National Georgraphic March 2020 Highlights

THE CAVE
Sunday 8 March at 21:00

Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (“Last Men in Aleppo”) delivers an unflinching story of the Syrian war with his powerful new documentary, The Cave. For besieged civilians, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above. Following the women as they contend with daily bombardments, chronic supply shortages and the ever-present threat of chemical attacks, The Cave paints a stirring portrait of courage, resilience and female solidarity.

Al Ghouta, Syria – Dr. Amani (R) waits with others during the evacuation. (National Geographic)

APOCALYPSE: WAR OF THE WORLDS
Tuesdays at 21:00, from 10 March 2020 (ends 14 April)

Summer 1945. Leaving the atrocities of war behind, the Allies wholeheartedly celebrate a return to peace. But behind the scenes of global reconstruction, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making. Soon, an “iron curtain” will come down, dividing the Communist Eastern bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union, and the West, behind the United States. This is the Cold War, the War of Worlds. In a frantic arms race, the United States have invented the worst threat possible – the nuclear bomb. During the course of fifty years, the great heads of state, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, and Kennedy, face each other off in a precarious balance of terror. In Indochina, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, they wage war on each other through other peoples. Nonetheless, it is still the same war between East and West. The same leaders, the same terrified civilians, the same regions destroyed by bombs, the same rows of starving prisoners. Beyond those who are in power, all of mankind can, at any time, be plunged into the Apocalypse.

COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS
Wednesdays at 20:00, from 11 March (ends 10 June)
[Note – Hiatus on 22 April, returns 29 April]

In the vastness of time and the immensity of space, the number of worlds to explore and stories to tell are infinite. This boldest COSMOS yet is a thrilling, hope-filled voyage of exploration to lost worlds and worlds yet to come. You’ll meet the searchers whose courage rivals any hero of myth. And it will carry you deep into the future and through that hole in the curtain of reality.

Our sun is born, endowing worlds to come with precious minerals, diamonds and green olivine. COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS premieres March 9, 2020 on National Geographic. (Cosmos Studios)

TO CATCH A SMUGGLER
Thursdays at 10:00, from 12 March (ends 30 April)

124 million people enter the U.S.A. through this country’s airports each year. It’s a nonstop human tidal wave and hid amongst them are an endless stream of contraband and ill intentions. Defending the borders are the vigilant men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, whose agencies make up a three-tiered defense of America’s airports. Using every tool available to them, DHS will stop at nothing to catch a smuggler.

JFK Airport, Jamaica, NY: CBP Officer Chris Elias extracts a substance from one package to see if it tests positive for cocaine. (Photo Credit: National Geographic Television)

CAR SOS – S8
Tuesdays at 20:00 from 17 March (ends 19 May)

Making motoring dreams come true for an eighth season, award-winning Car SOS is back, and this time it’s bigger and better than ever. Everyone’s favourite petrol heads Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw continue their mission to seek out classic cars with deserving owners. Using all their guile and restoration knowledge, their aim is to sneak away clapped out classics without their owners knowing, then in a blizzard of grease and grime and hard graft, get the much-loved motors back where they deserve to be, on the road. In this series, the boys take on their biggest challenges ever. Chronic rust, hard to find parts and broken engines test the boys to their limits. Cars ranging across eight decades from a vintage tourer to a 1990s Japanese supercar, from an iconic German sports coupe to a very rare British rally winner, and, for their lucky owners, the surprise they will never forget. There will be tears, there will be laughter on this automotive rollercoaster and one thing is guaranteed – there will be some very beautiful cars.

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND – The Car SOS team of Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend reveal the finished Singer 9 Le Mans to the Pigg Family at Duxford Imperial War Museum.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Jon Scorer)

WOMEN OF IMPACT PROGRAMMING

The Cave
Sunday 8 March at 21:00

From Oscar-nominated director Feras Fayyad (“Last Men in Aleppo”) comes The Cave, a stirring portrait of courage, resilience and female solidarity. For besieged civilians in war-torn Syria, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where paediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above

Women of Impact (documentary)
Sunday 15 March at 21:00

It all starts with one question: How will you make the world a better place? From household names to rising stars, meet the women who are changing our world. The ground breaking documentary Women of Impact  features interviews with more than 40 boundary-breaking, history-making women including Sylvia Earle, Melinda Gates, Rae Wynn-Grant, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Jane Goodall, Dian Vossey, Jacinda Ardern and Beverly Joubert.

