Will Smith is getting wild on Disney+ – with a little help from his friends at National Geographic. Slyly titled after a line in the movie Independence Day, Welcome to Earth follows Smith in a six-part series that will have the actor globe-trotting around the world in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. From exploring volcanic islands to getting dropped onto an Icelandic glacier, to traversing the Namibia Desert, to heading deep onto the ocean floor, Smith takes viewers around the world to explore its “greatest wonders and reveal its most hidden secrets.”
Synopsis:
Will is guided by elite explorers on an awe-inspiring journey, getting up close and personal with some of the most thrilling spectacles on the planet — from volcanoes that roar in silence to deserts that move beyond our perception to animal swarms with minds of their own. Combining breathtaking cinematography with Will’s boundless curiosity and enthusiasm, the blockbuster series is an exciting, multisensory ride through Earth’s most mind-bending portals.
There’s a lot to love about this series. Smith’s charismatic personality and infectious enthusiasm make this a show to watch. However, while Smith is the human star of the series, this is, after all, a National Geographic production, so expect the real draw to be the spectacular views and sights that are not usually seen by the human eye. Here, Smith and his companions of explorers and scientists display the awe and mesmerizing excitement of what is revealed in each episode.
Welcome to Earth will comprise of six episodes with each episode showcasing a small part of the wonders of our planet:
Episode 1: Descent into Darkness
In a deep-water submersible, Will Smith descends 3,300 feet to the bottom of the ocean, where even fewer people have gone than outer space. Along the way down, Will and explorer Diva Amon investigate how color is used in the natural world. He discovers some animals creating their own vibrant, mind-bending light displays in pitch-black darkness. Rarely seen by humans, these displays are one of the most common forms of communication on the planet.
Episode 2: The Silent Roar
In a deep-water submersible, Will Smith descends 3,300 feet to the bottom of the ocean, where even fewer people have gone than outer space. Along the way down, Will and explorer Diva Amon investigate how color is used in the natural world. He discovers some animals creating their own vibrant, mind-bending light displays in pitch-black darkness. Rarely seen by humans, these displays are one of the most common forms of communication on the planet.
Episode 3: Power of Scent
On the trail of tiger sharks in the Pacific, Will explores the power of smell. For humans, the sense of smell triggers deep memories and emotions, but it has an even more vital function in the animal world. Will discovers that scents link ecosystems around the world and are so powerful for some animals that they can mean the difference between life and death.
Episode 4: Speed of Light
Will explores the Namibia Desert, where both the landscape and time seem to have stood still for over 50 million years. Will discovers that humans can only see a small sliver of what’s moving around us because everything on the planet is happening either too fast or too slow for us to perceive. With the help of Albert Lin’s incredible technology, Will finds everything is on the move: life, the earth and even the cosmos.
Episode 5: Mind of the Swarm
Thirty years ago, Will Smith was mesmerized by a photo of the incredible wildebeest migration across the Serengeti in a National Geographic magazine. Now he visits those same wildebeests and discovers an amazing survival strategy. Individually, wildebeests are animals with low intelligence, but when threatened, they group together and behave as if they have a single, super-intelligent brain. Will discovers that without this superpower, thousands of wildebeests could never survive the 150-mile gauntlet of the most blood-thirsty predators on the planet.
Episode 6: Beyond Fear
For Will’s final journey, an ultimate challenge. He and polar explorer Dwayne Fields are dropped by helicopter in the middle of an Icelandic glacier. Will’s mission is to draw on everything he’s learned from the five previous expeditions about what it means to be an explorer to overcome his fear and anxieties of the wilderness. By learning how to read nature’s clues, Will slowly gains an understanding of the environment around him, allowing him to embrace his fear and take the reins on a powerful and unpredictable stretch of white-water rapids. Will discovers that uncertainty and confusion are not obstacles to exploration but rather a vital part of every explorer’s experience when throwing themselves into the unknown.
Welcome to Earth is the second show that Smith has worked on with Nat Geo. He also hosted the 2018 series One Strange Rock that explored how life survives and thrives on Earth as told from the point of view of eight veteran astronauts. This series is currently available on Disney+.
National Geographic has always provided great TV for nature lovers and beyond and Welcome to Earth is no exception. “Growing up in the city, I’ve never seen so much nature, much less of this kind,” says Smith, “this is a whole new world for me.” Expect to feel this same wonder after watching the series.
Welcome to Earth premieres on Disney+ on December 8.
