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Science

Walking with Dinosaurs

2025SeriesStephen Cooter / Tom Hewitson / Owen Gower
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Fossil discoveries become reconstructed life stories

The 2025 Walking with Dinosaurs reimagines the landmark series through six individual dinosaur stories. Narrated by Bertie Carvel, the BBC Studios production for BBC and PBS is co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions. Each episode connects a fossil discovery with a dramatic reconstruction of the animal's life and environment.

The Orphan follows a young Triceratops whose remains are being uncovered in Montana. The River Dragon turns to Spinosaurus, while Band of Brothers follows young armoured Gastonia pursued by Utahraptor. The programme uses CGI to build these narratives around paleontological evidence, giving the animals individual stories without presenting the reconstructed action as directly observed footage.

Predation, migration and life within a group

The Pack centres on an Albertosaurus and the challenge of earning a place among other hunters. The Journey North moves to a Pachyrhinosaurus herd, drawing on a major discovery of remains found together. Across the episodes, the questions shift from solitary vulnerability to the risks and advantages of moving, feeding and surviving in groups.

The series also includes a Lusotitan in ancient Portugal, extending its range beyond North American sites. Its defining structure is the movement between present-day excavation and imagined prehistoric life: the bones establish a scientific starting point, while visual effects and natural-history storytelling explore the world those animals might have inhabited.

Episodes

S01 · E01

The Orphan

Sixty-six million years ago, an orphaned baby triceratops roamed the lush world of Laramidia, alone and vulnerable. Stalked by the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, the youngster relied on her wits and diminutive size to survive. Today, paleontologists in Montana are uncovering her fossils, allowing us to imagine her life and the dangers she faced. Stunning VFX recreate her encounters, from escaping a giant pterosaur to a heart-stopping face-off with T. rex, bringing her story vividly to life.

S01 · E02

The River Dragon

North Africa, 100 million years ago. A Spinosaurus father must embark on a dangerous voyage to feed his babies. To reach the destination, he must lead his young family across one of the deadliest environments in earth's history: a land crawling with ferocious predators. At the end of their journey, an extraordinary feast awaits - if he can run the gauntlet without his babies becoming someone else's meal.

S01 · E03

Band of Brothers

Utah, 130 million years ago. A band of armoured dinosaurs battle to reach adulthood, pursued by some of the most formidable predators that have ever lived: utahraptors. It's a deadly game of cat and mouse that pits heavy armour against vicious claws and lethal cunning; a life-and-death struggle that builds to a final showdown amongst the flames of a burning forest.

S01 · E04

The Pack

Seventy-one million years ago lived a teenage Albertosaurus - a faster, nimbler relative of T. rex. She had to earn her place in a deadly, ferocious pack or risk starvation. Today, palaeontologists in western Canada are unearthing her remains, allowing us to imagine her story. Based on real-world evidence, stunning VFX recreate her encounters, from hunting pterosaurs to fighting the dominant matriarch and battling for survival in the brutal late Cretaceous world.

S01 · E05

The Journey North

Based on an unprecedented discovery deep in the forested mountains of Alberta, Canada, this episode tells the epic tale of a Pachyrhinosaurus herd, one of the largest dinosaur groups that ever lived, through the eyes of its young member, Albie. A pack of Gorgosaurus stalks the herd. Palaeontologists unearth the remains of hundreds of Pachyrhinosaurus, a relative of Triceratops, discovered together.

S01 · E06

Island of Giants

The tale of one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the earth, a colossal, long-necked Lusotitan. Living 150 million years ago on an island known as the Iberian Mesta, now in Portugal, this 25-metre-long titan dwarfs every other dinosaur in the region. Yet its intimidating size is only part of the story. The ultimate goal of the male of the species is to win over a female and secure his legacy. It's a quest that sees him embark on an epic journey as he risks his life for love.

Episode descriptions: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0

Film details

Format
Documentary series
Release year
2025
Premiere date
2025-05-25
Director
Stephen Cooter, Tom Hewitson, Owen Gower
Production companies
BBC Studios Science Unit
Language
English
Narrator
Bertie Carvel
Episode runtime
49 min

Catalogue information: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0