The last time we wrote about Nat Geo doc series, they were concentrating on the photographers life story along with their work.
This time, they take you deep into the ocean with a group of scientists and cinematographers to show you the world beneath the surface as you have not it seen it before.
At the heart of it, the OceanX project is dedicated to the research and sharing of the oceans secrets.The physical OceanXplorer ship has multiple labs, exploratory vehicles and more, all on board.
THE SERIES PREMIERES AUG. 18 ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AND STREAMS NEXT DAY ON DISNEY+ AND HULU

The superior quality of the team at Nat Geo and BBC Studios will get you a scientists view of the world under the sea, and you will see things rarely, if ever, seen before!
James Cameron introduces, and narrates each episode.

Aldo Kane with dive team James Loudon, Dave Reichert, Stephen Hudson, Nuno Sa and Emma Hatherley holding underwater cameras in the Sub Hangar. (National Geographic/Mario Tadinac)

Each episode has it’s own premiere date, so check on this link for specifics.
Here are the episodes in the series:

Realm of the Humpbacks
Jurassic Shark
Giants of the deep
Ice Giant
Kingdom of the Polar Bear
Hammerhead Highway

To be fair, the docs are scientifically oriented and while they have injected the personalities of the scientist, and their enthusiasm with discoveries can be emotional, this series is less about the personalities, and concentrates on the science.
What a great summer relief from the rest of the programming out there? C’mon, Olympics are over!

Yes, I’ll admit: being able to get lost in the ocean, and leave the constant barrage of political messaging, is refreshing to say the least.
On the filmmaking side you get to see groundbreaking video following the animals of the deep, and even when a camera is attached to a whale while it dives further than we have ever witnessed.
I was lucky enough to speak with the executive producer on this series, Roger Webb, a multi award winning wildlife producer, who told me of some of the behind the scenes details.
One of my main questions was about attaching cameras to the animals, like the humpback whale, who in the episode “Giants of the Deep”, takes on a deep dive like we have never seen.
Eric Stackpole, who is the MacGyver of underwater camera rigs, attached cameras with vacuum suckers to the bodies of the whales, and as a result, no harm, instead spectacular footage like we have never seen before.

Once the tag is recovered, Rui Prieto and Eric Stackpole hope to recover the SD card and its precious footage. (National Geographic)

The cameras would sometime slip on the whales body around due to the smooth skin, and a viscous covering on that skin.
And yes, all of these rigs had GPS so they could be retrieved as the fell off!

You can see in the photo above the orange floatation enclosure, which allowed the cameras to get to the surface for retrieval.
Due to the GPS, Roger said the camera loss was minimal, as retrieval was made a lot easier.

Eric did tell me about getting that particular camera became a harrowing recovery as he ended up leaning out of the helicopter and was able to hear the beep of the unit!

Eric “MacGyver” Stackpole

In this sequence they also added animated illustrations to let you know what was going on in the whales body as it dived further and further down in the ocean.
For me, in the “Giants” episode from 8 min in to about 16 min gives you a great insight into this camera rig, and the reactions of seeing footage never seen before utilizing this rig.

As intimate as the stories are, the actual crew count was about 70, with 20 in the film crew.
Of course there were researchers on board, to constantly update, and provide veracity for findings.

The main shoot, as in capturing the footage, took about 2-3 weeks per episode. All of the hard core editing was done offshore, and all that happened on board was confirming they had the shots.
Yep, plenty to do in a relatively short period of time.

With drones, helicopters, and every other manner of camera and audio rig this rich series lets you explore the deep sea, and honestly some deep learning along the way.

A Hammerhead shark swims next to a diver. (National Geographic)

Crew Jamie Holland behind the scenes from the deck of OceanXplorer. (National Geographic/Patrick Hopkins)

Having James Cameron, director, & second-highest-grossing film director of all time, introduce and narrate each episode is a reason alone to watch.
He brings the passion, intensity, and knowledge that this series deserves.

The official word:
The National Geographic series takes audiences aboard the OceanXplorer, OceanX’s state-of-the-art scientific research and exploration vessel, to investigate the farthest frontiers of the world’s oceans, 80% of which are entirely unknown. Armed with advanced technology, a hand-picked team of intrepid explorers and scientists, National Geographic Explorers and other ocean experts embark on a global odyssey to solve some of the ocean’s greatest mysteries through the lives of its animals and their ecosystems. The ship sets sail on a grand adventure – traveling to the depths of the Atlantic in the Azores, diving into the shallows of the Bahamas and warm waters of the Caribbean before embarking north to the frigid arctic shores of Svalbard, Norway. OCEANXPLORERS provides an immersive look at an underwater world of wonder with incredible discoveries that push the boundaries of exploration and our understanding of the ocean like never before.

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