and went at the bus stop—it was like reality TV for birds.'
From a cable dolly system rigged to follow a sloth's glacial descent, to hiding motion sensors in urban environments, Parker emphasized that the production never leaned on animation or cheap tricks.
The animals carry the story. Reynolds just gives it voice.
'Bringing Ryan and Maximum Effort in from day one made it clear we were telling character-driven stories,' Parker said. 'You end up falling in love with these creatures. And that emotional connection—that's what lets the comedy land.'
Beneath the jokes and clever editing is something deeper. Underdogs celebrates the animals that survive not by dominating, but by adapting. They fake, they hide, they glow, they stink—but they make it work. In an era obsessed with power and perfection, these misfits remind us that it's often the weirdos who keep the world running.
All episodes of Underdogs are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. And yes, that's Green Day roaring in the trailer with an all-new anthem titled 'Underdog.'
Don't miss it. The world's most relatable animals are finally ready for their close-up.