Some animals are starrier than others—there's Africa's Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros and buffalos), of course, and aquatic celebrities like the blue whale and the great white, the latter of whom gets its own dedicated week of headlines and premieres. But Nat Geo's newest animal series celebrates the unique behaviors of animals who don’t usually get to be the stars of the show, "from their hidden talents to their unconventional hygiene choices to their unsavory courtship rituals," per the network.
With a simulcast premiere tonight, June 15 at 9pm Eastern Time on both National Geographic and ABC, Underdogs will showcase "a different aspect of the underdogs’ bizarre mating strategies, surprising superpowers, deception, dubious parenting skills and gross-out behaviors" across each episode of the five-part series. For example, the premiere episode—entitled "The Superzeroes"—focuses on animals with unexpected abilities including indestructability and superglue slime.
Narrated by actor Ryan Reynolds, who is also an executive producer, the wildlife title will feature a range of never-before-filmed scenes, "including the first time a film crew has ever entered a special cave in New Zealand—a huge cavern that glows brighter than a bachelor pad under a black light thanks to the glowing butts of millions of mucus-coated grubs," says the series description. "All over the world, overlooked superstars like this are out there 24/7, giving it maximum effort and keeping the natural world in working order for all those showboating polar bears, sharks and gorillas."
To watch tonight's premiere of Underdogs, you're going to need access to National Geographic. If you don't have a cable plan that offers Nat Geo, then the popular cable channel is available on several live TV streaming services too, if you're a cord cutter or just prefer these apps. Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV (on its Ultimate plan) or YouTube TV will all let you stream the Nat Geo channel over the internet. The docuseries will also stream next day on both Disney Plus and Hulu.
Check out the official trailer for Underdogs before tuning into the premiere tonight on National Geographic or ABC at 9pm ET.
