Television series
The Green Planet
- Slow-burning
David Attenborough guides you through the secret lives of plants with unprecedented camera technology and two decades of new science. This is Planet Earth's companion piece, revealing plants as active agents in their own survival—not passive scenery. Mesmerizing, humbling, for anyone who's ever wondered what those green things are actually doing.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you find yourself staring at a houseplant wondering what it is really up to, and you enjoy nature films that treat slow botanical competition as a gripping chase.
Skip it if you want animals front and centre, since this is mostly about plants, and its close-up time-lapse wonder can feel repetitive across five hour-long episodes if you are not already curious.
What it asks of you: Five one-hour episodes that ask for patience with unhurried footage, then reward you with a steady stream of striking, sometimes startling, close-up detail.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Planet Earth III2023
The natural continuation of Attenborough's masterwork, with newer filming techniques and fresh discoveries about animal behaviour. If you loved The Green Planet's visual ambition, this scales it up across every ecosystem on Earth.
But It covers familiar ground (animals, landscapes) after the revelation of seeing plants as protagonists. The format might feel like returning to an older story.
Life2007
Attenborough's other foundational series, with the same patient observation of survival and adaptation. It has the same philosophical depth about struggle and interdependence that makes The Green Planet so moving.
But The cinematography, while excellent, lacks the cutting-edge macro and time-lapse tech that makes The Green Planet feel genuinely novel.
Frozen Planet II2022
Recent BBC natural history at its peak, filmed with the same technological innovations. Focuses on animals adapted to extreme cold, but with the same attention to the intricate relationships between species and their environment.
But Poles and ice are less visually varied than the range of habitats in The Green Planet. The scale feels narrower in scope.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Green Planet
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Botany of Desire2009
Both reframe plants as agents with strategies rather than victims or scenery. The Green Planet shows plants' hidden lives; Botany of Desire shows their very visible effect on human history and desire.
Adaptation of Michael Pollan's book, exploring how four plants—apples, tulips, marijuana, potatoes—have shaped human desire and vice versa. Inverts the question The Green Planet asks: not how plants survive us, but how they use us to thrive.
But More philosophical essay than nature documentary. Some feel it's slack and digressive. Dated production values compared to modern BBC work.
More like this (5)
Our Planet2019
Attenborough again, this time with explicit focus on climate change and human impact. Stunning cinematography across all biomes, with the same sense of wonder layered with urgent environmental consciousness.
But The climate message is heavy-handed at times. Some viewers find the doom-laden tone depressing rather than galvanizing.
Prehistoric Planet2022
Uses similar cutting-edge imaging and creature animation to show dinosaurs as living, behaving animals rather than museum displays. That same sense of revelation—seeing the invisible or extinct world come alive.
But It's entirely speculative, built from fossil evidence. Some find that less satisfying than observing real creatures in their actual habitats.
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet2020
Attenborough reflects on seven decades of witnessing the natural world. A more personal, meditative film that contextualizes exactly why The Green Planet matters—it shows what we stand to lose.
But It's a retrospective, not a discovery. Less visual spectacle, more philosophical reckoning. Some find it melancholic rather than inspiring.
The Dating Game1965
Recent nature series focusing on reproduction and courtship behaviour—the hidden dramas of survival. Same production quality and technological innovation as The Green Planet, applied to animal behaviour.
But Heavily focused on sex and breeding, which some find repetitive across episodes. Less philosophical depth than other Attenborough work.
Seven Worlds, One Planet2019
Organizes the natural world by continent rather than species, showing how geography shapes evolution and adaptation. Stunning scope, familiar Attenborough patience with the small moments.
But More conventional natural history approach—less innovative than The Green Planet's central conceit of privileging plant perspective.
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David AttenboroughPresenter