Romance scams are now one of the fastest-growing and most devastating forms of financial crime. The rise of generative AI, which is capable of convincingly imitating celebrities and public figures, is only making these scams more sophisticated and harder to spot. An estimated one in seven adults has lost money to this form of deception, and in 2025 alone, romance scammers stole more than $1 billion from American victims.

After years of reporting on the scam industry, Mariana enters one of her most immersive investigations to date in SUPER SCAM ME. In a real-life social experiment, she builds a new online dating persona and goes undercover as the target of a romance scam to understand and expose the tactics, technologies, and psychological manipulations these criminals utilize to deceive their victims.

What begins as an online investigation becomes an extraordinary real-world pursuit, as Mariana begins to focus on one scammer, posing as a four-star general, who is growing increasingly persistent and manipulative. She teams up with a white-hat cyber hacker to try to uncover her scammer’s true identity and location and sets out to confront him face-to-face.

Mariana also meets victims whose lives have been upended by romance scams, including a woman who was duped into believing she was in a relationship with Jon Bon Jovi. What she thought was a genuine connection left her facing foreclosure on her home, exposing the devastating real-world consequences of these crimes.

“I’ve spent years reporting on scams, and the reaction I hear most is ‘How could anyone be so stupid? That would never happen to me.’ But it can, and it does happen to anyone,” said van Zeller. “So this time, I made myself the target.”

In an innovative collaboration between National Geographic and Muck Media, Mariana’s podcast, “The Hidden Third,” will feature special episodes dedicated to SUPER SCAM ME, airing the week of 12 October. The episodes will include exclusive interviews with the white-hat cyber hacker and victim featured in the special.

As the host and executive producer of National Geographic’s Emmy-winning series “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller,” Mariana has spent years investigating the world’s most dangerous underground economies, earning a record-setting 88 Emmy nominations and 16 wins.

SUPER SCAM ME is produced by Muck Media for National Geographic and executive produced by Jeff Plunkett and Mariana van Zeller. Plunkett also directs. Bengt Anderson serves as executive producer for National Geographic.

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CHILEAN MINE RESCUE: RACE AGAINST TIME tells the story of endurance, ingenuity, and improbable unity behind one of history’s most challenging rescues ever attempted. It features never-before-seen cell phone footage filmed in the mine and includes powerful interviews with survivors, families and rescuers – some speaking publicly outside of local Chilean press for the first time – to tell the definitive story of the 69 days rescuers raced to save the trapped miners while the men underground fought to survive. Among those featured is Jeff Kofman, then ABC’s International Correspondent and the first international journalist on the scene, who reported from Chile as the rescue unfolded.

The series follows the miners from the moment of the collapse through the improvised order that took hold in the days underground to the engineering gamble that made the rescue possible and the fame and lasting toll that followed.

On 5 August 2010, a catastrophic collapse at the San José copper-gold mine in Chile sealed 33 miners underground. For 17 days, they were presumed dead. For 52 more, they waited while Chilean engineers and rescue teams, joined by drillers and specialists from around the world, attempted something that had never been done, as families above ground refused to leave. When the rescue capsule first surfaced, an estimated one billion people were watching – one of the largest live audiences in television history and a rare moment of shared hope across the world.

CHILEAN MINE RESCUE: RACE AGAINST TIME is the next installment in National Geographic’s Emmy®-winning “Race Against Time” franchise. Previous series include the winner of the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Historical Documentary “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” and the winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary “Tsunami: Race Against Time.”

The series is produced by Blast Films for National Geographic. For Blast Films, Tanya Winston, Shona Thompson, and Danny Horan executive produce. Luke Sewell is the series editor. Chloe Campbell and James Parris direct the series. For National Geographic, Tom McDonald is executive vice president of Content, Bengt Anderson is senior vice president of Unscripted Production and Development, and Carolyn Payne serves as executive producer.

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Created in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and from the Emmy ^® Award-winning team at 72 Films, the series revisits the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history through the extraordinary human connections formed amid the chaos, courage, and heartbreak of that day. Across the episodes, survivors, first responders, and witnesses reunite with the strangers, rescuers, and everyday heroes who changed, and in many cases saved, their lives on September 11. Many of these emotional reunions take place for the first time in 25 years, providing a rare opportunity to ask long-held questions, express gratitude, and reflect on how those moments have stayed with them for decades.

