Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Reboot Headed To NBC This Fall

NBC is venturing back into the Wild Kingdom.

It was announced on Thursday morning that a new iteration of the iconic nature series Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom will air on NBC this fall by way of an exclusive partnership with Hearst Media Production Group (HMPG).

The OG Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, hosted by Marlin Perkins, premiered on the network back in 1963, where it averaged 34 million viewers. It racked up five Emmy Award nominations, winning twice (for Special Classification Achievements).

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, as the new version is titled, is co-hosted by veteran wildlife expert and former Wild Kingdom host Peter Gros and wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, who will showcase the efforts taking place to protect wildlife and their habitats.

Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild premieres Saturday, Oct. 7 as part of NBC's Saturday-morning "The More You Know" programming block, and will also be available on NBC.com.

Our sister site Variety first reported on this news.

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom debuted on NBC in 1963, then went into syndication in 1971. Mutual of Omaha's Spirit of Adventure, hosted by Gros and Jim Fowler, debuted in 1987 on ABC, where it had a two-year run. A revival aired from 2002 to 2011, ultimately ending up on Animal Planet, and a webisodes incarnation streamed on YouTube from 2013 to 2018.