BBC - The Americas (2025)

From the frozen north to tropical beaches, mountain peaks to arid plains – this varied, breathtaking land is a place the most unexpected creatures call home.

Part 1: The Atlantic Coast
Wild and urban worlds intersect in unexpected ways along North America's Atlantic coast. On North Carolina's Outer Banks, an ageing stallion's battle to defend his family reveals the intense, unseen dramas of wild horse life. In Chesapeake Bay, rare footage captures bald eagles chasing ospreys midair for a hard-won meal. Beneath the waters of the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic', sand tiger sharks act as unlikely guardians for schools of scad fish, a behaviour only recently observed. In New York City, a young raccoon learns the challenges of urban survival in a vertical world while under threat from predatory red-tailed hawks, something seldom seen before. In the Appalachian forests, young black bears forage and fireflies light up the darkness, and in New England, a 130-year-old red oak tree's preparation for winter is captured in stunning macro detail, revealing the intricate changes within its leaves.

Part 2: Mexico
A look at Mexico, a land where the unexpected unfolds. In the Sonoran Desert, a mother pygmy owl guides her chicks from their nest during daylight hours. In the Sea of Cortez, orcas use complex team strategies to hunt dolphins – a rare cooperative behaviour among these apex predators. On San Pedro Martir Island, blue-footed boobies engage in an intimate drama as a male fights to keep the attention of his wandering mate. Orchid bees are shown in extraordinary detail as they gather up to 40 different scents. In the Yucatan, explorers find new life forms, including cave brittle stars, deep within flooded caves called cenotes that remain less explored than the moon. Finally, millions of monarch butterflies begin their epic journey across the continent, creating a spectacle of colour and movement on a massive scale.

Part 3: The Wild West
Wildlife in America's western states, from coyotes in Yellowstone using geothermal heat to survive the winter to bison on the Great Plains facing fierce rivals to win mates as fires renew the grasslands. In Colorado, hundreds of rattlesnakes emerge after winter, while on Nebraska's Platte River, half a million sandhill cranes converge for their courtship dances.

Part 4: The Amazon
Extraordinary animal behaviours in the Amazon rainforest, including never before filmed footage of a million turtle hatchlings in southern Brazil making a perilous dash to the river as black caiman prey on them. In Venezuela, a young harpy eagle endures intense storms while in the Pantanal, caiman engage in an elaborate courtship display.

Part 5: The Frozen North
Wildlife in the north of the American continent, from wolves and polar bears competing for prey in Hudson Bay to male walruses singing together off Alaska's coast. In summer, millions of salmon begin their epic journey upstream, while newborn caribou navigate dangerous river crossings on their first migratory trek. In Alberta, sharp-tailed grouse practise their courtship dances under car headlights.

Part 6: The Gulf Coast
A look at the Gulf Coast's extraordinary wildlife, including an alligator teaching hatchlings how to hunt and manatees practicing a rarely filmed courtship ritual. In the Texan thornscrub, rarely seen footage shows a mother ocelot, one of the last remaining in the United States, raising her kittens.

Part 7: The Andes
The wildlife of the Andes, including southern Peru's marbled four-eyed frog, which is capable of freezing solid and reviving daily, captured on film for the first time. In Ecuador, a mother bear and her cubs navigate a dangerous rock face, while high in the mountains, flamingos perform mating dances on crimson lakes. The rare spatuletail hummingbirds, with only 500 males left, engage in intense competition.

Part 8: The Caribbean
Focuses on the behaviour of animals living in the Caribbean, including sailfish, purple-throated Carib hummingbirds and capuchin monkeys. Off the coast of Dominica, a family of sperm whales dive deep to hunt squid, while on Cuba's Zapata Peninsula, millions of red land crabs undertake a massive migration to lay their eggs in the sea.

Part 9: The West Coast
Animals living on and close to the west coast of North America, including sea wolves hunting along the beaches and adapting to both the land and sea, and a giant Pacific octopus that sacrifices herself to protect her eggs. Sea otters navigate powerful waves to reach mussels, salamanders leap from the treetops of redwood forests, and blue whales compete to attract mates.

Part 10: Patagonia
The behaviour of animals living in and near Patagonia. Rockhopper penguins risk their lives against crashing waves and predatory sea lions to feed their chicks, and a mother puma hunts through the snow. Chilean stag beetles engage in battles for mates, and a Darwin's rhea adopts a lost chick. Off the coast of Argentina, elephant seals clash for dominance and a matriarch orca teaches her young the art of beaching to catch seals.

Part 11: The Making of
Tom Hanks and the crew reveal a behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary dedication, innovation, humor and heart it took to create The Americas.