9/11 Reunited is executive produced by David Glover and Mark Raphael of 72 Films, along with Academy Award ^® winners Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin. Louis Lee Ray produces, and Julian Jones directs the series for 72 Films. For National Geographic, Cate Hall and Carolyn Payne serve as executive producers.

Extending the storytelling beyond the docuseries, National Geographic will debut a groundbreaking digital experience in early September featuring an expansive video archive of never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews, and original source material drawn from its acclaimed catalog of 9/11 documentaries. Available on NatGeo.com, the searchable archive invites audiences to explore eyewitness testimony and the lasting aftermath of September 11 through an immersive, multi-perspective experience that brings together firsthand accounts and historical context. Complementing the interactive archive, National Geographic will also publish a companion digital feature by 9/11 historian Garrett M. Graff examining the pivotal 17 minutes between the first and second plane impacts at the World Trade Center. Through a detailed, minute-by-minute narrative, the feature provides additional context and insight, enriching the broader interactive experience.

Rounding out the digital experience, National Geographic, in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, will publish an original reportage on the annual “Tribute in Light” public art installation on September 11. The feature will include exclusive photography of this year’s installation by renowned architectural photographer Christopher Payne.

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Johannesburg, 12 August 2026: National Geographic has unveiled the official trailer for LION, an emotional, real-life drama that chronicles the remarkable four-year journey of a tiny lion cub named Kio as he becomes a king. LION is executive produced by Disney Legend and “The Lion King” live-action director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s Creative director Mike Gunton (“Planet Earth II,” “Dynasties”), with the score by legendary Academy Award^®-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“Dune” parts one and two, “Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception”), Niccolò Pacella and George Huston Warren for Bleeding Fingers Music.

The four-part event series debuts on National Geographic (DStv 181 and StarTimes 220) and National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, StarTimes 221), on Sundays at 18:00 from Sunday 23 August, across Africa, with a double bill each week, and will also be available on Disney+ in South Africa.

With narration by O.J. Lynch (Mufasa, “The Lion King” stage production), LION brings to life the extraordinary true story of the Maasai Mara’s lion kings, queens, and a new hero named Kio. Blending Favreau’s distinctive storytelling and passion with Gunton’s world-class natural history expertise, the ambitious series goes beyond traditional wildlife documentaries to deliver a gripping, blockbuster drama rooted in documentary truth.

Zimmer leads the score alongside Bleeding Fingers Music’s Niccolò Pacella and George Hutson Warren, with additional vocals from the Nairobi Chamber Chorus. Drawing on recordings captured in the Maasai Mara, including local singers, instruments, and even lion roars, the music blends the scale of a cinematic adventure with the emotional texture of the wild, while subtly weaving in rerecorded musical nods to “The Lion King.” The original series soundtrack will be released through Hollywood Records on 21 August and will be available wherever music is streamed.

Four years in the making and filmed in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, this is the first natural history production to document a lion’s complete journey from vulnerable cub to king. The crew, including local Kenyan filmmakers, logged nearly 1,400 filming days across 52 shoots, the most time ever spent in the field exclusively following a single pride.

“After tracking the lions in the field for four years, the pride never ceased to surprise us – what Kio endures and eventually becomes is extraordinary. Watching the hero’s journey against the backdrop of nature was incredible to witness,” says Favreau.

Echoing the themes that made the beloved animated film a classic, the series is a sweeping coming-of-age saga of family, hope, and courage that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Filled with drama, heart, and high-stakes adventure, it offers a powerful co-viewing experience for animal lovers, families, and anyone drawn to epic storytelling.

In celebration of National Geographic’s LION, Disney is continuing the “Protect the Pride” campaign, supporting the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) and its partners working across Africa. The campaign shares the LRF’s vision to help double the number of lions in the wild by 2050. Since the launch of “Protect the Pride” in 2019, Disney has invested more than $5 million in LRF, whose network has helped support more than 400 conservation projects across 26 countries focused on stabilizing and recovering lion populations through locally led solutions.

LION is produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit for National Geographic. Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton executive produce the series. Jane Atkins is a series producer, and Simon Blakeney is a co-executive producer. For National Geographic, Janet Han Vissering and Tom McDonald executive produce.

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Johannesburg, 14 July 2026: National Geographic has unveiled the official trailer and premiere date for POMPEII: OUT OF TIME WITH TOM HIDDLESTON. The new three-part docudrama will premiere on Sunday 26 July on National Geographic (DStv 181, StarTimes 220), with all three episodes aired back-to-back, and on Disney+ in South Africa.

