Bertie Gregory (Animals Up Close, Secrets of the Penguins), the Emmy-winning British wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer, has taken nature TV fans through some of the most remote places on earth, from tracking emperor penguins in Antartica to chronicling pumas in Patagonia and following marine iguanas in the Galápagos. And now the nature expert is gearing up for one of his most audacious missions yet: jumping into the wild waters of South Africa—a hotspot for great white sharks—cage-free.
Spotlighting one of the ocean’s most famous and feared predators, Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory premieres tonight, July 5 at 8pm Eastern Time on National Geographic. (It will also be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu beginning tomorrow, July 6.) “Diving in the shallows without a cage, Bertie will attempt to film these huge sharks hunting seals,” reads the official series description, per Nat Geo. “By entering their domain, he discovers the challenges they face on our rapidly changing planet.”
“Everyone thinks that when you are trying to film a big, dangerous, scary predator, that you are constantly on the edge of running away,” Gregory told TV Insider ahead of tonight’s premiere. “That’s not true, especially with many species of sharks. You’ve got to sneak up on them and do everything on their terms.” The TV star added: “I want the viewer to feel like they’re on my shoulder.”
To tune into Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory, you’re going to need access to National Geographic. The Nat Geo cable channel is available through plenty of cable providers, so if you already have a plan, then you may already be able to watch it. If you’ve cut the cord, however, you can check the docuseries out via a live TV streaming service — Hulu with Live TV, Fubo, Sling TV (on its Blue plan), DirecTV and YouTube TV all offer Nat Geo in their channel line-ups, with Sling being the cheapest option. (Sling Blue starts at $45.99 per month or bundle it with Sling Orange for $60.99 per month.)
Check out the official trailer for Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory before tuning into the new National Geographic series tonight at 8pm ET.