Disney has released a trailer for the upcoming National Geographic documentary series, “Underdogs”, which highlights animals’ hidden talents, their unconventional hygiene choices, and their unsavoury courtship rituals. The show celebrates the unique behaviours of the animals who don’t usually get to be the stars of the show.

Each episode of the five-part series showcases a different aspect of these underdogs’ bizarre mating strategies, surprising superpowers, deception, dubious parenting skills, and gross-out behaviours. “Underdogs” features a range of never-before-filmed scenes, including the first time a film crew has ever entered a special cave in New Zealand – a huge cavern that glows brighter than a bachelor pad under a black light thanks to the glowing butts of millions of mucus-coated grubs. All over the world, overlooked superstars like this are out there 24/7, giving it maximum effort and keeping the natural world in working order for all those showboating polar bears, sharks and gorillas.

“Underdogs” is narrated by Ryan Reynolds, who is also an executive producer on the show, as his production company, Maximum Effort, has produced the show with Wildstar Films.  Ryan said in a statement regarding the new show:

“Getting to work with National Geographic on UNDERDOGS was a dream come true—mostly because I can finally watch a project of ours with my children. Technically, they saw “Deadpool & Wolverine” but I don’t think they absorbed much while covering their eyes and ears and screaming for two hours.  We’re so proud to elevate the unsung heroes of the natural world to the top of the entertainment food chain and can’t wait for everyone to see.”

With stunning imagery from the world’s leading wildlife cinematographers and music by multiple award-winning composer Harry Gregson-Williams (“Shrek,” “The Martian,” “Gladiator 2”), “Underdogs” is edgy and informative. It’s the unexpected superhero blockbuster of the summer that celebrates the oddballs and outcasts while highlighting remarkable survival techniques, mental resilience, and exceptional instincts. “Underdogs (Original Series Soundtrack),” which will consist of Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, will be released on Hollywood Records on June 13 and will be available everywhere you listen to music. Global rock superstars Green Day wrote the original theme song for the series, which is featured in the trailer. Green Day’s deluxe edition of their latest album, “Saviors,” includes seven newly added tracks, including the “Underdogs”  theme song “Underdog.” “Saviors (édition de luxe)” is available everywhere you listen to music.

Check out the “Underdogs” trailer below:

National Geographic’s “Underdogs” premieres June 15th 2025 at 9/8c, simulcast on ABC, and it will be available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.     It’s also been confirmed “Underdogs” will be released on Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand on June 16th 2025.   The series will broadcast in the UK on the Nat Geo Wild channel at 9:00PM on 18th June and it will be available to stream from 16th June on Disney+.

Episodes include the following:

• “Superzeroes” Premieres June 15 at 9/8c on National Geographic
  Ryan Reynolds assembles a team of “Superzeroes,” apparently pathetic animals with unexpectedly awesome superpowers. Forget about the cheetah’s speed, the eagle’s eyesight or the elephant’s brute strength, and say hello to the invisible glass frog, the indestructible honey badger and the pistol shrimp who can fire bubbles that are as hot as the surface of the sun.
• “Terrible Parents” premieres June 15 at 9:54/8:54c on National Geographic
  Ryan Reynolds reveals some highly questionable parenting strategies from the animal kingdom’s worst parents, the underdogs. From a goose who lays their eggs on the top of a cliff to a koala that feeds its baby poop, it’s uncertain if they are bad parents or just misunderstood. But no matter how bad you think you may be at parenting, you can’t be as bad as these guys.
• “Sexy Beasts” Premieres June 22 at 9/8c on National Geographic
  Forget the birds and the bees, Ryan reveals the steps to finding “the one,” underdog-style. From the “first attraction” in giant-nosed proboscis monkeys to the importance of wingmen in turkey courtship to foreplay in flying foxes, these guys have re-written the rule book on messy and complicated relationships.
• “The Unusual Suspects” premieres June 22 at 9:53/8:53c
  Ryan Reynolds puts the spotlight on the underdogs who get ahead by sneaky tactics. From the master-of-disguise frogfish to a butt-biting jackal and a multi-headed caterpillar playing the decoy, these are the masters of deception and deceit. And bringing all these hustlers together is the greatest con artist of them all—a cunning macaque who feeds on the spoils from unsuspecting tourists.
• “Total Grossout” Premieres June 29 at 9/8c on National Geographic
  Ryan gives his unique take on the animals who use gross-out tactics to achieve their goals, from defending their home to finding a mate and wining at the game of life. His cast includes manatees that use flatulence to control their buoyancy and cave-dwelling fungus gnats that create beautiful, illuminated fly traps from the mucus lit by their bioluminescent butts.

“Underdogs” is produced by Wildstar, a Fremantle company, in partnership with Maximum Effort for National Geographic. For Wildstar, Mark Linfield, Vanessa Berlowitz and Dan Rees are executive producers. For Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds, George Dewey, Ashley Fox and Patrick Gooing are executive producers; Sophia Travaglia and Molly Milstein are producers. Polly Billam serves as co-series producer and writer. For National Geographic, Tracy Rudolph Jackson is the executive producer, Janet Han Vissering is senior vice president of Production, Charlie Parsons is the senior vice president of Development, Bengt Anderson is the executive producer and senior vice president of Unscripted Production, and Tom McDonald is the executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content.

Roger’s Take:  Putting Ryan Reynolds together with National Geographic is going to be a fun adventure that I can’t wait to see.  I have always enjoyed Ryan’s sense of humour, so I know this show will work for me, but if you’re not a fan of his, this might not work.  I also like the idea that this series will highlight lesser-known animals and showcase things we probably won’t know, or likely should know!

Are you looking forward to watching “Underdogs”?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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