Host and “Loki” star Tom Hiddleston and “Loki” executive producer Kevin R. Wright reunite for the series, a fusion of cinematic scripted drama and investigative documentary storytelling that transports audiences to ancient Rome in the hours before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Guided by a team of archaeologists, historians, geologists and disaster experts, he uncovers remarkable evidence – and the stories of real people that challenge long-held assumptions about Pompeii and its final hours – not least revealing that many of those caught up in the disaster had the chance to survive.

With a twist of his hand, Golden GlobeⓇ and Olivier-winning Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”) journeys back in time, stepping into cinematic scripted sequences following the lives of real Romans caught in Vesuvius’ path.

Following a teenage apprentice, a powerful businesswoman and a mysterious Praetorian Guard, he pieces together how each confronted impossible choices as disaster loomed. As the volcano awakens and the countdown to catastrophe begins, the evidence converges in a gripping race against time to uncover who survived, who perished, and what determined their fate.

“The ancient world has compelled my imagination and curiosity for as long as I can remember: I’ve been fascinated by it all my life,” said Hiddleston. “Classical Antiquity is the foundation and cornerstone of Western and European culture. To visit Pompeii is to feel the distance of the 2,000 years between now and then compressed. The past becomes the present; the past feels so close. Tangible, honest and real. Our relationship with the past is alive – studying who we were in order to understand who we are. Pompeii is a gateway for that conversation. It’s a privilege to host this visually immersive and dynamic series. Pompeii is often remembered for how its story ended. But by looking closer, we can uncover the details of people’s lives, the choices they made, and the moments that came before the city was buried. To revisit the final hours of those ordinary people, caught in an extraordinary moment, and to help bring these remarkable human stories back into the light, is a genuine honor.”

Bringing a bold cinematic vision shaped by his work on Marvel’s critically acclaimed “Loki,” executive producer Kevin R. Wright helps reimagine how history is brought to the screen for modern audiences. Blending cutting-edge archaeological discoveries, expert analysis and deeply personal storytelling, the series reframes Pompeii not as a story of destruction but as a human drama of resilience, sacrifice and survival, revealing the lives, choices and destinies of those who stood in the shadow of Vesuvius.

“National Geographic has spent more than a century bringing the past to life through groundbreaking discoveries, exploration and world-class storytelling,” said Tom McDonald, EVP of Content, National Geographic. “Working with Tom and Kevin, alongside the team at Plimsoll led by showrunner Tom Barbor-Might, has been a process of inventing an entirely new genre of history programming – one which brings evidence and imagination together in a way which feels distinctive.”

On 21 July, natgeo.com will publish a major story on three Roman cities buried by Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which will be featured in the August issue of National Geographic magazine. Using AI and advanced DNA analysis, researchers are uncovering new insights into ancient Roman life: class and gender dynamics at Oplontis, previously unreadable lost writings from Herculaneum’s carbonized scrolls, and diet and disease from a Pompeii latrine. The findings reveal a society surprisingly preoccupied with inequality, health and the pursuit of a fulfilling life.

The original series soundtrack, featuring a score by composer Aisling Brouwer, will be released through Hollywood Records on 24 July 2026. Listen wherever you stream music.

POMPEII: OUT OF TIME is produced by Plimsoll Productions. For Plimsoll, Tom Barbor-Might serves as showrunner and director; Jessica Ruston and Mark Ravenhill are writers with additional writing by Kevin R. Wright and Tom Barbor-Might; and Grant Mansfield, Kevin R. Wright, Helen Flint and Alan Eyres are executive producers. For National Geographic, Carolyn Payne is the executive producer, Charlie Parsons is senior vice president of Development, Bengt Anderson is senior vice president of Unscripted Production, and Tom McDonald is executive vice president of National Geographic Content. Hiddleston is represented by Hamilton Hodell (U.K.), Range Media Partners (U.S.), Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole (legal) and Prosper PR (publicity).

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The shark-infested celebration kicks off on 5 July with Hammerhead Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory at 18:00 on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182, Startimes 221). The special follows Emmy^®– and BAFTA-winning cinematographer and National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory as he dives into Mexico’s Pacific waters to discover how protected seas can deliver a spectacle of one of the ocean’s most visually iconic sharks, the unmistakable hammerhead.

The line-up also includes Shark Attack Files, World’s Biggest Sharks, When Sharks Attack and Why, and World’s Biggest Mako, exploring whether a once thought to be endangered giant mako may be staging a remarkable comeback, as well as other shark-infested programming.

