BBC America Is Doubling Its Nature Documentary Time to Help Us Relax

If staying at home scrolling endlessly through Instagram can make your world feel small, a reminder of the vastness of nature and all its diverse creatures can help open it up again. Through an initiative called Wonderstruck, BBC America has been airing nature documentaries all day on Saturdays. Now, Wonderstruck will be airing all day on Thursdays as well.

Wonderstruck’s expansion, says BBCA executive directory Courtney Thomasa, according to Vulture, is a “response to this unique moment of social distancing and limited access to the outside world.” 

“We have seen firsthand the incredible benefits of nature programing in reducing anxiety, promoting awe and inspiration, and facilitating feelings of interconnectedness, especially during times of anxiety and uncertainty,” she said. “We can’t imagine a moment where these benefits are more needed than now.”

BBC America also hopes that airing Wonderstruck on Thursdays will provide a useful tool for homeschooling. “Toward that end, the BBCA/Wonderstruck marketing team has crafted interstitial vignettes featuring facts and trivia about the natural world,” writes Vulture.

If you don’t have cable, Wonderstrucktv.com offers a sample of the channel’s programming. You can watch clips and selected full episodes of Wonderstruck shows like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Chimp Sanctuary, and Nature’s Weirdest Events. 

The featured clips on the homepage are full of adorable babies (sea otter, tiger, lion, owl), and some have themed names like “cure boredom” and “ASMR” (we recommend “need a laugh,” a video of romping stoats that look like they belong in a Beatrix Potter book).

Check out the Wonderstruck website here.