Traversing seven continents

‘Seven World’s, One Planet’ will premiere on January 13

Scott Alexander is the writer and producer of series like ‘American Crime Story’, ‘Big Eyes’ and ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt’. Scott has now produced ‘Seven World’s, One Planet’, a show that has been shot across seven continents. It captures the colourful landscapes of South America, the scorching heat of Africa and some incredible animals. The show will premiere on January 13 on Sony BBC Earth. In an interview with Metrolife, Scott shares his experience of shooting in challenging terrains.

How did the idea of the show take shape?

The idea came to us four years ago. There have been shows like this but none of them is covered continent by continent.

It is a fascinating story: 200 million years ago, all the continents were joined together.

Then they started to break apart and each fragmented land went its own separate way, eventually creating these seven unique and distinct continents. And
each one has its own characteristics, wildlife and landscapes.

Some memorable moments during the shoot?

I enjoyed shooting in South America with the pumas. We we were trying to film a successful puma hunt. It’s something that we have tried to film many times before but we never managed to do it. This time we were following a puma and its cubs. We also kept pace with her for the entire duration and this sequence is in some stunning locations. It took us many weeks, but we finally got that shot.

Why do you think shows like this interest people?

I think people have a fascination for the natural world. And people connect with their continents, of course. I feel that this interest in where they live and the fact that we are still finding new stories is the reason that will make people enjoy watching the show.

What will one get to see on the show ?

One will see the rich and wonderful diversity of these seven continents. We have tried to find out as many new stories as possible, in new locations.

For example, we have filmed some great hunting and kangaroo scenes in Australia that have never been successfully filmed before. We also discovered a new species of spiders. Apart from this, we have also shown the familiar animals that everyone knows and loves.

Would you call this an adventure show or entertainment?

This show, I would say, is a wildlife behaviour show because one will get to see parts of the world that you might never see. So it is entertaining and enjoyable at the same time. We have also made it educational and factual. The entire idea of the show will be to entertain, educate and inform.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I grew up in the countryside. I have always lived in the midst of greenery and have loved the environment.

I never get bored of that and the fact that we can still find new stories -- this is an incredible inspiration for me.