Programming includes:

Sunday 5 July at 18:00 – Hammerhead Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory

In Mexico’s Pacific waters, Bertie Gregory goes in search of one of the ocean’s most iconic predators: the hammerhead shark. Once abundant in these seas, hammerhead populations have plummeted, making sightings increasingly rare. Joining forces with leading shark scientists and local experts, Bertie investigates what’s driving the hammerhead decline and how protected waters offer hope for the future. His journey culminates in a rare and unforgettable encounter that shines a light on the future of one of the world’s most famous sharks.

Sunday 5 July at 18:45 – Shark Attack Files

From Australia to Florida, researchers investigate a series of alarming shark encounters involving surfers and paddleboarders. With surfers accounting for a significant proportion of unprovoked shark bites worldwide, the programme examines why these incidents occur and what can be done to reduce risk.

Sunday 12 July at 18:00 – World’s Biggest Sharks

Scientists travel from the Florida Keys to the Bahamas and Hawaii in search of the world’s largest shark. Along the way, they explore the biological and environmental factors that allow some apex predators to grow to extraordinary sizes.

Sunday 19 July at 18:00 – World’s Biggest Mako

A team of scientists and a cinematographer search the waters north of New Zealand to find giant mako. With the help of a local fisherman who has worked this stretch of ocean for decades, they encounter a series of increasingly large mako sharks. While endangered elsewhere on the planet, this team discovers a population of mako that might be making a comeback.

Sunday 26 July at 18:00 – When Sharks Attack and Why: Compilations

When Sharks Attack and Why investigates some of the world’s most puzzling and dramatic shark encounters, exploring why attacks suddenly spike in certain locations and what may be driving the behaviour. Through eyewitness accounts, expert analysis, archive footage and marine science, the series revisits real-life shark incidents from coastlines around the world as investigators search for answers behind these rare but often frightening events.

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Observed globally each year, World Oceans Day serves as an important reminder of the vital role oceans play in sustaining life on Earth. Covering more than 70% of the planet, oceans regulate climate, produce much of the oxygen we breathe and support extraordinary ecosystems teeming with life. Yet these vast underwater worlds face mounting pressure from pollution, habitat destruction and climate change, making conservation more urgent than ever.

Timed to coincide with this important moment of global reflection and action, Beneath the Waves will showcase the breathtaking beauty, astonishing biodiversity and hidden stories of life below the surface. Through powerful storytelling and extraordinary cinematography, the special programming event will explore everything from glowing marine creatures and thriving coral ecosystems to ancient shells and ocean giants fighting for survival.

From dazzling natural phenomena to urgent environmental realities, the programming block will offer viewers a chance to better understand the ocean’s critical importance while inspiring a deeper appreciation for the blue heart of our planet. Programming includes:

Sunday 14 June at 18:00 – Red Sea: Evolution’s Magic Garden

Discover natural history’s largest and most biodiverse coral reefs on Earth in the Red Sea. Even on the seemingly dry coasts and islands, there is a fantastic profusion of animals and plants.

Sunday 21 June at 18:00 – Shells: Shaped by Nature

A tribute to the enigmatic splendour of the shells that grace Africa’s marine realms: Delve deeper into the origins and evolution of these intricate marvels through untold stories of survival, adaptation and the equilibrium of life beneath the waves.

Sunday 28 June at 18:00 – Deep Sea Titans

From sunlit shallows to crushing depths, ocean giants battle to survive.

For viewers looking to continue their ocean-inspired viewing beyond Beneath the Waves, Disney+ in South Africa offers numerous National Geographic documentaries that dive deeper into the wonders of marine life. Titles such as Secrets of the Whales and Secrets of the Octopus provide fascinating insight into the intelligence, behaviour and hidden worlds of some of the ocean’s most remarkable creatures, while Secrets of the Penguins offers another beautifully shot exploration of life shaped by extreme environments and survival.

These specials offer viewers the chance to pause, look beneath the surface and reconnect with one of the most powerful forces shaping life on Earth. Because understanding the ocean is an important step towards protecting it.

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Africa’s leading documentary festival, Encounters, returns for its 28th edition between 4-14 June 2026, with screenings, masterclasses, panels and Q&As in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

This year’s short film lineup proves that less can be more. “Short documentaries are becoming more popular every year,” says Encounters festival director Mandisa Zitha. “They’re no longer just a career launchpad; they’re now some of the most inventive and urgent filmmaking happening today.”

