Netflix has released the first trailer for its upcoming nature documentary miniseries Our Great National Parks, and it features a surprising new cast member. Former president Barack Obama, whose Higher Ground Productions will produce the series alongside Freeborne Media, will also host and narrate the five-episode series.
The former president founded Higher Ground with his wife and former first lady Michelle Obama in 2018. The company’s productions have been nominated for and won several Academy Awards, including Best Documentary Feature for their 2019 film American Factory.
Higher Ground announced in 2021 that it’s working with Netflix on a slate of educational and informative programming, including since-aired series like Ada Twist, Scientist and Waffles + Mochi. Our Great National Parks was also announced a year ago, but Obama’s involvement as narrator was not revealed.
Obama was already executive producing the series alongside Tonia Davis (Waffles + Mochi) and James Honeyborne (Blue Planet II). Documentary filmmaker Sophie Todd is the series producer.
The trailer comes alongside an announcement for the conservation and educational initiative Wild For All, a collaboration between the Wildlife Conservation Society, Higher Ground, and Freeborne Media’s social initiatives team Freeborne Impact, that aims to “encourage more people to experience the wonders of nature, and to take steps to protect the world’s wildlife and wild spaces.”
The initiative launches alongside Our Great National Parks, which premiers on Netflix on April 13.
