Serengeti (TV series)

***Serengeti*** is a British nature documentary series created by Simon Fuller and John Downer, produced by XIX Entertainment and commissioned by the BBC and Discovery Channel. It follows the interconnected lives of several savannah-dwelling animals on the Serengeti in Tanzania; the animals in question are identified by names based on the Swahili language used in the region and presented in a dramatic manner. The series originally aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom, and later on the Discovery Channel in the United States, in 2019. A second season, tentatively titled *Serengeti II*, was released in 2021.

## Broadcast

The first season of *Serengeti* first premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2019 with narration by John Boyega. It was aired weekly until August 8, 2019. In the United States, the series premiered on the Discovery Channel on August 4, 2019, with Lupita Nyong'o replacing Boyega as narrator, airing weekly until September 8, 2019.

The second season, *Serengeti II*, was aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom from August 22 to September 12, 2021. In the United States, all six episodes were released together on June 18, 2021 as a Discovery+ exclusive. Nyong'o narrated this season as well.

## Characters

Throughout the series, the many animals given focus are given names by which the audience can identify certain individuals. The names are derived from Swahili, the language spoken in the region. Names and their meaning are presented below.

### Introduced in *Serengeti*

* **Kali** ("Fierce"), an African lioness who will do anything to protect her cubs, even if it means living in exile.
* **Bakari** ("Noble promise"), a male baboon who must rise to the challenge of becoming the leader his troop needs.
* **Zalika** ("Well-born"), a female hyena who must prove herself worthy as leader of her clan when her mother is killed.
* **Nalla** ("Successful"), an African elephant matriarch who has led her herd for several years. Her nephew, Kadogo, is born the following year.
* **Kike** ("Female"), a female cheetah and first-time mother who must teach her young to survive.
* **Shani** ("Marvelous"), a female zebra who leads her herd on the annual Great Migration.
* **Jasari** ("Jary"), a male African hunting dog whose pack comes into conflict with Zalika's clan.
* **Tembo** ("Elephant"), an adolescent male African elephant and Nalla's son. He briefly returns in the second season to pay respect to a deceased aunt.
* **Sebu**, a male African lion who pursues Kali. He eventually becomes her mate, but problems arise in Season 2 when he suspects her cubs aren't his.
* **Cheka** ("Check out"), a female baboon and Bakari's love interest who eventually becomes his mate.
* **Aiysha** ("Prosperous"), a female cheetah and one of Kike's cubs. By Season 2, she has survived to raise cubs of her own, including one named Duma.

### Introduced in *Serengeti II*

* **Mzuri** ("Good") and **Dada** ("Sister"), a pair of leopard cubs who must learn fast to survive on the Serengeti, especially when Zalika is on the prowl.
* **Duma** ("Cheetah"), a male cheetah and Aiysha's son. While he shows the most promise of all her cubs, he still has a lot to learn.
* **Shavu** ("Cheeks") and **Shaba** ("Brass"), a mated pair of jackals who must risk facing Africa's greatest predators in order for their pups to survive.
* **Gnu**, a male wildebeest calf who must learn to survive very fast.
* **Tamu** ("Sweet"), a male gazelle fawn who must keep hidden at all times if he is to survive the various predators on the Serengeti.
* **Bibi** ("Grandmother"), a female baboon seeking to regain the power she lost after being deposed by Cheka as dominant female.
* **Punda** ("Donkey"), a male zebra and Shani's mate, and the stallion responsible for protecting the herd.
* **Kadogo** ("Small"), an elephant calf and Nalla's nephew.

## Episodes

 *Serengeti* | 6
 *Serengeti II* | 6

## Reception

### Ratings

The American premiere of *Serengeti* averaged 3 million viewers and ranked as that Sunday's #1 cable telecast across M25-54, M18-49, and M18-34, ranking it as the highest-rated nature documentary on television since Discovery's *North America* in May 2013, and in total was the network's most watched series debut since *Naked and Afraid XL* in summer 2015. The series was a tremendous co-viewing opportunity for Discovery Channel, with eighteen percent of P25-54 watching with K2-11, doubling the network's regularly programming for that year.

### Critical

*Serengeti* has received mixed reviews from critics and viewers. Rebecca Nicholson of *The Guardian*, in reviewing the first season, criticized the show for its dramatic presentation and narration: "Despite its A-list narrator and bombastic approach, *Serengeti* somehow maintains the feel of an educational film for schoolchildren. It's unfair, in one sense, to find that side of it grating, because its intentions are made clear from the beginning. It cannot be accused of being disingenuous about what it does with the footage it has taken, as certain documentaries have done in the past. Boyega is even credited as a storyteller than a narrator. This is documentary as theatre."

Many viewers questioned the visuals of the show and speculated that CGI and compositing were used for several scenes. Of the first season, creator John Downer replied, "No animals were created using CGI but occasionally compositing techniques, which combine real footage, have been used to help the narrative and the dramatic flow of the scenes."