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Travel back in time to three of the most powerful extinction periods in history, wiping out nearly all of life on Earth. In this original 3-part series, with stunning animations in Ultra HD 4K, see the extraordinary creatures that dominated land, air and sea, and the few that survived to bring rise to life as we know it today.
Produced in collaboration with the Emmy Award-winning Pixeldust Studios, the series is based on the newest resources and research from experts at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History. More than just a lesson in prehistoric creatures, each episode offers viewers an immersive experience with period-accurate environmental and landscape elements that transport viewers virtually to the time and place. Based new findings, researchers weigh in on the powerful new clues behind these mass extinctions in our past, as they investigate causes for the current dramatic decline in wildlife worldwide, which some are calling the world’s sixth mass extinction.
- Episode 1 – The Permian Period introduces viewers to the life that sprung forth on land and sea more than 252 million years ago, including terrifying creatures like the saber-toothed Gorgonopsid and shark-like Helicoprion. This episode exposes the “smoking gun” that scientists now believe caused the worst mass extinction on our planet.
- Episode 2 – The Triassic Period reveals how the power of evolution ushered in the first era of early dinosaurs, most of which were ultimately annihilated by waves of lava and toxic gas from extreme volcanic activity. Those that survived eventually gave rise to Earth’s most notorious prehistoric predators, including Tyrannosaurus Rex.
- Episode 3 – The Cretaceous Period highlights magnificent dinosaurs like Triceratops and T.Rex, and massive pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatius—one of the largest flying creatures of all time. It also paints a chilling portrait of the asteroid that brought the age of dinosaurs crashing to a close, and paved the way for life as we know it today.
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