National Geographic will launch a new series on National Parks while bringing back several series including Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted and Running wild with Bear Grylls as part of its 2021-22 programming season. 

The network has tapped Garth Brooks to narrate its National Parks history-themed series which will showcase the grandeur of America’s national parks, said the network during its upfront presentation Tuesday.

The network also announced that it will launch its 10th annual Sharfest event, which will take place in summer of 2022. Also on the network’s schedule is the November return of The Hot Zone scripted series franchise. The six-part The Hot Zone: Anthrax will focus on the events around the 2001 anthrax letters attack. The series stars Daniel Dae Kim and Tony Goldwyn.

New shows include The 80’s Top Ten focusing on the decade’s top pop culture events, and Brain Games on The Road, an extension of the network’s Brain Games franchise that will originate from different venues, giving average Americans the chance to test their brainpower. 

Nat Geo series renewals include Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Running Wild With Bear Grylls, Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller and Life Below Zero.  The network will also bring back Explorer as a series of specials in partnership with ABC News, featuring Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. 

On the Nat Geo Wild front, the network has renewed six series as part of its 2021-22 programming season, including The incredible Dr. Pol, Critter Fixers: Country Vets, Dr.Oakley, Yukon Vet, Heartland Docs, DVM, Secrets of the Zoo Columbus and Secrets of the Zoo Tampa, according to network officials.

In addition, the network also announced Vet Appreciation Week, a week-long event dedicated to the professionals improving the health and welfare of animals. 

National Geographic announced an ambitious slate of non-fiction series featuring the return of factual series Brain Games, the network announced during Disney’s upfront presentation Tuesday morning.

Brain Games, which ran on Nat Geo from 2011-2016, will bring a Hollywood twist to the classic format in which celebrities look to realize their brain power through entertaining, interactive games, illusion and social experiments, according to the network. Actor/producer Keegan-Michael Key will host the series, which will feature as its first celebrities The first five celebrities confirmed are: Kristin Bell (The Good Place), Dax Shepherd (Bless This Mess), Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans Saints), Rebel Wilson (The Hustle), and Anthony Anderson (Blackish), according to Nat Geo. 

The network has also greenlit a new eight-part competition series Race to the Center of The Earth, in which four teams are pitted against one another in a nonstop sprint across the globe for a $1 million prize. The series is produced The Amazing Race producers Bertram Van Munster and Elise Doganieri.

Also, the network in 2020 will feature a live series that will take viewers to the Alaskan frontier. Alaska Live will utilize more than 25 cameras and 180 crew members to such Alaskan attractions as Kenai Fjords National Park, Prince William Sound, Katmai National Park, Bristol Bay and Tongass National Forest.

Other new series in development include China’s Hidden Kingdoms, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Gordon Ramsay: Unchartered New Episodes, Lost Cities With Albert Lin, Trafficked With MAriana Van Zeller and Race to The Center of The Earth.

The shows join the previously announced scripted series Genius: Aretha, based on the life of R&B singer Aretha Franklin.

National Geographic will team with famed director Ridley Scott on a new scripted series, part of several new scripted and documentary series announced Wednesday as part of the network's “further front” presentation in New York. 

New scripted series include The Hot Zone, based on the international bestseller by Richard Preston and executive produced by Ridley Scott, which  recounts the true story of the Ebola virus, said network officials.

The Hot Zone joins the previously announced, Silicon Valley-themed series Valley of the Boom as new shows on the network’s scripted series lineup, which also includes returning series Genius -- which Wednesday was renewed for a third season that will focus on Frankenstein author Mary Shelly -- and Mars, which will return for its sophomore campaign later this year.

Other scripted series in development include Hidden Figures, an anthology series inspired by the Oscar-nominated movie that profiles people whose contributions to science, technology and innovation have been overlooked by history; The White House Detail, an inside look at the personal and professional lives of U.S.Secret Service agents; and Ten Borders, a six-part limited series centered on five unrelated individuals who are inexorably pulled into one another’s lives through the mass exodus of humanity from war torn Syria to the safe refuge of Sweden. 

Among the network’s new documentary series are Hostile Planet, a six-part series that focuses on the world’s most extreme environments to reveal the animal kingdom’s most epic stories of survival, and In Their Words, which chronicles high-profile events through vintage audio and film recordings. Among the topics explored in the series include the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the narco drug wars and the 2008 global financial crisis.

Another show, Chain Of Command: Secret Service, chronicles the exploits of the agency that protects the president of the United States, said Nat Geo.

National Geographic will also develop several live projects, including Brain Games Live, based on the Emmy-nominated show; and Yellowstone Live, a four-day event that showcased the best of the National Park’s wildlife in real time,

Other specials include Mission to the Sun and Apollo 50 Anniversary, said the network.

The new shows and specials will join returning series Cosmos: Possible Worlds; The Story Of God With Morgan Freeman; Explorer: Life Below Zero; StarTalk; Wicked Tuna and Wicked Tuna Outer Banks.

“National Geographic has become the destination for the best-in-class creatives, who want to partner with us on big, bold premium and entertaining content,” said Courteney Monroe, CEO, National Geographic Global Networks in a statement. “Our upfront slate is evidence that our transformation is truly taking hold and reaffirms our commitment to amplify important topics that matter, to create dialogue and to use the power of storytelling to change the world.” 

National Geographic Channels is partnering with GE on a new science anthology series, Breakthrough, executive produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer among others, highlighting the 2015-16 upfront slate. NGC CEO Courteney Monroe, president Tim Pastore and other executives and talent presented the programming plans for Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild at a gathering at Má Pêche in New York today (April 15). They also celebrated that Nat Geo Channel's distribution had topped 90 million homes (see photo). The upfront event comes shortly after the channel had its most-watched program ever, Killing Jesus, which premiered last month.

Breakthrough, about huge achievements in science, will feature celebrity directors Angela Bassett, Peter Berg, Paul Giamatti (who attended the event), Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard and Brett Ratner. The initial topics will be brain science, longevity, water, energy, pandemics and cyborg technology breakthroughs, NGC said. Other new series on tap are 50 States Of Survival;Primal Survival;The Great Human Race (an adventure challenge show) and The Yard, about shipbuilding operations.

Returning series include Life Below Zero, Drugs Inc., Wicked Tuna, Live Free Or Die and Brain Games. StarTalk, the new talk show hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson that's set to debut next week, will return in the fall with 10 more episodes, NGC said.

Events on the slate include Saints & Strangers -- a miniseries about the Mayflower pilgrims -- America's National Parks and History Of The World... For Now, from the writers of HBO's Silicon Valley.

New series coming to Nat Geo Wild include Vet School, set at Cornell University's veterinary teaching hospital, and Animal Storm Squad, about first responders who go after trapped and injured pets following a natural disaster. Returning series are: The Incredible Dr. Pol; Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet; Dr. K's Exotic Animal ER and Cesar 911 (with Cesar Millan). "Big Cat Week," "Barkfest II" and "Sharkfest" will be among the events on tap.

Photo: National Geographic Channels CEO Courteney Monroe, President Tim Pastore, Brain Games host Jason Silva and Life Below Zero star Sue Aikens celebrate that National Geographic Channel is now in 91 million homes at upfront on April 15 at Má Pêche in NYC. Credit: Scott Gries for National Geographic Channels.