Parenthood

“This is wonderful, spectacular, premium camerawork, as ever, Attenborough’s chocolatey narration second to none. From the gorilla tenderly cradling her baby just like a human to the female burrowing owl sending her partner off to find a suitable home and inspecting it with a miffed ‘I suppose it will have to do’ look on her face, it is hard to resist anthropomorphising.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The five-part programme, combining the exquisite narration from Sir David Attenborough and sublime visual storytelling we’ve come to expect from this kind of affair, charts the challenges of child-rearing for a broad breadth of species across the animal kingdom.”
Helen Coffey, The Independent

“Using footage from 58 shoots undertaken in 23 countries, the BBC says this is its first wildlife documentary focusing on parenthood and parenting behaviours rather than on animal young. If the script isn’t always the sharpest – ‘parenthood is a journey like no other,’ Attenborough says at one point – it really doesn’t matter when the visuals are this good.”
Neil Armsttong, The i

“The opening shots set us up for a show that offers BBC1 natural history in a cuter, less spectacular and groundbreaking mode than the channel’s classic shows – but the suspicion that it may not have anything fresh to impart is soon dispelled.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“There is nothing here we haven’t seen before – or that’s how it feels, anyway. We’ve been spoilt over the years by top-quality nature programming. The series is mostly family fare, and more anthropomorphised than the landmark shows that remain Attenborough’s high-water mark.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph