Nat Geo announces doc detailing discovery of Endurance ship
March 9, 2022
National Geographic has partnered with History Hit, the SV0D and content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow; digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios (an All3Media company); and production company Consequential for a documentary event detailing the successful search and discovery of one of the great lost shipwrecks of history — Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance.
Set to premiere this autumn 2022 as part of National Geographic’s EXPLORER series, this documentary event will air globally on National Geographic Channels and Disney+. The documentary — also produced in partnership with ABC News — will be directed by BAFTA-nominated Natalie Hewit (“Antarctica: Ice Station Rescue,” “Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World”).
Exclusive storytelling about the Endurance will also be featured across National Geographic’s digital and social platforms, including on TikTok and Instagram, as well as in a future issue of National Geographic magazine and an episode of the award-winning podcast, “Overheard at National Geographic.”
Courteney Monroe, President, National Geographic Content, said: “Through bold exploration and storytelling, National Geographic has taken generations of loyal fans from the deepest depths of the ocean to the peak of Mount Everest, enabling them to see and engage with the world in entirely new ways. The search for Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship, Endurance, could not be a more perfect story to continue this proud legacy and join the storied EXPLORER franchise, which for almost four decades has been investigating and reporting on some of the world’s greatest mysteries. It is our hope — along with our incredible partners on this project — that the blockbuster story behind Shackleton’s Endurance, featuring exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to the high-stakes adventure, will inspire the next generation of explorers and adventurers.”
“We salute the team at the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, Dr. John Shears, Mensun Bound, and the crew of scientists and archaeologists aboard the South African icebreaker Agulhas II for this incredible discovery and for opening a new chapter in one of the most fabled stories in exploration history,” said Debra OConnell, President, Networks, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. “From the stories we are telling right now on natgeo, the ABC Network through ABC News and our ABC Owned Television Stations to what will be an exceptional documentary on the National Geographic Channels and Disney+ this fall, we are excited about the ways in which we will illuminate and celebrate the achievement of this remarkable team.”
Snow, co-founder and creative director of History Hit, said: “This has been the most exciting and challenging experience of my career so far. The team has found not only the world’s most famous shipwreck but also its most inaccessible. After going through storms, blizzards and thick sea ice, we have got some astonishing images of Endurance and a laser scan accurate to within centimeters. People thought the story of Endurance was over when it sank in November 1915, but it wasn’t. This is the start of a new chapter.”