Series synopsis
Neanderthals - Meet Your Ancestors is a British documentary television series that premiered on BBC Two on May 13, 2018. It ended on May 20, 2018. It stars Ella Al-Shamahi, Andy Serkis, Nick Kellington and Cecily Fay.
According to recent science the Neanderthals are not the knuckle-dragging apemen of popular imagination. In fact they are our distant ancestors. About 2% of the DNA of most people is of Neanderthal origin—and it continues to affect us today. Ella Al-Shamahi enlists the skills of Andy Serkis, the master of performance capture, and a group of experts to investigate Neanderthals.
Premise
According to recent science the Neanderthals are not the knuckle-dragging apemen of popular imagination. In fact they are our distant ancestors. About 2% of the DNA of most people is of Neanderthal origin—and it continues to affect us today. Ella Al-Shamahi enlists the skills of Andy Serkis, the master of performance capture, and a group of experts to investigate Neanderthals.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Ella Al-Shamahi as Self - Presenter
- Andy Serkis as Self - Presenter
- Nick Kellington as Self - Ned
- Cecily Fay as Self - Nelly
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 2 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 2 | May 13, 2018 | May 20, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Ella Al-Shamahi, a rising star in Neanderthal research, enlists the skills of Andy Serkis, the master of performance capture, and a group of experts to create, for the first time ever, a scientifically accurate 3D Neanderthal. They discover that Neanderthals were more like us than we ever thought. |
May 13, 2018 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 For around 400,000 years Neanderthals live and thrived right across Europe and Western Europe. But about 40,000 years ago they disappeared. In this second episode in the series, Ella Al-Shamahi - with the help of Hollywood actor Andy Serkis - explores the fate of the Neanderthals, asking why they became extinct, and discovering how they live on inside of us today. |
May 20, 2018 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC Two |
|---|---|
| First aired | May 13, 2018 |
| Last aired | May 20, 2018 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Status | ended |