For well over a century, National Geographic has delivered iconic wildlife storytelling — the majestic, the fierce, and the beautiful. Now, with a signature mix of irreverence and charm, Ryan Reynolds turns the lens onto nature’s most overlooked outcasts in UNDERDOGS, a new five-part series set to premiere on National Geographic Wild on 21 June 2025.

Narrated by Reynolds, UNDERDOGS champions those species seldom granted the limelight: from mucus-covered glow worms to bubble-blasting shrimp and garbage-eating macaques. Through razor-sharp humour and edge-of-your-seat visuals, the series dismantles the hierarchy of the animal kingdom, giving credit where it’s long overdue.

Produced by Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and Wildstar Films, this series celebrates the bizarre, the misunderstood, and the marvellously maladapted. Each episode delves into peculiar mating rituals, questionably evolved parenting techniques, and unorthodox survival tactics. Expect to meet the indestructible honey badger, a glass frog Houdini, and a multi-headed caterpillar con artist.

Said Reynolds:

“Getting to work with National Geographic on UNDERDOGS was a dream come true — mostly because I can finally watch a project with my kids. Technically, they saw Deadpool & Wolverine, but I doubt they absorbed much between the screaming.”

The soundtrack features a fresh original score by Harry Gregson-Williams and a brand-new title track, ‘Underdog’, from rock legends Green Day, included in their deluxe album release ‘Saviors (édition de luxe)’.

In a television landscape oversaturated with predictable wildlife features, UNDERDOGS delivers a subversive, anarchic take — a riotous underdog story for the natural world’s least celebrated inhabitants.

UNDERDOGS premieres 21 June 2025 at 18:00 (CAT) on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, StarTimes 221) and will stream on Disney+ in South Africa.

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