The BBC have announced their newest nature documentary - but it comes with a twist.
Nature documentaries can be soothing, enlightening viewing, but there’s also the heartbreak and distress that comes from observing behaviour in animals that, to humans, can seem cruel, unfeeling and arbitrary.
There’s nothing more upsetting than investing in a family of elephants, before a child follows its mother’s footsteps in the wrong direction and gets lost - nor is there anything more grim than growing attached to a leopard before watching it attack and kill a gazelle.
But now, BBC Four have announced a new four-part series called Mindful Escapes: Breathe, Release, Restore.
Planet Earth II - in pictures
In a collaboration between BBC Studios Natural History Unit and multi-platform content studio Headspace Studios, Mindful Escapes will offer viewers mindful immersion in the natural world.
Narrated by Headspace co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe, the four films will unveil archival footage from the Natural History Unit’s films.
The four films will focus on a mindful theme each - Breathe, Change, Joy and Rest - and will include never-before-seen footage of natural landscapes, guiding viewers through the animal world and various ecosystems.
The films will also be reformatted for the Headspace app later this year.
“Mindful Escapes: Breathe, Release, Restore allows the audience to engage with television content in a completely unique way and reflects the BBC’s commitment to create conversations about mental health and support audience mental well-being,” said commissioning editor Sreya Biswas.
Piddicombe said: “The BBC’s Natural History Unit has an exceptional ability to transport viewers from their homes to some of the most extraordinary places in nature.
“Collaborating on this series is very exciting, because we can now take people on a whole new journey, an immersive experience that merges the external world with our internal landscape.”
The four-part series is expected later this year.
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