The Worst Episodes of Life on Our Planet

Evolution. Competition. Mass extinction. Three fundamental rules have driven the rise and fall of life on Earth for over four billion years.

Director: Adam Chapman

Writer: Adam Chapman

For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.

Director: Gisle Sverdrup

Writer: Dan Tapster

Emerging from the dinosaurs' shadows, mammals went from underdogs to global power, with game-changing adaptations that would conquer land, air and sea.

Director: Adam Chapman

Writer: Adam Chapman

Sprawling moss, towering trees, flying insects, limbed amphibians: Early species vied for domination as the land went from hostile to hospitable.

Director: Sophie Lanfear

Writer: Sophie Lanfear

After Earth's third mass extinction, mammals' surviving ancestors ruled the supercontinent Pangea. But lizards soon ushered in the age of reptiles.

Director: Barny Revill

Writer: Barny Revill

The dinosaurs met their end with a cataclysmic asteroid impact. Rising from the ashes, birds reinvented themselves into a dynasty 10,000 species strong.

Director: Nick Shoolingin-Jordan

Writer: Nick Shoolingin-Jordan

As the Ice Age thawed, humans rose above the rest. But the possibility of a sixth mass extinction now looms: Has our ingenuity caused our downfall?

Director: Sophie Lanfear

Writer: Sophie Lanfear

The formation of continents with varied environments allowed for an explosion of biodiversity — and turbo-charged the evolution of mighty dinosaurs.

Director: Barny Revill

Writer: Barny Revill