“The City of Cape Town is pleased to once again stand behind Encounters, where documentaries continue to grow, and real stories come to life,” says Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security. “This festival creates a powerful platform for voices that matter, both at home and across the globe. It is through this space that we celebrate the art of film, while building meaningful connections between communities, storytellers, and audiences alike.”

This year’s highlights include:

• Vet Vannie Land, following botanist Pieter van Wyk and his fight to protect the Richtersveld and Succulent Karoo from international succulent poaching syndicates. It won three awards at Silwerskermfees, including Best Short Documentary
  
• Mama Micra, a stop-motion animation about the director’s unorthodox mother, who lived in palaces, under bridges, and in her car. It won Best Short at Full Frame and a Special Mention at IDFA, the world’s biggest documentary festival
  
• The Spectacle, which documents beautiful destinations – and their crowds of cellphone photographers. Director Yasmin van Dorp won the Full Frame President Award for Best Upcoming Filmmaker
  
• Voices from the Abyss follows a professional cliff-diving community in Mexico. It earned an Honourable Mention from the International Documentary Association

This year’s lineup includes shorts from award-winning African directors:

• Kurt Orderson, who won the Audience Award at Encounters for Not In My Neighbourhood, returns with Amigo The Griot, about a blind hip hop storyteller in Eersterivier
• Kenyan Sam Soko, who won at Sundance with Softie, co-directs One Last Order, about Sighle Williams’ last shift after 37 years at a Florida drive-thru. It won both the Jury and Audience awards at the Oscar-qualifying Aspen Shortsfest
• Sihle Hlophe won SAFTAs for Lobola, A Bride’s True Price and Lindela Under Lockdown. In Dear Sikhonkwane, she pays tribute to SiSwati author Sikhonkwane Mahlalela
• Teboho Edkins’ films have screened at Berlin and won at Oberhausen, one of the world’s most respected short film festivals. An open field is set in Ethiopia, where a father and son grieve their loss and find solace in a unique community that has a cultural practice of grieving

This year’s films travel from the Iranian Green Movement Uprising (As I Lay Dying) to blackout-stricken Cuba (Sueña Ahora) to a Brazilian town where McDonald’s went bankrupt under a communist mayor (Olinda’s Golden Arches) to Jebba Street in Lagos, as seen through the eyes of street photographer turned filmmaker Kagho Idhebor (My Jebba Story).

South African creatives step into the spotlight in several films. In Inyembezi Zendoda, Lwanda Dlamini uses painting as therapy to process being brutally attacked and left for dead. In Just Because I’m a Street Kid, we get to know Shorty the Melville Poet, who’s published two volumes of poetry while living on the streets of Johannesburg. The Hands That Feed is a loving tribute to Decameron, an Italian restaurant in Stellenbosch. And Concerto follows Nina Schumann as she prepares to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at Woordfees while navigating focal dystonia (a neurological movement disorder) and Parkinson’s.

Other films explore innovation and older knowledge systems. In Bridging the Disconnect, Professor Pumela Msweli introduces a rural Eastern Cape community to the concept of “time banking” – where people exchange services using time rather than money. In Taste of the Land, urban growers Siwe Ntombela and Forest Ramushwana reclaim indigenous foodways in Johannesburg. In Broken Windows, residents confront crime by cleaning up Benoni. And in Eyes to See, a car accident shifts Dr. Yvette Abrahams towards her calling as a traditional healer.

This year’s feature-length highlights include Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Nuisance Bear, HotDocs Audience Prize winner American Doctor, Berlin winner TUTU, and opening night film Truck Mama.

Full programme and tickets available atencounters.co.za.

Cinemas:

• Cape Town: The Labia Theatre, V&A Waterfront Ster-Kinekor, Bertha House, Mowbray and Bertha Movie House in Khayelitsha
• Johannesburg: The Bioscope and Rosebank Nouveau, Ster-Kinekor Sandton and Ster-Kinekor Southgate
• Pretoria: Ster-Kinekor Brooklyn Commercial

Supported by:

Bertha Foundation, National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, City of Cape Town, Film Cape Town, Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Netflix, Consulate General of Portugal in Johannesburg, SWISS Films, Consulate General of Switzerland in Cape Town, German Films, German Documentaries, DOK.fest München, French Institute of South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, Central Film School, Ster-Kinekor, Clinix, The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Rough Cut Lab Africa, South African Guild of Editors, University of Cape Town (UCT), UCT Center for Film and Media Services, Durban FilmMart Institute, filmmart.africa, Documentary Filmmakers Association of South Africa, University of the Western Cape (UWC), Centre for Humanities Research (CHR), Goethe Institut Johannesburg, Kamva Collective, CapeTalk, Modern Times Review, Politically Aweh 

