The Best TV Shows on Animal Planet

Every Animal Planet Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Explore our list of the top rated shows up to date from July 2026 that includes over 20 unique series. Animal Planet has over 20 shows broadcast from as early as 1994 and as recent as 2018. For top-tier entertainment, Animal Planet delivered Jim Henson's Animal Show with Stinky and Jake and The Crocodile Hunter in 1994 and 1997.

  • Animal Cribs
    Animal Cribs (2017)10.0

    Antonio Ballatore, his project manager Grace, and his right hand-dog, Chewie the bulldog, along with a team of Catsperts and Barkitects, transform drab, cramped homes and outside areas into functional, high-style spaces for both pets and the people they love. Antonio's excitement for both design and animals drive him to go the extra mile for his clients and their four-legged, winged, and scaly friends. The newly designed spaces, renovated specifically for the homeowners and their pets, feature design elements that alter homes to become creative and purposeful spaces for all to enjoy. This season, viewers will see a cabin redesign for a family and their blind dog; a complete backyard renovation featuring a pet-safe fire-pit; a man-cave that can accommodate 20 pets; and a room design complete with a soaring sculptural cat climbing wall, among other design transformations.

  • Jim Henson's Animal Show with Stinky and Jake
    Jim Henson's Animal Show with Stinky and Jake (1994)9.5

    The show was hosted by Jake, a jovial polar bear, and Stinky, his skunk friend. Other main characters included Armstrong the Chicken Hawk, Ollie the Tapir, Bunnie Bear, Tizzy the Bee, Yves St. La Roache, Rhonda Rat, and Dullard the Aardvark. Structured as a talk show, the hosts interviewed two guest animals in each episode. The animals talked about themselves and showed clips of their real-life counterparts.

  • The Crocodile Hunter Diaries
    The Crocodile Hunter Diaries (2002)9.0

    Discover Steve and Terri Irwin's life at the Australia Zoo and the incredible stories that unfold in front of the camera. From the birth of their daughter Bindi, to the amazing operations as they treat the wildest, most outrageous animals on the planet.

  • Human Prey
    Human Prey (2009)8.7

    A police officer comes face to face with an angry bull. A ferocious grizzly bear brutally devastates a family hiking in Montana. An Australian diver suddenly finds himself inside the deadly jaws of a great white shark. Recounting bone-chilling attacks by some of the world’s most lethal predators, Human Prey presents harrowing true stories of people who were attacked by wild animals...and lived to tell the tale.

  • Monkey Business
    Monkey Business (1997)8.3

    Monkey Business is a long-running TV series about the exploits of various primates who reside at Monkey World, a rescue centre and sanctuary for primates in Dorset, United Kingdom. The series features Jim and Dr. Alison Cronin, directors of Monkey World, as they travel around the world rescuing primates from lives of abuse, and returning them to Monkey World. Their goal is to rehabilitate the rescued primates and allow them to live in as natural a habitat as possible, being part of a group and living with friends of their own kind.

  • Life Force
    Life Force (2010)8.3

    Extraordinary show that reveals how forces of nature through sheer power of evolution shaped life in all it's unexpected and glorious forms, and filled our planet with amazing diversity of animals and plants.

  • Monsters Inside Me
    Monsters Inside Me (2009)8.2

    Part horror movie, part medical detective story, find out what happens when people fall prey to an infection from a parasite, those nasty microscopic creatures found in water, soil and even in the air. Victims' stories are retold, including how doctors and scientists attempt to unravel each case before it's too late. Biologist Dan Riskin, assisted by doctors and experts who witnessed each case, leads the scientific discussion about each parasite.

  • Too Cute
    Too Cute (2011)8.2

    Witness the miracle of cute, from a kitten's first tentative steps, to a puppy's first call to the wild. The first few months of their lives are an adorable adventure. These furry friends are simply too loveable, too curious, too cute!

  • Pet Star
    Pet Star (2002)7.9

    Pet Star was a show on Animal Planet hosted by Mario Lopez. The show is a contest between owners and their trained pets who perform tricks. The tricks are graded by three celebrity judges on a scale of one to 10. In the end, the three pets with the highest score come out as finalists, and the audience votes on who is the episode's Pet Star. Then, at the end of the season, the winners compete to be the year's ULTIMATE PET STAR. The winner of a regular show gets $2,500, while the winner of the finals gets $25,000. There were many celebrity judges, including Gena Lee Nolin, Virginia Madsen, Will Estes, Lindsay Wagner, Matt Gallant, Mackenzie Phillips, Billy West, James Avery, George Wallace, Melissa Peterman, Christopher Rich, John O'Hurley, Vanessa Lengies, Dom Irrera, Carol Leifer, Andy Kindler, Melissa Rivers, Meshach Taylor, Kaley Cuoco, Rosa Blasi, Jeff Cesario, Karri Turner, Peter Scolari, Bruce Jenner, Fred Willard, Shari Belafonte, Josh Meyers, Lori Petty, Ben Stein, Richard Jeni, Ken Howard, Paul Gilmartin, Maria Menounos, Tempestt Bledsoe, David Brenner and Amy Davidson. Pet Star is based on the show Star Search. It is shown in the United Kingdom on Challenge.

