Stream of the Day
‘Kingdom’ explores Zambia’s wildlife battleground
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the series follows rival predator families competing for survival.
A new wildlife series called Kingdom follows four apex predator families clashing in a fiercely contested region in Zambia.
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the six-part documentary was filmed over five years in the Nsefu sector of South Luangwa National Park. The show premiered last week (16 March 2026) on BBC Earth (DStv Channel 184). Episodes release Mondays and are available on DStv Catch Up.
The series combines scientific research with cinematic filmmaking. The team captured new behaviours using advanced long-lens systems, drones, thermal imaging and remote camera traps. These include wild dogs attempting to rescue a pack member from a crocodile, as well as intimate shifts in power among individually identified lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs.
At the heart Kingdom, produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, are four powerful female leaders:
- Olimba – a solitary leopard mother, raising her cubs in hostile territory.
- Storm – a determined wild dog queen whose arrival destabilises the existing order.
- Rita – a lioness rebuilding her pride after devastating losses.
- Tenta – a formidable hyena matriarch defending her clan’s position in the hierarchy.
“I want audiences to witness the determination of these animals to do what it takes to survive and to protect their families,” says executive producer Mike Gunton. “In many ways, their lives reflect our own, marked by challenge, resilience and constant decision-making. Every day, they face intense life-or-death choices, and there is something profoundly uplifting in that.”
Filmed over more than 1,400 days, Kingdom is the longest continuous single-location shoot in the history of the BBC Studios Natural History Unit. The production involved more than 170 contributors, including over 90 local Zambian crew members and wildlife experts, reinforcing the importance of African voices in telling African wildlife stories.
Set within one of Africa’s most biodiverse ecosystems, the documentary highlights the fragile balance between predator populations, territory and environmental change.
