Series synopsis
Human Footprint is an American documentary television series that premiered on PBS on July 5, 2023. It stars Shane Campbell Staton.
Dissects all the ways humans have transformed the planet. Earth has never experienced anything like us: a single species dominating and transforming the planet. Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton travels the globe to explore our Human Footprint and to discover how the things we do reveal who we truly are.
Premise
Dissects all the ways humans have transformed the planet. Earth has never experienced anything like us: a single species dominating and transforming the planet. Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton travels the globe to explore our Human Footprint and to discover how the things we do reveal who we truly are.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Shane Campbell Staton as Self - Host
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 12 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | July 5, 2023 | August 9, 2023 |
| Season 2 | 6 | June 25, 2025 | July 30, 2025 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Strangers in Paradise Invasive species are reshaping the world’s ecosystems, but who’s to blame? Shane wrestles a python, hunts a wild pig, and gets sucker-punched by a carp to answer the question: in the age of humans, how does our species decide what belongs? |
July 5, 2023 |
| 2 |
Top Predator There’s a killer inside us. Our biology, culture, technology, and economy have transformed our species into the greatest predator the world has ever seen. From Yellowstone to Mozambique, Shane explores our global impact as the planet’s top predator. |
July 12, 2023 |
| 3 |
Man’s Best Friend Shane discovers why dogs are more than man’s best friend – they’ve been reshaped by evolution into the perfect partner for our species. And just as we’ve transformed them, dogs have left an unmistakable pawprint on us and the world we both share. |
July 19, 2023 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Shelf Life Shane travels from New York City to rural Thailand to explore the Human Footprint of the supermarket – a 20th-century innovation that transformed our relationship with food, reshaping our bodies, our society, and our planet along the way. |
June 25, 2025 |
| 2 |
The Enemy of My Enemy In humankind’s conquest of planet Earth, we rely on improbable allies – species we’ve recruited from nature to help us defeat our adversaries. But in this brave new world of “biocontrol,” is the enemy of an enemy always a friend? |
July 2, 2025 |
| 3 |
Dressed to Kill Take a look in the mirror… do you like what you see? From biotech labs to beaver ponds, from New York Fashion Week to Chile’s textile graveyards, Shane unravels how the trends we chase to fit in and stand out leave a lasting mark on our planet. |
July 9, 2025 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | PBS |
|---|---|
| First aired | July 5, 2023 |
| Last aired | July 30, 2025 |
| Runtime | 55 minutes |
| Status | continue |
| Schedule | Wednesday at 21:00:00 |