National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 261) ordered a new natural-history documentary series, Queens, that will focus on females in 6 different matriarchal animal societies.
Queens follows female animals in natural animal environments where females rule with the 6-episode series that will reveals unique feminine behaviours in six distinct animal communities, including hyenas, elephants, ring-tailed lemurs, insects, primates and orcas.
Queens that recently started production will be shown on National Geographic in South Africa and Africa; 172 countries and 43 languages in all. The Queens production team will spend 300 days filming each of the episodes to capture the behaviours of each animal "queen" and the sisterhood of animals that she leads.
"Each episode devotes itself to discovering just why the title of queen is so coveted and tenuous. While getting to the top signifies power, holding rank is far from easy," says National Geographic.
"Every day brings challenges – and challengers – to a queen's rule. How she remains dominant depends on individual personality, loyalty, cooperation, politics, strength and fate."
Queens features state-of-the-art technology, including remote camera systems, the latest drones, cameras that operate in virtual darkness and gyrostabilized cameras for close-up, immersive filming. All the equipment used throughout each episode aims to give the viewer a profound understanding of the secret relationships within each queen's sisterhood.
"Despite major behavioural differences among each society – for example, bees, wasps and ants are slaves to a single dictatorial queen, while elephants choose the oldest and wisest of their matriarch – there's at least one thing that each queen has in common: family comes first. In Queens nothing outmatches the powerful bonds of sisterhood."
The Queens production team is led by Vanessa Berlowitz, CEO of Wildstar Films and series executive producer, along with cinematographers like Sophie Darlington, Justine Evans, Sue Gibson and Gail Jenkinson.
"Queens is a wild departure from anything you've ever experienced with natural history storytelling," says Vanessa Berlowitz.
"We're accustomed to a narrative where the male animal voice often outshines that of the misperceived 'gentler' sex. In Queens, females drive the story: the most accomplished women in the industry get behind the camera to turn things on their heads, revealing surprising insights into how females rise to power, often relying on cooperation and wisdom over brute strength to get ahead."
Sophie Darlington says Queens "is full of possibilities and will offer a contemporary perspective on nature with the ambition to build industry legacy through diversity, collaboration and inclusiveness".
"It's so exciting to create a project with such a talented team; we share a strong commitment to the environment and believe that engaging women is key to saving the planet."
Janet Han Vissering, National Geographic's senior vice president of development and production, says "the assembly of a first-ever women-led production team will bring a new perspective to telling these intimate narratives".
"Scientifically, women tend to score higher for emotional and social intelligence, so there's an advantage in their ability to better read relationships to underscore the nuances of how female-bonded societies operate."
