Move over, lions, sharks, bears, and wolves, because National Geographic is about to shine a light on some of the underappreciated creatures that inhabit our world with a little help from Ryan Reynolds. The official trailer for Underdogs has been released, and it offers a brief look at the animals with unconventional features and approaches to life that will be explored throughout the fun and freaky five-part docuseries. Announced back in 2023, the project features the Deadpool & Wolverine star as its narrator, giving a new voice to the outcasts that keep nature functioning, even if they’re a little gross or strange. These animals will get their first chance to shine on Nat Geo on June 15 at 9 p.m. ET, with ABC simulcasting the first episode to get viewers interested.
Underdogs is billed as an original take on the nature documentary, with each episode highlighting a different feature that makes its selection of animals so unique. The creatures included were chosen for their “bizarre mating strategies, surprising superpowers, deception, dubious parenting skills, and gross-out behaviors” that set them apart from other species. In capturing these aspects, the crew filmed natural scenes rarely, if ever, seen by humans, and entered locales never approached for filming. One highlight is a unique, glowing cave in New Zealand lit up by the bioluminescent butts of mucus-covered grubs lining the walls by the millions. All the natural beauty and weirdness are showcased up close in the trailer, highlighting superheroic insects, disgusting mammals, and all-powerful sea-creatures alike going about their little freak lives.
Reynolds has been teasing Underdogs for some time. In the run-up to Deadpool & Wolverine last year, he had a little fun at Hugh Jackman‘s expense by releasing a nature documentary clip about wolverines and “highlighting” how lazy they are. It set the tone for both the comedic multiversal MCU feature and the Nat Geo series, which, as the trailer shows, features plenty of Reynolds‘s signature humor alongside its hours of animal footage. The series was made in partnership between the star’s Maximum Effort production banner and Wildstar Films, the company behind past Disney+ nature documentaries like James Cameron‘s Secrets of the Octopus, narrated by Paul Rudd, and Queens, featuring the voice of Angela Bassett.
‘Underdogs’ Is Reynolds’s Latest of Many Upcoming Projects
Reynolds is keeping busy with animal-themed projects this year. His R-rated comedy Animal Friends, also starring Aubrey Plaza, Jason Momoa, and Vince Vaughn, among others, will be released on October 10. Details have been kept well under wraps, but it’s said to be a live-action/animated hybrid road trip adventure from The Machine director Peter Atencio. Also coming soon is Mayday, a new action-adventure from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves director Jonathan Goldstein pairing Reynolds up with Kenneth Branagh that wrapped filming last year. After their box-office-busting MCU effort, he, Jackman, and Shawn Levy also have another team-up coming in the Paramount comedy Boy Band, which Reynolds is currently working on the script for alongside, reportedly, an early treatment of a potential Deadpool and X-Men crossover.
Underdogs debuts on National Geographic and ABC on June 15 with new episodes premiering every week on Nat Geo thereafter. Each installment will be available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Check out the trailer in the player above.
via Collider