Communiqué
A six-month expedition following lions, leopards, and cheetahs in BIG CATS 24/7 – starting Sept. 18 at 8 pm
< < Back toBIG CATS 24/7
Premieres September 18, 2024 at 8:00 pm on PBS
New Six-Part Series Co-Produced with BBC & BBC Studios Follows Botswanan Prides of Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs in Real Time
BIG CATS 24/7, a new-six part series, will premiere Wednesdays, September 18-October 16, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app.
Credit: Russell Barnett/ BBC Studios
In this thrilling new nonfiction series, produced in partnership with BBC & BBC Studios Natural History Unit, viewers will be transported to Botswana’s wildOkavango Delta where a team of local and international filmmakers use the latest filming technology to follow lions, leopards and cheetahs day and night, revealing the lives of big cats like never before.
Filmed in one of the most dynamic locations on the African continent, BIG CATS 24/7 captures the big cats’ battle to survive through dramatic changes within their families and their home. An elite camera team including wildlife cinematographers Gordon Buchanan, Vianet Djenguet and Anna Dimitriadis, led by Brad Bestelink and his local camera team, documents the dramatic lives of individual lions, cheetahs and leopards for six months, over two extreme seasons. This raw and unfiltered observational wildlife series shows their fight to survive in an increasingly challenging world. From unprecedented wildfire to floods and extreme drought, the African cats and the BIG CATS 24/7 camera crew are tested to their limits.
Credit: Tom Parry/ BBC Studios
With extraordinary, unparalleled access, filming from the ground, the air and through the night in an area unvisited by tourists, the BIG CATS 24/7 team works together to follow the cats’ lives around the clock while forming unique bonds along the way. A revolution in low light camera technology enables the filmmaking team to capture previously unseen behavior at night, while cutting-edge drones are able to track the big cats’ movements like never before, as they battle for supremacy in a brutal and unforgiving environment.
“We strive to bring unique and never-before-seen perspectives to our PBS audience, so we are thrilled to collaborate with BBC and BBC Studios to bring this front-seat view of the dramatic lives of individual African big cats straight to homes across America,” said Sylvia Bugg, PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming. “Not only is BIG CATS 24/7 educational but it is visually and emotionally captivating.”
Roger Webb, Executive Producer BBC Studios Natural History Unit said: ‘Being able to go deeper into the lives of Africa’s big cats than ever before is a mouth-watering prospect. Expect the unexpected and to witness things you’ve never seen before in an African wilderness that’s almost as dynamic as the cats. It’s sure to be a rollercoaster of drama and emotion and it’s why we’re so excited to be making Big Cats 24/7.”