The Americas: release date, animals, locations, trailer and everything we know about the Tom Hanks nature series

The Americas is a nature series worth waiting for! Stretching from pole to pole and home to Earth’s most varied habitats, the continents of The Americas are teeming with wildlife. Now, in this ambitious nature documentary series, Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks is helping us take a closer look at some of the strangest stories on Earth.

Filmed over five years, each hour-long episode features a different geographical location (see listed below) and also boasts music from the Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Americas…

The Americas release date  

The Americas is a 10-part event series that premieres in the US on NBC and Peacock on Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 7pm ET/PT with the first two episodes then running weekly at the same time.

In the UK, it starts on BBC1 and BBCiPlayer in the spring of 2025. When a release date is announced, we’ll update you on this page.

Is there a trailer?

Yes you can watch Tom Hanks narrating The Americas. In it you'll see much of the wonderful wildlife featured starting with a wandering salamander 'that has never been filmed before' as revealed by Tom. Take a look below...

Locations, animals and what will feature in The Americas 

The Americas is an ambitious documentary series that uses cutting-edge technology to showcase never-before-seen animal behavior across the American continents.

From Canada to the Caribbean, the footage immerses us in ecosystems across North and South America and shows how wildlife survives and thrives in these diverse locations. We'll watch everything from bison, bears and bald eagles, to condors, wolves, pelicans and albatross.

Episodes include the Atlantic Coast, Mexico, Wild West, the Amazon, the Frozen North, the Gulf Coast, the Andes, the Caribbean, the West Coast and Patagonia.

Behind the scenes and more on The Americas

The Americas is a natural history series presented by Tom Hanks. It is a collaboration between the BBC Natural History Unit, Universal Television and Alternative Studios.

The series, which took five years to make, was filmed over 180 expeditions, with each episode featuring a different iconic location across the Americas.

The Americas is executive produced by renowned Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning wildlife producer Mike Gunton (Planet Earth II, Planet Earth III, Dynasties) for BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the best-known and most respected producers of natural history content in the world, in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Jo Lapping, Head of BBC Factual Acquisition says: “The BBC is delighted to bring NBC’s remarkable nature epic The Americas to BBC One and iPlayer. From Northern Canada to Patagonia, the spectacular beauty and diversity of the American continents has been captured in this mesmerizing series from a multi-award-winning dream team; Tom Hanks, Hans Zimmer, BBC Studios Natural History and Universal Television Alternative Studio.”

All about The Americas narrator Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks has a multitude of big roles under his belt, including his Oscar-winning turns in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. He found fame in the movie Splash in 1984 and went on to have roles in hit films such as You’ve Got Mail, The Money Pit, Sleepless in Seattle, Big and Turner & Hooch. He’s also starred in Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Cast Away, The Terminal, The Da Vinci Code, Elvis and A Man Called Otto. Tom voices Woody in the Toy Story franchise.