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In the first season of Amsterdam Central 24/7, viewers were given an inside look at the dedicated staff who work around the clock to keep everything safe, clean and running on time. In the new season, these heroes take center stage. Familiar faces return, and new team members are introduced, allowing viewers to experience the station through the eyes of the people who keep it operational every single day. For fans of the series, these staff members have become recognizable personalities, faces you might encounter while traveling to, from or through Amsterdam Centraal.

The 135-year-old station building, an architectural masterpiece, is currently undergoing the most extensive renovation in its history. Managing large-scale construction while the station remains fully operational places enormous pressure on staff. The series follows how employees rise to this challenge, ensuring that Amsterdam Centraal continues to function smoothly, day in and day out. Amsterdam Central 24/7 weaves together human stories with large-scale logistics, safety operations and the rich history of a location familiar to nearly every Dutch citizen, yet rarely seen behind closed doors.

The new season of Amsterdam Central 24/7 premieres on National Geographic (DStv 181, StarTimes 220) on Mondays at 18:50 (CAT) from 25 May to 29 June 2026.

Episodes include the following:

• “SAIL Amsterdam”

One of the season’s highlights is SAIL Amsterdam, the world’s largest nautical event, held once every five years. Around 800 historic ships sail past the station along the IJ waterfront. On this day alone, Amsterdam Centraal expects an additional 150,000 travelers. Station Manager René and Social Safety Manager Bas coordinate crowd control and public safety, especially when thousands of visitors leave simultaneously after the fireworks display.

• “International Travelers & the UK Terminal”
  High-speed trains bring passengers from the United Kingdom to Amsterdam Centraal every day. Inside the dedicated UK Terminal, staff work under intense pressure to ensure trains to London depart on time while complying with strict security procedures.
• “Safety, Service and Human Care”
  Safety & Service officers Menno and Baran assist tourists in distress, including an American traveler who falls ill after using soft drugs, while Ticket & Service representative Alexandra connects with international passengers and learns about their journeys.
• “Care for the Homeless”
  The season also sheds light on the station’s role as a refuge for people experiencing homelessness. Outreach workers Marieke and Fikret support approximately 100 individuals daily, helping them find shelter, secure identification documents, or obtain train tickets home, often a complex and emotional process.
• “Behind the Scenes: Bikes & Construction”
  Facilities Manager Mike takes viewers inside the world’s largest underground bicycle parking facility. On the day abandoned bicycles are removed, his team must work at full speed, while construction beneath the tracks continues on yet another new bike parking structure.

In this new season, the human story remains at the heart of the series. Familiar faces return, new colleagues join the team, and together they face the station’s greatest logistical, safety and operational challenges, keeping the beating heart of Amsterdam running 24/7.

Amsterdam Central 24/7 is a locally produced National Geographic Series, created in collaboration with Goya Productions, ProRail and Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

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Now showing on National Geographic (DStv 181, StarTimes 220) on Wednesdays at 20:30 (CAT), with new episodes airing weekly, the series is built around first-hand accounts from former CIA operatives. Through their stories, viewers are introduced to a collection of missions that have shaped global events, revealing what it takes to operate in environments defined by risk, pressure and uncertainty.

Inside the World of Espionage

Each episode is driven by real accounts from intelligence officers, offering access to the individuals behind some of the most complex and consequential operations in modern history. From covert missions conducted behind enemy lines to the global hunt for Osama bin Laden, the series explores the hidden manoeuvres, split-second decisions and personal risks that define intelligence work at the highest level.

The series places a strong focus on the human dimension of espionage, revealing not only how operations unfold but the realities faced by those tasked with carrying them out.

The Human Cost Behind the Mission

Structured as a mission-led docuseries, Inside the CIA unfolds with a steady narrative pace, moving from one high-pressure situation to the next. Through a combination of personal testimony and carefully reconstructed moments, the series draws viewers into the emotional and psychological complexities of life inside the agency. It also debates the moral questions, constant danger and personal sacrifices that come with living a double life, offering insight into a world that is rarely seen and even less understood.

With access to elite intelligence officers and the defining missions of their careers, Inside the CIA delivers an immersive viewing experience that brings audiences closer to the realities of espionage and the people behind it.

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