Akashinga, The Brave Ones
Sunday 22 March at 21:00

The women of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s all-female anti-poaching ranger unit, put over a hundred new recruits through an intense boot camp training selection to expand their efforts to protect elephants and other wildlife across Africa.

Diana: In her own words
Sunday 29 March at 21:00

In 1991, inside London’s Kensington Palace, Diana, Princess of Wales, participated in a series of secret interviews, recorded with her permission by a close friend on behalf of journalist Andrew Morton. Morton was writing a book about Diana’s life to reveal what life was really like for the most photographed woman in the world. The public was unaware that Diana, Princess of Wales’, marriage to HRH Prince of Wales was at a crisis point. Now, National Geographic Documentary Films reveals Diana’s thoughts and feelings at a very specific point in her life, presenting one side of a very complicated story, her side. Entirely in her voice, with no interviews, most of these unique recordings have never been broadcast before.

NEW SPECIALS

US Secret Service: On the Frontline: In the Line of Fire
1 March at 21:00

With unrivaled access, cameras go behind-the-scenes with the US Secret Service as they protect the President of the United States at home and abroad.

Buried Secrets of Cordoba
Friday 13 March at 20:00

Beneath Cordoba’s modern streets lie traces of the city’s long-forgotten history. Explorer Fabio Amador joins archaeologists as they use advanced technology to unearth the city’s buried mysteries.

Hitler’s Teen Killers
Tuesday 3 March at 21:00

Spring 1944. Some 20,000 Nazi teenagers face off against Allied forces. Despite their young age, the 12th SS Panzer Division sowed terror in its path.

Turkish Airlines Mega Move
Tuesday 31 March at 19:00

Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, the home of Turkish Airlines for decades, is about to close. Across town, a new state-of-the-art airport will begin operations but with flights in high demand, they have just 12 hours to move everything to their new home.

Chain of Command: Fighting Isis
Monday 16 March at 21:00

Chain of Command: Fighting ISIS is an intimate portrait of the battle against ISIS for the city of Mosul in Iraq. US troops work with Iraqi security forces to take back the city, block by block, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

CONTINUING SHOWS

RESCUED
Thursdays at 21:00, from 6 February 2020 (ends 12 March)

The gripping new series that does a 180 on the traditional survival genre. Telling dramatic real-life stories from across the globe using footage captured by the rescuers themselves. Putting the viewer into the heart of action for every second of the unfolding drama, and every heart-stopping twist and turn. Seeing through the rescuers’ eyes in real time as they put their own lives on the line saving others.

A helicopter rescuer at helicopter base. (National Geographic/Iona Feeder)

BRAIN GAMES
Fridays at 19:00, from 14 February 2020 (ends 3 April)

National Geographic has reimagined BRAIN GAMES and added a Hollywood twist to the classic mind-bending format. Hosted by Keegan-Michael Key (“Friends From College,” “Toy Story 4,” “Lion King”), world-famous mentalist Lior Surchard, and field correspondent and science communicator Cara Santa Maria, this new season of BRAIN GAMES challenges some of the world’s biggest celebrities to realize their special brain power through fun and highly entertaining interactive games, illusions and social experiments that will reveal the “why” behind the “wow.” The in-studio audience and the viewers at home can play along, comparing their mental abilities against those of the A-listers. Join in the fun as BRAIN GAMES reveals the incredible science of what makes our brains tick!

Ted Danson on the set of the new Brain Games with host Keegan-Michael Key.(National Geographic/Eric McCandless)

ULTIMATE SUPERCAR
Tuesdays at 19:00, from 18 February 2020 (ends 24 March)

Today’s high-end high-performance Supercars are an amazing combination of art and science. Super Car Build finds out how they do it and goes behind the scenes at some of the most legendary automotive marques to discover the hidden engineering secrets and keys to each machine’s success.

The Pagani Huayra Roadster on Track. (Cry Havoc Productions/Joe Valde)

RUNNING WILD WITH BEAR GRYLLS (10×60’)
Wednesdays at 21:00, from 22 January 2020 (ends 25 March)

Survivalist Bear Grylls returns to the wild with some of Hollywood’s most beloved celebrities for a new season of his outdoor adventure series. From Marvel superheroes to award winning entertainers, a new guest joins Bear each week for a no-holds-barred journey through some of the most extreme environments in the world. Together, they must rely on bush craft techniques to survive each dangerous location while pushing through both mental and physical limits to brave even the most challenging obstacles.

Sardinia, Italy – A portrait of Bear Grylls for National Geographic’s RUNNING WILD WITH BEAR GRYLLS. (National Geographic/Jeff Ellingson)

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb