New Love Nature greenlights include Tusker, My Best Friend’s an Animal Season 2 and Enchanted Waters
Blue Ant Studios’ rights division oversees pre-sales and licensing outside of commissioning territories
(Washington, DC – September 23, 2024) – Love Nature, a wildlife and nature brand with linear and streaming channels available internationally, announced today a new slate of original programming. The new greenlights span a range of captivating natural history from cinematic blue-chip content to unexpected animal stories of resilience and affection. This diverse slate includes fully financed returning series and a new original co-production, illustrating Love Nature’s commitment to investing and collaborating on quality programming. Tusker, from Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Allison Argo and Bob Poole, chronicles the life of a bull elephant and his pivotal role in the wilderness of Kenya. My Best Friend’s an Animal returns with a delightfully adorable second season, while the Enchanted franchise expands with a spellbinding new installment, Enchanted Waters, from Oscar-winning factual production company, Off the Fence.
“These titles demonstrate the breadth of Love Nature’s portfolio. Truly moving animal stories and fresh perspectives on wildlife give our audiences a fascinating look inside the natural world,” said Alison Barrat, SVP, Production & Development, Love Nature. “We’re continuing to work with natural history specialists on beloved returning series and ambitious new projects. This underscores our commitment to creating a line-up of high quality content that makes Love Nature a destination for natural history programming.”
In addition to premiering on Love Nature’s branded linear and streaming platforms, the new programming will also roll out on Sky Nature in the UK, Germany and Italy. The slate leverages Love Nature’s relationship with Blue Ant Studios’ rights division, which oversees licensing opportunities for the new titles outside of the commissioning territories.
The new slate, which bolsters Love Nature’s position as a premium supplier of fresh, contemporary natural history programming, includes:
Tusker (working title) (1 x 60’)
Producer: ArgoFilms and Poole Films
Co-Production Partner: The WNET Group
This one-hour special follows a bull elephant, who has witnessed over five decades of life and death challenges. With tusks that scrape the ground, he represents a legacy of male elephants who have survived the odds to carry on 34 million years of evolution. Only a scarce few dozen of these majestic males remain, mostly in the wilds of Kenya. Enduring drought, ivory lust and human encroachment, this tusker is continuing his species’ journey to seed the next generation by bestowing not only his genes, but his wisdom. The irreplaceable role of bull elephants has been largely overlooked, but these tuskers are mentoring the next generation to navigate a perilous and changing world. They use their tusks to fend off danger, unearth hidden water and food in times of drought and fight for the right to procreate. They’re far more than the trophies humans have reduced them to. Each great tusker is a teacher, a mentor, and a key to the survival of their species.
Enchanted Waters (working title) (6 x 60’)
Producer: Off the Fence
The second installment of Enchanted, once again showcases the raw beauty of nature, this time diving into our planet’s waterworlds, with a mix of character-driven animal stories interspersed with fascinating scientific insights into these magical habitats. From babbling brooks to vast lakes and from sun-baked coasts to frozen mountain worlds, this spellbinding six-part series explores the mysterious realms where wildlife thrives in these enchanted waters. Experience the ebb and flow, crashing waves, and misty rivers that shape these extraordinary habitats, where life and landscape are inseparably intertwined.
My Best Friend’s an Animal Season 2 (6 x 60’)
Producer: Big Wave Productions
Love Nature has ordered up a second season of this fan-favorite, heart-warming look at the unlikely bonds formed between humans and their animal friends. Featuring six inspiring stories per episode and filmed all over the world, the series proves that when it comes to friendship, shape, size, or even species is irrelevant. Respect, trust, and understanding can be found in the most surprising places. In Botswana we go on an unforgettable walk with Val and his best friend Sirga the Lioness, in Sweden we are given a privileged look into the life of Sara and a family of Brown Bears and in the UK we meet Eliot and a very mischievous raven called Loki. The series unpacks the extraordinary circumstances that led to these unique friendships. Intercutting beautifully shot images with user-generated footage, this second season of My Best Friend’s an Animal reveals the challenges and triumphs these friendships have faced and why their bonds have stood the test of time.
Love Nature, headquartered in Washington D.C. with offices in Los Angeles, London and Toronto is a premium global natural history brand that delivers high-quality, captivating stories about wildlife and nature on all its platforms. Love Nature is a destination for award-winning natural history series and documentaries. It is available on top-tier pay-TV platforms and streamers all over the world. Engage with us at lovenature.com / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / Instagram