Ryan Reynolds Celebrates Nature's Unsung Heroes With UNDERDOGS Trailer, a Boundary-Breaking Natural History Experience
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For 137 years, National Geographic has been bringing you breathtaking wildlife footage of iconic animals—penguins, elephants, whales and more. As if those windbags need any more free PR. Hold on to your binoculars, folks, as Nat Geo gets up close and personal with the outcasts of the animal kingdom in UNDERDOGS, narrated by . From their hidden talents to their unconventional hygiene choices to their unsavory courtship rituals, UNDERDOGS celebrates the unique behaviors of the animals who don't usually get to be the stars of the show. From Reynolds' Emmy ® Award-winning Maximum Effort and Emmy ® and BAFTA Award-Winning Wildstar Films (a Fremantle company), National Geographic's UNDERDOGS premieres June 15 at 9/8c, simulcast on ABC, and will be available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
'Getting to work with National Geographic on UNDERDOGS was a dream come true—mostly because I can finally watch a project of ours with my children. Technically, they saw 'Deadpool & Wolverine' but I don't think they absorbed much while covering their eyes and ears and screaming for two hours,' said Reynolds. 'We're so proud to elevate the unsung heroes of the natural world to the top of the entertainment food chain and can't wait for everyone to see.'
Each episode of the five-part series showcases a different aspect of these underdogs' bizarre mating strategies, surprising superpowers, deception, dubious parenting skills and gross-out behaviors. UNDERDOGS features a range of never-before-filmed scenes, including the first time a film crew has ever entered a special cave in New Zealand - a huge cavern that glows brighter than a bachelor pad under a black light thanks to the glowing butts of millions of mucus-coated grubs. All over the world, overlooked superstars like this are out there 24/7, giving it maximum effort and keeping the natural world in working order for all those showboating polar bears, sharks and gorillas.
With stunning imagery from the world's leading wildlife cinematographers and music by multiple award-winning composer Harry Gregson-Williams ('Shrek,' 'The Martian,' 'Gladiator 2'), UNDERDOGS is edgy and informative. It's the unexpected superhero blockbuster of the summer that celebrates the oddballs and outcasts while highlighting remarkable survival techniques, mental resilience, and exceptional instincts. ' Underdogs (Original Series Soundtrack)," which will consist of Harry Gregson-Williams' score, will be released on Hollywood Records on June 13 and will be available everywhere you listen to music. Global rock superstars Green Day wrote the original theme song for the series, which is featured in the trailer. Green Day's deluxe edition of their latest album, 'Saviors,' includes seven newly added tracks, including the UNDERDOGS theme song 'Underdog.' 'Saviors (édition de luxe)' is available everywhere you listen to music.
Episodes include the following:
'Superzeroes' Premieres June 15 at 9/8c on National Geographic
Ryan Reynolds assembles a team of 'Superzeroes,' apparently pathetic animals with unexpectedly awesome superpowers. Forget about the cheetah's speed, the eagle's eyesight or the elephant's brute strength, and say hello to the invisible glass frog, the indestructible honey badger and the pistol shrimp who can fire bubbles that are as hot as the surface of the sun.
'Terrible Parents' premieres June 15 at 9:54/8:54c on National Geographic
Ryan Reynolds reveals some highly questionable parenting strategies from the animal kingdom's worst parents, the underdogs. From a goose who lays their eggs on the top of a cliff to a koala that feeds its baby poop, it's uncertain if they are bad parents or just misunderstood. But no matter how bad you think you may be at parenting, you can't be as bad as these guys.
'Sexy Beasts' Premieres June 22 at 9/8c on National Geographic
Forget the birds and the bees, Ryan Reynolds reveals the steps to finding 'the one,' underdog-style. From the 'first attraction' in giant-nosed proboscis monkeys to the importance of wingmen in turkey courtship to foreplay in flying foxes, these guys have re-written the rule book on messy and complicated relationships.
'The Unusual Suspects' premieres June 22 at 9:53/8:53c on National Geographic
Ryan Reynolds puts the spotlight on the underdogs who get ahead by sneaky tactics. From the master-of-disguise frogfish to a butt-biting jackal and a multi-headed caterpillar playing the decoy, these are the masters of deception and deceit. And bringing all these hustlers together is the greatest con artist of them all—a cunning macaque who feeds on the spoils from unsuspecting tourists.
'Total Grossout' Premieres June 29 at 9/8c on National Geographic
Ryan gives his unique take on the animals who use gross-out tactics to achieve their goals, from defending their home to finding a mate and wining at the game of life. His cast includes manatees that use flatulence to control their buoyancy and cave-dwelling fungus gnats that create beautiful, illuminated fly traps from the mucus lit by their bioluminescent butts.
UNDERDOGS is produced by Wildstar, a Fremantle company, in partnership with Maximum Effort for National Geographic. For Wildstar, Mark Linfield, Vanessa Berlowitz and Dan Rees are executive producers. For Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds, George Dewey, Ashley Fox and Patrick Gooing are executive producers; Sophia Travaglia and Molly Milstein are producers. Polly Billam serves as co-series producer and writer. For National Geographic, Tracy Rudolph Jackson is the executive producer, Janet Han Vissering is senior vice president of Production, Charlie Parsons is the senior vice president of Development, Bengt Anderson is the executive producer and senior vice president of Unscripted Production, and Tom McDonald is the executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content.
About Maximum Effort
Maximum Effort makes movies, tv series, content and cocktails for the personal amusement of Hollywood Star Ryan Reynolds. We occasionally share them with the general public. Producers of the Deadpool films, Free Guy, The Adam Project and Welcome to Wrexham.
About Wildstar Films
Wildstar brings new perspectives and fresh ideas to high-quality natural history content, all powered by an open mind, a diverse outlook, a desire to work with the best in the world, and a commitment to sustainability. Led by co-Founders Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz whose extensive credits include Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and multiple wildlife feature documentaries for Disney Studios, Wildstar's rapidly growing team is a blend of exciting young talent and experienced hands who have won all of the major industry awards including BAFTAs, Primetime Emmys® and RTS. The company's recent output includes: Queens (Disney+/National Geographic), Secrets of the Octopus (Disney+/National Geographic), Tiger (DisneyNature for Disney+), Tigers on the Rise (DisneyNature for Disney+), America the Beautiful (Disney+/National Geographic), Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory (Disney+/National Geographic), America's National Parks (National Geographic), Elephant (Disneynature), and Monkey Kingdom (Disneynature).
About National Geographic Content
Representing the largest brand on social media with over 780 million followers and 1.1 billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content's award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches over 532 million people worldwide in 172 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Its diverse content includes Oscar®- and BAFTA award-winning film Free Solo, Oscar-nominated films Sugarcane, Fire of Love and Bobi Wine: The People's President, Emmy® Award-winning franchise 9/11: One Day in America and JFK: One Day in America, Emmy® Award-winning series Animals Up Close, series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, Life Below Zero, and Secrets of the Whales, in addition to multiple National Magazine Awards, Pulitzer Prize Finalists and Webby wins. Visit nationalgeographic.com and natgeotv.com or explore Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit.
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