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Dynasties II

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Dynasties II
GenreNature documentary
Presented byDavid Attenborough
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producerMike Gunton
ProducerSimon Blakeney
Running time58 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release20 March (2022-03-20) –
10 April 2022 (2022-04-10)

Dynasties II is a 2022 British nature documentary series commissioned by the BBC and narrated by David Attenborough.[1] It is the sequel to Dynasties (2018) and was announced via a press release on 28 December 2020.[2]

Developing on the success of the first series, Dynasties II continues to delve into the secret lives of charismatic, captivating animals as they fight for their families against the odds and get caught up in real life drama.

The series has four episodes, following Angelina the African elephant matriarch, she-cheetah Kali, Rupestre the puma and spotted hyena matriarch Suma.[3] A Christmas special featuring Mac, a Barbary macaque, was broadcast in December 2022.[4]

Broadcast

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British Television

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The series saw its British television debut on BBC One, BBC One HD and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 20 March 2022 in the 8pm to 9pm timeslot.

International

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Dynasties II has been licensed worldwide by various broadcasters including Mediaset in Italy[5] and KBS in South Korea.[6]

Episodes

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Viewing data sourced from BARB.[7]

No.TitleProduced byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Puma"Felicity Lanchester20 March 2022 (2022-03-20)3.65
A mother Puma must hunt and protect her young to ensure the survival of her dynasty. the mother puma must battle rivals, tackle prey nearly three times her size and endure the wild mountain weather of Patagonia in her bid to raise four cubs.
2"Elephant"Lydia Baines27 March 2022 (2022-03-27)3.58
In Amboseli National Park, Kenya, a rare event pushes a struggling elephant family to its limits. To save their dynasty, they must work together and overcome the challenge of a lifetime.
3"Cheetah"Simon Blakeney3 April 2022 (2022-04-03)3.40
On the plains of Zambia, a mother cheetah must protect her cubs from hyenas and other dangerous neighbours.
4"Hyena"Mandi Stark10 April 2022 (2022-04-10)3.04
A young rival poses a challenge to a hyena queen. With the emergence of a young rival, a spotted hyena queen struggles to keep her grip on power, while also trying to raise a family on Zambia's vast and unforgiving grasslands of Liuwa Plain National Park.
5"Meerkat"Emma Napper21 May 2022 (2022-05-21)TBC
A Dynasties special that follows the life of a meerkat queen living in the Makgadikgadi salt pans.
6"Macaque"Rosie Thomas25 June 2022 (2022-06-25)TBC
Mac, an alpha male Barabry macaque, must fight to retain his troop high in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Critical reception

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Most reviews were favourable, with Carol Midgley of The Times awarding the opening episode the maximum of 5 stars and describing it as "Superb".[8]

Gabriel Tate of The Telegraph awarded the opening episode 4 stars out of 5, stating "The storytelling was slick and accomplished, and seldom felt forced, the anthropomorphism given a respectable gloss by the avoidance of cliché in Attenborough’s wise voice-over."[9] Rachael Sigee of the i newspaper also awarded it 4 stars noting that Dynasties II "prioritises storytelling over dissemination of information."[10]

In contrast Nick Hilton of The Independent gave the opening episode a middling 3 stars, pointing out that, the show, "in aiming half its gaze at children, is guilty of dumbing down the great complexity of the animal brain."[11]

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References

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  1. ^ "Dynasties II | BBC Earth". www.bbcearth.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  2. ^ "BBC One announces Dynasties II". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  3. ^ Dynasties II (Documentary), BBC One, BBC Studios, 20 March 2022, retrieved 11 September 2022
  4. ^ "BBC One - Dynasties, Macaque: Monkeys in the Mountains – A Dynasties Special". BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  5. ^ "BBC Studios establishes factual content deal with Mediaset in Italy". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  6. ^ "KBS and BBC Studios deepen long-term partnership with multi-year factual content deal". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Four-screen dashboard - BARB".
  8. ^ Midgley, Carol. "Skint review — richly rewarding monologues about poverty". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  9. ^ Tate, Gabriel (20 March 2022). "Dynasties II, review: savage catfights worthy of Joan Collins". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  10. ^ Sigee, Rachael (20 March 2022). "Dynasties II is as close as a David Attenborough documentary gets to Disney". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Dynasties II is appealing, yet guilty of dumbing down the animal kingdom – review". The Independent. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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