Where to watch The Americas? Streaming and broadcasting details explored
After Kevin Costner's Yellowstone to Yosemite took fans on a journey through Yellowstone National Park, Tom Hanks' The Americas explores parts of North America and South America that the world has never seen before.
Narrated by Tom Hanks, it is a 10-part nature documentary on NBC. Five years in the making, the series explores the vast 8,700-mile expanse of the Americas. The first two episodes premiere on NBC on February 23, 2025, at 7 pm Eastern Time.
Tom Hanks' The Americas will also premiere on Bravo, CNBC, etc
The two-hour premiere will be simultaneously broadcast on several networks other than NBC, including Bravo, CNBC, E!, SYFY, and USA.
After its debut, the rest of the eight episodes of the show will drop weekly every Sunday at 8 pm Eastern Time/Pacific Time. Each episode will be available for streaming on Peacock the next day.
What is The Americas about?
A co-production between NBCUniversal and the BBC, the docu-series will showcase the regions of North America and South America that people are familiar with, but have never experienced this way. This marks the first time that the wildlife of these two countries is explored in a series.
The official synopsis of the show reads:
For the first time, the Americas stars in its own incomparable series, using cutting-edge technology to uncover never-before-seen behavior, and highlight the extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that will deeply connect with millions around the world. Five years in the making and filmed over 180 expeditions, this groundbreaking series reveals the spectacular landscapes of Earth’s most varied landmass — the only one to stretch between both poles.
It further reads:
The Americas unprecedented scale and ambition delivers remarkable world firsts; new species, new intimate courtship, dramatic deep sea hunting and some of nature’s strangest stories — even a frog that seems to defy death every day.
Which places are explored in the show?
While Academy Award-winning actor, writer, and producer Tom Hanks is the narrator of the show, fellow Academy Award-winning music composer Hans Zimmer has scored the episodes. Each episode of the series explores a different location of the continent.
Here is a list of the regions each episode showcases:
- The Atlantic Coast
- Mexico
- The Wild West
- The Amazon
- The Frozen North
- The Gulf Coast
- The Andes
- The Caribbean
- The West Coast
- Patagonia
Why did Tom Hanks agree to work on this series?
Hanks has previously narrated the 2005 documentary film Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D. He has also voiced several characters in movies. However, he has not done a wildlife documentary before.
In an article published by BBC on February 19, 2025, Hanks was asked why he agreed to do the project. He said:
When the opportunity arose to be the voice of The Americas, I said: “I think I've lived for that opportunity.” I knew that I would be learning an awful lot. I wanted to be on the front line. I feel lucky to be a part of this extraordinary project – of capturing something that is so real that is it's irrefutable to anybody who watches it. And it's just glorious to be a part of that.
BBC Studios Natural History Unit (Planet Earth and Blue Planet) collaborated with Universal Television Alternative Studio to create this series. It is produced by BAFTA-winning wildlife producer Mike Gunton who is credited as an executive producer on Life, Planet Earth II, and Dynasties.