  • Crikey! It's the Irwins
    Crikey! It's the Irwins (2018)7.9

    Follow Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin as they run the extraordinary Australia Zoo in the bushlands of northern Australia. Caring for over 1,200 animals, overseeing a world-class wildlife hospital, and conducting high-octane global conservation expeditions, the Irwins’ lives are full of adventure, fueled by their love of animals and passion for protecting them.

  • Animal Precinct
    Animal Precinct (2001)7.7

    Animal Precinct is an American documentary reality television series that originally aired from June 26, 2001, to February 4, 2008, on Animal Planet. Set in New York City, the series follows the animal cruelty agents of the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Division as they work as advocates for the five million pets and other animals in New York City, sometimes removing them from dangerous situations and pursuing arrests of those who have been accused of being cruel to animals. The show was filmed locally by crews from Anglia Television, edited in the UK and shown on Discovery Channel networks worldwide.

  • The Crocodile Hunter
    The Crocodile Hunter (1997)7.6

    Australian host Steve Irwin and his wife Terri run a wildlife refuge. Their shared passion is educating the world about wildlife, including the much feared crocodile and numerous venomous snakes. Steve's specialty is the capture and relocation of crocodiles. No animal appears too threatening to Steve, his true respect for animals is the foundation for everything he does.

  • Meerkat Manor
    Meerkat Manor (2005)7.6

    Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008. Blending more traditional animal documentary style footage with dramatic narration, the series told the story of the Whiskers, one of more than a dozen families of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert being studied as part of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, a long-term field study into the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of the cooperative nature of meerkats. The original programme was narrated by Bill Nighy, with the narration redubbed by Mike Goldman for the Australian airings and Sean Astin for the American broadcasts. The fourth series, subtitled The Next Generation, saw Stockard Channing replacing Astin as the narrator in the American dubbing.

  • Tanked
    Tanked (2011)7.6

    Following the antics of two brothers-in-law as they run the largest aquarium manufacturing company in the nation, Tanked dunks viewers into the high-decibel, family-owned business of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM). Led by business partners, best friends and constant rivals Wayde King and Brett Raymer, this 13,000 square foot facility, located in Las Vegas, produces some of the most outrageous, larger-than-life and one-of-a-kind tanks for some of the most striking fish and clients around.

  • River Monsters
    River Monsters (2009)7.4

    Extreme angler Jeremy Wade is on the hunt for fish with a taste for human flesh. This rip-roaring ride mixes action and adventure with mysteries, edge-of-the-seat chase and a battle of wills between man and nature.

  • My Cat from Hell
    My Cat from Hell (2011)7.4

    From cats that break up relationships to violent felines that put their owners in the hospital, cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy has seen it all. Follow Jackson as he brings his unique understanding of cats to desperate families on the verge of giving up on their furry companions.

  • North Woods Law
    North Woods Law (2012)7.3

    Follow Maine's elite Game Wardens as they navigate the Pine Tree State's rugged terrain and twisted back roads. Each Autumn brings the hunting season, the Warden's busiest and most dangerous time of year. These 'State Police of the Woods' never know what to expect from one moment to the next.

  • Treehouse Masters
    Treehouse Masters (2013)6.8

    People who know and work with Pete Nelson describe him as a tree whisperer. For his part, Nelson lets the trees do the talking. He's a world-renowned treehouse designer and builder, and this series documents the work he and his team of craftsmen—including his son Charlie—do to create incredible homes and businesses in nature's canopy. Pete uses a combination of science and art to realize clients' sky-high aspirations of magnificent multi-bedroom treehouses with elaborate kitchens and bathrooms, or simpler, peaceful one-room escapes. Other backyard escapes featured in the series include a spa retreat, a brewery, and a honeymoon suite. "We awaken that inner child who dreams of living among the trees," Pete says.

  • Orangutan Island
    Orangutan Island (2007)6.5

    Orangutan Island is an American documentary television series, in the style of the successful series Meerkat Manor, that blends more traditional documentary filming with dramatic narration. The series was produced by NHNZ with creator Judith Curran also acting as the series producer. Animal Planet's Martha Ripp is the executive producer of the series, and Lone Drøscher Nielsen of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the founder and manager of the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project, regularly appears with the orangutans in the show. The series premiered on Animal Planet on November 2, 2007, with new episodes airing Friday nights. A second season began airing in November 2008. The show focuses on a group of orphaned orangutans at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Center that are raised to go against their normally independent nature and instead cooperate and live together in a society so they can be left to live wild on their protected island.

  • Lost Tapes
    Lost Tapes (2008)6.2

    Lost Tapes is an American television horror series that aired on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents found footage depicting traumatic encounters with cryptozoological creatures, including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot, and even supernatural creatures such as the Werewolf and Vampire, and extraterrestrials: Alien and Reptilian. The pilot aired on Animal Planet October 30, 2008 for Halloween, but the series officially premiered on January 6, 2009. Animal Planet commissioned a second season, which premiered on September 29, 2009. Season 3 premiered on September 28, 2010, with episodes featuring zombies and the Kraken. The show also used to air on Planet Green.