Prehistoric Planet is a television series, created in the nature documentary style, about extinct prehistoric animals that premiered on Apple TV beginning May 23, 2022. The first two seasons (2022–23) are produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, with Jon Favreau as showrunner, visual effects by The Moving Picture Company, and narration by natural historian Sir David Attenborough. These seasons depict dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, recreated with computer-generated imagery, living around the globe in the Late Cretaceous period 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian), just before the non-avian dinosaurs' extinction. The show intends to simulate the behaviors of these species by speculating from modern palaeontological research. A third season titled Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, narrated by Tom Hiddleston and focusing on Pleistocene megafauna, was released in 2025.
Hans Zimmer, Kara Talve, and Anže Rozman composed the soundtrack. Prehistoric Planet is the highest-profile dinosaur-focused documentary series produced by the BBC since Planet Dinosaur in 2011, and its nature documentary-styled format is similar to the highly successful Walking with Dinosaurs (1999). Prehistoric Planet received critical acclaim for its visual effects, depiction of dinosaurs, and Attenborough's narration.
Production According to palaeontologist and consultant Steve Brusatte, the series had been in development "a decade" prior to its trailer release. On May 8, 2019, it was first reported by Deadline that Apple had ordered a new documentary series by BBC Studios titled Prehistoric Planet, to be executively produced by Jon Favreau. An original score was composed by Kara Talve, Anže Rozman and Hans Zimmer.
The series uses up-to-date palaeontological research to depict its animals of the Cretaceous with scientific rigour; for example, feathered dinosaurs are featured in the series, such as juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. Palaeozoologist Darren Naish was the lead consultant for the depictions of prehistoric life in the series. The storyboarding (using scripts and synopses by BBC NHU), concept art and creature designs were created by Jellyfish Pictures, while computer-generated imagery was developed by The Moving Picture Company and intended to be photorealistic, as with their previous productions The Jungle Book (2016) and The Lion King (2019).
After its release, the series consultants other than Darren Naish were revealed to be Steve Brusatte, Alexander Farnsworth, Kiersten Formoso, Michael Habib, Scott Hartman, John R. Hutchinson, Luke Muscutt, Peter Skelton, Robert Spicer, Paul Valdes and Mark Witton. David Krentz, the director of Dinosaur Revolution (2011) and character designer on Disney's Dinosaur (2000), was also revealed to have been involved in the creature development and design.
In March 2023, Apple renewed the series for a second season (Prehistoric Planet 2), which began airing on May 22, 2023. On July 29, 2025, a third season was announced, titled Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age. This series focuses on Pleistocene megafauna. Unlike previous seasons, it is narrated by Tom Hiddleston with computer-generated imagery handled by Framestore. It was released on November 26, 2025.
Marketing A first sneak peek was posted to the official Apple TV+ YouTube channel on April 2, 2022, along with a trailer, with a May 23 airdate set for the first episode. A ten-second teaser was released on April 19, 2022, followed by an official trailer the following day. A second trailer was released on May 19, 2022, in the lead up to the show's premiere.
The teaser of the second season was uploaded to the official Apple TV+ YouTube channel on April 18, 2023. The official trailer was released on May 2, 2023.
A first look video clip was released for Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age on October 15, 2025. An official trailer was released on November 6, 2025.
Episodes
Season 1 (2022)
Season 2 (2023)
Season 3 (Ice Age) (2025)
Reception The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.4/10, based on 31 reviews for the first season. The website's critics consensus reads, "Marrying state of the art visual effects with equally immersive narration by David Attenborough, Prehistoric Planet wondrously brings viewers back to the age of dinosaurs." The second season has an approval rating of 83% with an average rating of 7/10, based on six reviews. On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 8 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Streaming Docuseries or Non-Fiction Series Prehistoric Planet Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding Achievement in News and Information Cinema Eye Honours Outstanding Anthology Series Hollywood Music in Media Awards Original Song/Score — Documentary Series - TV/Digital Anze Rozman, Kara Talve, Hans Zimmer Televisual Bulldog Awards Best VFX Prehistoric Planet Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards Best VFX Project MPC Annie Awards Best Animated Special Production Prehistoric Planet Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production "Coasts" Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode "Ice Worlds" – Lindsay McFarlane, Fay Hancocks, Elliot Newman, Kirstin Hall Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project Daniel Fotheringham, Krzysztof Szczepanski, Wei-Chuan Hsu, Claire Hill Critics' Choice Real TV Awards Best Animal/Nature Show Prehistoric Planet Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman, Kara Talve Astra Creative Arts TV Awards Best Streaming Nonfiction Series Prehistoric Planet Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Edward Ferrysienanda, Kevin Christensen, Guy Shuleman , Benedikt Roettger, Kevin Tarpinian Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production Adrien Annesley, Alvise Avati, Riyad Chalakkara, Daniel Mizuguchi, Liam Russell Visual Effects Society AwardsOutstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode Russell Dodgson, Tracey Gibbons, Francois Dumoulin, Gavin McKenzieOutstanding Character in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic, or Real-Time ProjectAlvise Avati, Marc-André Coulombe, Youen Leclerc, Andrea De MartisOutstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time ProjectEdward Ferrysienanda, Kevin Christensen, Guy Schuleman, Kevin TarpinianOutstanding Compositing and Lighting in an EpisodePuff Pisanwalerd, Jean-Baptiste Noyau, Marion Nove-Josserand, Sue NelsonPrimetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Music Composition for a Documentary/Nonfiction or Reality Program (Original Dramatic Score)Kara Talve, Anže Rozman, Hans Zimmer Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a MovieRussell Dodgson, Andrew R. Jones, Rupert Smith, Tracey Gibbons, Benjamin Loch, Francois Dumoulin, Romain Rico, Gavin McKenzie, Brian Fisher, Alvise Avati, Adrien Annesley, Liam Russell
Other media
VR spinoffs In early 2024, Prehistoric Planet was the basis for several digital presentations viewable through the Apple Vision Pro headset. The first two products were flagship items for the official release of the headset on February 2, 2024: Pterosaur Beach (a subscription-based virtual reality short film focusing on a colony of Tethydraco), and Encounter Dinosaurs, (a free mixed reality app focusing on an encounter between Isisaurus hatchlings and Rajasaurus). Pterosaur Beach was treated as the first "episode" of the VR series Prehistoric Planet Immersive. It was followed on April 19 by Triceratops Forest, focusing on a family of Triceratops.
Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs Starting in 2025, several specialty theatres and immersive galleries have hosted Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs. This program is a 360-degree video show assembled from clips of the first two seasons alongside full-scale graphics. Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs showsDateVenueLocationJuly 9, 2025 – September 1, 2026LightroomLondon, United KingdomDecember 10, 2025 – June 28, 2026Atelier des LumièresParis, FranceDecember 13, 2025 – March 22, 2026Port des LumieresHamburg, GermanyFebruary 12, 2026 – September 17, 2026Fabrique des LumièresAmsterdam, NetherlandsMarch 20, 2026 – June 29, 2026Phoenix des LumièresDortmund, GermanyDecember 8, 2026 – January 7, 2027Aviva StudiosManchester, United Kingdom
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