Our four-part Netflix documentary series, narrated by Morgan Freeman, charts the story of the rise and fall of the dinosaurs – where they came from, why they mattered, how they evolved, and how they met their ultimate fate.

Watch The Dinosaurs: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81612719

We reunited with executive producer Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (who previously collaborated with us on Life on Our Planet) to bring the age of dinosaurs to life.

The Dinosaurs packs in a deep roster of prehistoric stars and many lesser-known species drawn from the latest fossil research. From tiny proto‑dinosaurs like Marasuchus to giants like Plateosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, The Dinosaurs runs the gamut, illustrating how dinosaurs evolved across millennia in response to a volatile world. Armored icons such as stegosaurus and ankylosaurus square off against apex predators like allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex, while leviathans from Pliosaurus to mosasaurs prowl the oceans. Early feathered fliers, including Anchiornis and Longipteryx, point toward the dinosaurs still with us today: birds.

“Dinosaurs are not monsters. They were living, breathing animals that had challenges like every other animal has challenges: to find food, to find a mate, to survive in an ever-changing world. They’re just creatures from a different era and we really tried to bring emotion to it.” – Dan Tapster, Series Showrunner, Silverback Films

EPISODE 1: RISE

The first dinosaurs were nothing special: small, fragile, and forced to live in the shadows of the ruling reptiles. In the brutal world of the Triassic era, they were the underdogs, outmuscled and outmatched by ancient predators. Bullied and overlooked, their story might have ended before it even began.

But the dinosaurs had something their rivals did not: adaptability. When Earth itself unleashed chaos – massive storms, climate upheaval, and devastating extinctions – the ancient reptiles faltered, and the dinosaurs seized their chance.

This is the extraordinary story of their rise – a tale spanning millions of years and continents transformed by fire, flood and tectonic shifts. From tiny, two-legged dinosaurs-in-the-making like Marasuchus to the first giants like Plateosaurus, dinosaurs slowly became a force that would one day rule the world.

But theirs was never an easy ascent. They faced brutal landscapes, powerful predators and relentless planetary change. Their greatest battles were not just with each other, but with the Earth itself.

Told with stunning visual storytelling and cutting-edge science, this is the untold saga of how the dinosaurs clawed their way from insignificance to becoming the greatest dynasty our planet has ever known.

EPISODE 2: CONQUEST

It’s 201 million years ago and the world is being torn apart by the brutal end-Triassic mass extinction. As Pangea splits and volcanic hellscapes ravage the planet, most life is wiped out – but not the dinosaurs. Their remarkable resilience allows them to seize this moment and rise from the ruins.

This episode charts the dinosaurs’ extraordinary ascent through the most famous period of all: the Jurassic. From towering sauropods like Vulcanodon and Mamenchisaurus to the tiny, ingenious Heterodontosaurus and the fearsome Dilophosaurus, evolution reshapes these creatures into the giants, icons and marvels that will dominate Earth for millions of years. And not just on land – some, like Anchiornis, will take to the air.

But Earth remains a volatile adversary. Methane escapes from warming oceans, driving climate disasters that decimate once-lush forests and push dinosaurs like Massospondylus to the brink of extinction. It’s a world of shifting continents and surging seas, but by the end of the Jurassic era, dinosaurs are second to none – as we witness the ferocious Allosaurus attempting to take down the iconic Stegosaurus.

Told as a continuous, edge-of-your-seat story spanning almost 50 million years, this is a tale of survival, triumph, and the rise of the most famous dynasty in history – the dinosaurs.

EPISODE 3: EMPIRE

Now, 125 million years ago, a brutal winter seizes the north, pushing even the mightiest dinosaurs to the brink. Vast herds battle the cold on desperate migrations, hunted by one of the first tyrannosaurs: Yutyrannus, the “Snow King”, a master of camouflage and a silent killer.

But in the Cretaceous period, the only constant is change.

As the ice retreats and the world begins to thaw, dinosaurs once again seize bold new frontiers. Some evolve to conquer the skies, challenging the pterosaurs. Others face a green revolution as flowering plants sweep across the land, reshaping the dinosaur story. Those who cannot adapt face the ultimate price: extinction. The mighty stegosaurs are among the first to fall.

But another, even greater threat is rising: the oceans. Sea levels surge, drowning continents and breaking the dinosaurs’ world into scattered islands. Here, only the smallest sauropods can survive, while monstrous pterosaurs descend to hunt the stranded. And in this flooded, fractured world, one dinosaur does the unthinkable.

Spinosaurus – the largest predator ever to walk the Earth – steps into the ocean.

This is a new kind of hunter: strong, patient and unstoppable.

From the frozen forests of the north to the dark, lush continent of ancient Antarctica, dinosaurs now rule every corner of the planet. But their greatest challenge is still coming.

Their empire is about to face its darkest hour.

EPISODE 4: FALL

In the final, cataclysmic chapter of the dinosaurs’ story, a colossal asteroid is on a collision course with Earth – a journey millions of years in the making. But the dinosaurs know nothing of the approaching doom. Instead, they are thriving.

On land, the mighty sauropods still tower above lush forests, while herds of hadrosaurs – giant plant-eaters – gather in the thousands, raising young in sprawling crèches. In the inland seas of North America, dinosaurs like Hesperornis venture farther into the oceans than ever before, evolving into sleek, aquatic hunters – but they aren’t alone. The oceans are ruled by mosasaurs, enormous marine reptiles who stalk these waters with terrifying speed.

Elsewhere, evolution pushes dinosaurs to extraordinary extremes: bone-crashing pachycephalosaurs, horned Triceratops and armoured Ankylosaurus are locked in a deadly arms race with the most fearsome predator of them all – Tyrannosaurus rex.

None of them suspect that their world is about to end in the blink of an eye. When the asteroid strikes, the impact will unleash devastation on a planetary scale, bringing the remarkable reign of the dinosaurs to a fiery, frozen close.

Series Showrunner

Dan Tapster for Silverback Films

Executive Producers 

Alastair Fothergill│Keith Scholey for Silverback Films
Steven Spielberg│Darryl Frank│Justin Falvey for Amblin Entertainment

Series Director 

Nick Shoolingin-Jordan for Silverback Films

Producers and Directors 

Jolyon Sutcliffe│Amber Cherry Eames│Darren Williams for Silverback Films

ILM Visual Effects Supervisors 

Jonathan Privett│Steve Moncur

Composer

Lorne Balfe