A Preview of ‘Queens’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Still from ‘Queens’ Courtesy of Oscar Dewhurst/Disney/National Geographic.

It is definitely safe to say that documentaries have settled into a groove in the television landscape and understandably so. Because the formula for making a great and compelling documentary has been around for some time now, so why not follow that? Because no audience member out there has a problem being taken upon a journey with a particular species of animal or through a particular landscape in a manner that is educational and compelling through and through. But while that does indeed satisfy and while we do indeed learn, it has made nature documentaries somewhat sedentary at times, to the point where we know what to expect and anticipate from them. 
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Leaving one to wonder if by chance… there’s any way that the documentary can still offer up something refreshing and new and can spotlight aspects of our world we’ve never been privy to do before and well, it just so happens that, yes, documentaries certainly can, and for proof… look no further than a new documentary series that makes its debut on National Geographic next week, Queens. For this particular series really is unlike any other documentary series out there, and we here at NTG have had the opportunity to see it in advance and absolutely need to spotlight its wonder and majesty because of what it accomplishes (in a spoiler-free manner of course.)

Such as the fact that this is a documentary series that forges standard formula and thinking and is instead laser focused on one particular region at a time. Wherein it can carefully explore the life and times of specific families of animals, and really showcase the matriarch or ‘queen’ of the family. To understand how they lead and how they push their families forward. Which really is a refreshing way to explore the wonder of nature. Because we don’t often really get to see how leaders lead in the wild, or the struggles they go through to keep a family rolling, keep their young safe and that alone… makes for a refreshing take on this type of tale, one that has more wonder to offer.

Because this particular series also makes sure… to offer up a no holds barred look at nature and how it operates in the real world. Which means we are privy to some scary and harrowing moments a great deal of documentaries shy away from, but should not. For it is important to really see the world in the raw and understand how nature is chaos and a place where survival of the fittest rules the day. To give us a sense of awe and to make us thankful for the world we live in, and it also creates some compelling storytelling as well. The kind where we pull for these animals to make it, knowing full well… they might not. All of which creates a documentary that you simply cannot look away from. For you must know how each chapter will end and you must know if and how the matriarch you meet will accomplish the goals she’s set forth. 

Yet, while those two elements alone would be enough to keep our attention… since we don’t see a lot of stories about matriarchs in the world of documentaries, these stories also feel different, and focus on elements that aren’t traditional in the slightest and there’s good reason for that. Because the crew behind the camera are made up of women, and they opted to collectively examine what works and what could be better in this type of story and made incredibly bold choices that no other crew has ever made in assembling such stories. Giving rise to journeys that really do showcase new corners of the animal world and offer different perspectives through and through and are expressed to the audience via Angela Bassett, a true queen herself, and all of these elements make for one revolutionary documentary.

One that we are thankfully only days away from enjoying, since Queens arrives on National Geographic next Monday, March 4th at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST, and will stream on Hulu and Disney+ on March 5, and we here at NTG cannot wait for you to enjoy this fantastic new series, one that really does look at the world and it’s amazing matriarchs through a different lens. Nor can we wait to share our interviews with Director Faith Musembi, Directors of Photography, Justine Evans, Erin Ranney, and Sophie Darlington, and Series Composer and Photographer Morgan Kibby and Jen Guyton as we continue to count down the days to this important and pioneering series.

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