Featuring a superb cast and commentators including David Suzuki, Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond and Iain McCalman, this is the story of how four young voyagers changed our world – forever. The epic adventures of Charles Darwin, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Russel Wallace would revolutionise science, turn society on its head and give birth to an extraordinary theory.

Charles Darwin's experiences in the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly in Australasia, convinced him that everything he'd been told about life on earth might not be true. On his return to England, his incendiary idea – evolution by means of natural selection – grew into an obsession.

In this brilliant dramatised series we meet the man, his family, and the colleagues who supported him through years of illness, isolation, agonizing self-doubt and religious crisis. We gain a glimpse into the courage and tenacity it took to change the way we understand our world and our place in it.

A Screen Australia National Documentary Program. A ScreenWorld and Ferns Productions production. Produced in association with the New South Wales Film and Television Office and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with the assistance of the Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Made in association with History Television (UK) and ZDF in co-operation with ARTE. An Australia–Canada Co-production.

AIRDATES:

Ep 1: Origins (1831-1844), Sunday 8 November 2009 at 7:30pm on ABC1

Twenty-one year-old Charles Darwin convinces his father to allow him a gap year before settling down – it turns into a miraculous five-year voyage of discovery across the Southern Hemisphere which transforms him and gives birth to a revolutionary scientific theory.

Ep 2: Evolutions (1844-1857), Sunday 15 November 2009 at 7:30pm on ABC1

Desperately accumulating evidence to support his theory of evolution, Charles Darwin finds support from two men who have also voyaged to the Southern Hemisphere: Joseph Hooker and Thomas Huxley. He will need them, as he is devastated by his daughter's death and the arrival of a letter that threatens to destroy everything.

Ep 3: Publish and Be Damned (1857-1864), Sunday 22 November 2009 at 7:30pm on ABC1

Charles Darwin is devastated when he receives a letter outlining an almost identical evolutionary theory to his own; he now has no choice but to publish his masterwork, On the Origin of Species.

IINTERNATIONAL BROADCASTS:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Sunday November 1, 8, and 15 at 9.00pm.

History (UK) from Tuesday November 24 at 8pm.

ZDF/Arte in Germany/France during December 2009.

Click to see production stills

More about Darwin's Brave New World

See our other showcases

Based on Darwin's Armada by Iain McCalman

Directors

Lisa Matthews (Drama)
Jason Bourque (Documentary)

Writer

Katherine Thomson

Producers

Mike Bluett (Series)
Sally Regan (Australia)
Andrew Ferns (Canada)

Executive Producers

Sue Clothier (Australia)
Mark Hamlyn (Australia)
W. Paterson Ferns (Canada)
Rupert Macnee (Canada)

Narrator

Wendy Hughes

Duration

3 x 55 minutes

Year

2009

Classification
G

Starring Socratis Otto as Charles Darwin and Rick Jon Egan as Thomas Huxley and featuring appearances by Richard Dawkins, David Suzuki, Jared Diamond and Iain McCalman.

Three-part series filmed on location in New Zealand, USA, England, Canada and Australia

For Teachers

Curriculum links include Science (Biology), SOSE/HSIE, History, English and Media Studies.

Teachers notes

Press Kit
Press Kit

Related Links

Charles Darwin - The Australian Connection
www.screenaustralia.gov.au/learning/charlesdarwin

What The Critics Say:

"A vivid, fast-paced series that avoids being dry while giving due weight to Darwin's contribution to modern scientific thinking... a rollicking adventure."

West Australian

"Socratis Otto is dashing as the smart but rudderless rich kid who sets off on a voyage and uncovers a dangerous truth."

Sydney Morning Herald

"Establishes the enormity of Darwin's achievement, as well as detailing the loneliness and pain that can plague a revolutionary thinker."

The Melbourne Age

"compelling"

Courier Mail

"Sharp storytelling that mines the intersections between Darwin's personal and professional struggles gives this series a dramatic edge that goes well beyond dates and data."

Sydney Morning Herald

"Commentators lucidly explain Darwin's life and work with affection and admiration. A moving account."

Sydney Morning Herald

"The show is full of spectacular footage, with breathtaking images of the HMS Beagle cutting through the Pacific Ocean. Groovy special effects illustrate the workings of Darwin's mind."

Sydney Morning Herald