What better way to celebrate Women’s History Month than with the fiercest queens of the animal kingdom. The wildest places on the planet have always been home to powerful leaders, but this is a story of a new hero – fierce, smart, resilient and … female.
As seen in the exclusive clip above, titled ‘She Who Inherits the Crown,’ in hyena society it’s the youngest daughter who inherits the crown. But Zora is too young and that leaves an opening for Aisha Malia’s younger sister. Family loyalty is no match for Aisha’s personal ambition as Maia’s position weakens Aisha and her daughters are gaining support, she has her sister’s crown in her sights.
QUEENS features matriarchies and female leaders around the world to tell a story of sacrifice and resilience but also of friendship and love. These QUEENS aren’t always kind or gentle, letting nothing come between them and the success and safety of their families.
Guided by award-winning actress Angela Bassett’s powerful narration, QUEENS brings the natural world into focus through the female lens for the very first time. Four years in the making and helmed by a female-led production team from around the world – groundbreaking in the natural history space – the seven-part series leverages cutting-edge technology to reveal surprising insights into how females in the natural world rise to power, often relying on cooperation and wisdom over brute strength to get ahead. The final episode of the series celebrates the women who have gone to the ends of the Earth and dedicated their lives to documenting and protecting animal queens. We don’t call her Mother Nature for nothing. All hail … the QUEENS.
“With QUEENS, National Geographic challenges a historical bias in wildlife storytelling that favors masculine societies,” says Janet Han Vissering, senior vice president of development and production, National Geographic. “The assembly of first-ever women-led production team will bring a new perspective to telling these intimate narratives. Scientifically, women score higher for emotional and social intelligence, so it will be fascinating to see how the team will read relationships to underscore the nuances of how female-bonded societies operate.”
Each episode devotes itself to discovering just why the title of queen is so coveted and tenuous. While getting to the top signifies power, holding rank is far from easy. Every day brings challenges – and challengers – to a queen’s rule. How she remains dominant depends on individual personality, loyalty, cooperation, politics, strength and fate.
QUEENS premieres March 4th on National Geographic and March 5th on Disney+ and Hulu.
