National Geographic announces epic upcoming factual entertainment series and specials

Inspiring people to be curious about the world and their role in it, National Geographic (DStv 181, Starsat 220) is the world's premium destination for science, exploration and adventure. At this time when exploring and physically connecting with the world may not be possible, National Geographic delivers premium storytelling that connects audiences, provides escapism, challenges them to learn new things and inspires new passions and action.

This festive season, the channel continues to go further. Audiences can look forward to exquisite aerial exploration in India From Above, a journey through dangerous and frightful destinations in Atlas of Cursed Places and an investigation of the most dangerous black markets in the world in Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller.

Featuring breathtaking drone footage as its centrepiece, the From Above franchise explores, in stunning visual detail, the culture, history, innovation and engineering feats that have helped shape the world as we know it. With exclusive access all over the world, National Geographic’s cameras are able to fly through restricted airspace, capturing never-before-seen views of the Earth.

India From Above, premiering Wednesdays at 7pm from 9 December (2 x 60”, ends 16 December 2021), showcases the beauty of India - natural wonders, fascinating people, diverse cultures - from soaring heights. From the air, experience the largest religious gathering in the world, a mega solar power plant, one of the world's highest ultra-marathons, a floating civilisation, a meteor crater lake and a 40-million-year-old monsoon powering a nation.

In Atlas of Cursed Places, which premieres Fridays at 9pm from 11 December (5 x 60”, ends 8 January 2021), author and adventurer Sam Sheridan travels the globe in search of the most cursed places on Earth. Entrenching himself in macabre modern day culture, Sam explores the region's haunting history and fascinating folklore, employs cutting-edge science to illuminate the dangers of the curse, and paints a new and revealing portrait of a doomed place and the people who live there in the process.

Armed with National Geographic’s trademark inside access, Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller premieres Thursdays at 9pm from 21 January (8 x 60”, ends 11 March 2021). Each investigation in the eight-part series embeds with Peabody and duPont Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller as she explores the complex and often violent inner workings of a smuggling network. While she dives deeper and deeper into these underworlds, Mariana reveals — with characteristic boldness and empathy — that the people operating these trafficking rings are often a lot more like us than we realise.

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller offers viewers a mission-driven adventure to places rarely seen, providing an intimate peek behind the criminal curtain. Mariana spends time with major players from a host of underground economies — from tiger traffickers and international scammers to counterfeiters, gunrunners and fentanyl suppliers. Along the way, she also meets with law enforcement, ex-convicts, fellow journalists and locals caught in the crossfire, all in an attempt to provide a 360° view of these poorly understood trafficking networks that contribute to the world’s multi-trillion-dollar shadow economy.

“We are excited to bring this diverse, enthralling and exciting lineup to DSTV viewers this festive season. This content, with its unparalleled access and storytelling, dedication to research, science, conservation and exploration, speaks to our ongoing commitment to take viewers further into the world around us,” said Evert van der Veer, vice president, media networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa.