‘The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge’ will be a three-part series.
The Big Picture
-
The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge
is a wildlife reality competition show narrated by Rhys Darby, not a battle to the death. - Based on ‘Fat Bear Week,’ the show will feature bears competing against the elements as they pack on the pounds for winter hibernation.
- Darby, known for roles in
Flight of the Conchords
and
Our Flag Means Death
, will provide color commentary and exciting bear facts in the series.
Peacock is set to air the first ever wildlife reality competition show. The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge will be narrated by Rhys Darby. Unlike the namesake Hunger Games, however, the bears will mostly be competing against the elements, and not battling each other to the death. The series will be based on the popular “Fat Bear Week” tournament held by Katmai National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska that encourages viewers to choose their favorite fat bears as they pack on the pounds in preparation for the long, frigid Alaska winter. Deadline reports that the bears’ activities will be filmed and edited into the three-episode series, which will then be narrated by Flight of the Conchords star Darby with a combination of color commentary and exciting bear facts.
New Zealand comedian Darby broke out playing Murray Hewitt, the ineffectual manager of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords on their self-titled HBO series. He is a regular in the works of fellow Kiwi Taika Waititi, starring in his films What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Next Goal Wins. He recently starred opposite Waititi as pirate Stede Bonnet on Our Flag Means Death, which was canceled after two seasons on Max.
What is ‘Fat Bear Week’?
Every October, Katmai National Park holds Fat Bear Week, a week-long ‘competition’ which makes up a tournament bracket of the park’s resident bears, then invites participants to vote for their favorite bears to win as they gorge themselves on the park’s population of sockeye salmon. Bears can gain up to 500 pounds in the summer and fall as they prepare for hibernation, a process that can cost them up to a third of their weight as their body enters a state of suspended animation over the cold winter months. In 2021, the park introduced a secondary competition for the park’s bear cubs, Fat Bear Junior. In 2023, the tournament had 1.3 million participants worldwide; the competition helps draw attention to the park’s conservation efforts.
The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge is produced by Love Nature and Ample Entertainment. Alison Barrat and James Manfull executive produce for Love Nature; Ari Mark, Phil Lott, and David Brown executive produce for Ample Entertainment.
The Hungry Games: Alaska’s Big Bear Challenge will span three episodes, and will stream on Peacock; no release date has yet been set. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
This article was originally published on collider.com