Uprising continues to push the boundaries of Wildlife Storytelling
Last season, The Wall Street Journal called Savage Kingdom, “nature television as Shakespearean drama.” This season brings rebellion as the sins of the lion king are carried out by his sons. Nat Geo WILD’s Savage Kingdom returns with Savage Kingdom: Uprising, a four-part global miniseries series event that tells an unvarnished tale of survival on the African plains.
Emmy-nominated actor Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) returns to narrate Savage Kingdom: Uprising, a rare look at warring animal clans battling for survival in a remote region of Africa that is drying up after years of flood-soaked abundance. The winners are rewarded with the richest hunting grounds in the kingdom, while the losers are fated to exile … or even death.
Savage Kingdom: Uprising returns to the remote wilderness of Africa to delve deeper into the individual characters and reveals the life and death decisions that drive survival in their ruthless and unpredictable world. The story continues as sons plot to overthrow fathers, clans seek revenge on their enemies and new arrivals enter the Savage Kingdom to stake their claim. Savage Kingdom: Uprising, pushes serialized dramatic storytelling in this genre to the next level and the new season is visually stunning, intimate and intense.
Will the aging lion king Sekekama hold onto his bloody crown? Has the leopard prince Neo inherited enough talent from his mother to survive? How will the lions of the Northern Pride wreak their revenge on queen Matsumi? Leaders will rise and factions will fall. No one is safe in the Savage Kingdom.
Savage Kingdom Premieres:
Savage Kingdom: Uprising: The Enemy Within
(3 December 2017)
Male lion Sekekama, the undisputed king of the Marsh Pride, must contend with his three eldest sons who are hungry for power. On the outskirts of their territory, the Northern Pride is growing a bloodthirsty lion army, preparing for revenge against its sworn enemy. Meanwhile, the kingdom’s deadliest leopard assassin, Saba, works tirelessly to make sure her only son follows in her deadly footsteps.
Savage Kingdom: Uprising: First Blood
(10 December 2017)
Neo must prepare for life as a solitary assassin, but his future hangs in the balance when his mother is left seriously injured after fighting for their fortress. Pressure mounts as Neo grows stronger and his own father, Dark Eyes, wants him out. Meanwhile, on the edges of the Marsh, the vengeful Northern queens suffer a cruel blow to their growing pride when their drifter king returns.
Savage Kingdom: Uprising: Reign of Traitors
(17 December 2017)
The Marsh Pride reaches its breaking point as Sekekama struggles to suppress the rebellion of his three treacherous sons and protect his kingdom. As the Great Marsh withers in the grip of the dry season, Zalika, the hyena queen, raises new troops to prepare for her moment of triumph. And the vagabond Pale Pack of wild dogs fights for survival, driven to desperate lengths for food.
Savage Kingdom: Uprising: King Slayers
(24 December 2017)
The Marsh Pride’s aging king, Sekekama, is forced to lead his family into hostile territory on a mission to save them from a vicious drought gripping the kingdom. His great gamble leads him into a bloody contest against rivals old and new. But his control over one treacherous son will determine Sekekama’s hold on power, and the future of his own legacy.
Savage Kingdom is produced by Icon Films and Natural History Film Unit Botswana for Nat Geo WILD. Icon Films executive producers are Harry Marshall and Laura Marshall, and series producer is Lucy Meadows. Natural History Film Unit Botswana producer is Brad Bestelink. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Ashley Hoppin, senior vice president of development and production is Janet Han Vissering and executive vice president and general manager is Geoff Daniels.