National Geographic Announces ‘Animals Up Close’ with Bertie Gregory Coming Back to Disney+ for Season 2. Hosted by Nat Geo Explorer and Award-Winning Filmmaker Bertie Gregory, the Emmy- and Bafta-nominated series Will Embark on even More Adventures Around the World To Showcase Stunning, Never-Before-Seen Wildlife Moments.
National Geographic announced today that its Emmy® and BAFTA Award-nominated Disney+ Original series ANIMALS UP CLOSE WITH BERTIE GREGORY has been picked up for a second season of eight episodes. With filming currently underway, the National Geographic Explorer and BAFTA-winning cinematographer Bertie Gregory (@BertieGregory) and his team will travel to the most spectacular corners of our planet to take viewers deep into the natural world and showcase extraordinary animal lives. The second season will stream only on Disney+.
The announcement follows the viral sensation Bertie recently created during Nat Geo’s ourHOME Earth Month celebration in April with the release of extraordinary emperor penguin footage, filmed on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica for the next installment of National Geographic’s Emmy Award-winning SECRETS OF franchise. A television first, Bertie recorded a group of approximately 700+ emperor penguin chicks leaping from the summit of a 50-foot cliff, smashing into the icy ocean waters below completely unscathed.
The clip garnered over 62 million views on Nat Geo’s TikTok account — its best-performing video ever — and has received over 118 million views across all of Nat Geo’s social platforms to date. The rare footage was captured for SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS, hosted by Bertie and produced by TALESMITH for Nat Geo, premiering April 2025 as part of Nat Geo’s annual Earth Day celebration. Watch the full video here:
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Bertie’s natural history filming resonates so much with viewers that he captured four of the top 10 most-viewed videos on Nat Geo’s Instagram account this past year. The emperor penguins video has nearly 57 million views, while the second-highest is wave-washing orcas with 56 million,followed by killer whale spy hop behavior with almost 42 million views, and dramatic footage of Petaka the puma with over 28 million; the last three are all from the first season of ANIMALS UP CLOSE.
In the newest season of ANIMALS UP CLOSE, fans can expect to witness Bertie travel the world on a new set of adventures to capture wildlife behaviors like never before, showcasing an intimate picture of animals’ daily battles. Previously, Bertie immersed audiences in the gripping real-life dramas of iconic animals. Now, he’s making it personal, choosing the stories that matter the most on our rapidly changing planet to provide a more intimate and awe-inspiring view of the natural world.
The immersive and unique wildlife series will continue to capture the challenges of natural history filmmaking and show the behind-the-scenes moments Bertie and his team face while adapting to unpredictable wildlife in remote environments where filming rarely goes as planned. Like last season, there is no script for ANIMALS UP CLOSE, but Bertie will bring the audience with him every step of the way.
ANIMALS UP CLOSE was recently nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards — in the Travel, Adventure, and Nature Program as well as Cinematography categories — and a BAFTA TV Craft Award nomination in the Photography: Factual category. The series won an RTS West of England Award for Sound, and Bertie was also nominated for hosting in the On Screen Talent category. He took home the award for the latter category in 2023 for hosting EPIC ADVENTURES WITH BERTIE GREGORY.
In the first season, Bertie ventured the world — from Antarctica to Africa and South America to Asia — tracking down extraordinary animals to film their daily lives. Armed with drones, state-of-the-art cameras, and underwater tech, he and his team braved subzero seas, climbed snow-capped mountains, and slept suspended 120 feet in the air to reveal the challenges these animals endure.
Viewers witnessed unique and rare moments like humpback whales purposely disrupting a hunt of an endangered pod of killer whales in Antarctica, a male sea lion defending pups from a huge Galapagos shark, and, by using a military-grade thermal imaging camera in Patagonia, Bertie, and his team filmed a guardian shepherd dog defending a flock of sheep from a hunting puma for the first time.
Bertie is a British wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer who began his career when a childhood nature obsession earned him the Youth Outdoor Photographer of the Year title. After earning a Zoology degree from the University of Bristol, he began assisting legendary National Geographic photographer Steve Winter. He has since produced and hosted eight Nat Geo TV projects, including the original series ANIMALS UP CLOSE and EPIC ADVENTURES, both streaming on Disney+. In 2020, he became BAFTA’s youngest cinematography winner for his work with David Attenborough on BBC’s “Seven Worlds, One Planet.” In 2023, PEOPLE Magazine included Bertie in their annual “Sexiest Man Alive” issue for the sexiest at age 30.
ANIMALS UP CLOSE WITH BERTIE GREGORY is produced by Wildstar Films for National Geographic. Bertie Gregory is the host, producer, and director of photography. For Wildstar, the executive producer is Anwar Mamon, and the series producer is Jennie Hammond. For National Geographic, Janet Han Vissering is SVP, Production and Development, and Drew Jones serves as executive producer.
