Secrets of the Penguins: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far

Secrets of the Penguins is National Geographic's latest installment in the Emmy-winning "Secrets of" franchise. The three-part documentary series showcases the highly adaptive birds and their complex behavioural patterns. The first episode premiered on April 20, 2025, and the full installment was released on Disney+ on April 21, 2025.

The official tagline of the show, as per Disney+, reads:

"Over two extraordinary years, National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory discovers secret traditions, surprising intelligence, and close-knit societies of gregarious penguins, never filmed before. This astonishing series reveals they are more like us than we ever dared dream, from courageous risk-takers to the power of friendship, and adventurers using ingenuity and innovation in some of the world’s most extreme places."

The documentary takes us along the adventures of Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning Nat Geo explorer Bertie Gregory. The executive producers for Secrets of the Penguins are Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron and BAFTA winners Ruth Roberts and Martin Williams.

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Secrets of the Penguins was released on April 21, 2025

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The first episode premiered on April 20, 2025, and the full installment was released on Disney+ on April 21, 2025. Mentioned below are the names of the three episodes of Secrets of the Penguins:

Episode 1: HEART OF THE EMPERORS

Episode 2: REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Episode 3: SURVIVAL OF THE SMARTEST

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Secrets of the Penguins: Plot explored

Secrets of the Penguins, led by Bertie Gregory, takes his team on a two-year global adventure across places like Cape Town, South Africa, and the South Georgia Islands. Gregory and his crew also endured the harsh conditions of the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica for 274 days while capturing footage of emperor penguins.

The documentary captures extraordinary footage of a bonded pair of penguins practicing egg transfers with a snowball, and young penguins navigating harsh conditions and climate change. The cutting-edge camera technology also captures rare footage of a hidden colony of African penguins, rockhopping penguins defending themselves from sea lions, and Galapagos penguins stealing fish from pelicans.

The first episode shows us the adaptive nature of the emperor penguins who live in one of the coldest and harshest environments on Earth, Antarctica. Gregory understands the social skills of penguins by discovering the bonds they form from birth, which help them survive.

The second episode showcases rockhoppers, gentoos, and macaroni penguins who are risk-takers and rebels. These penguins survive the fiercest terrains located by the Southern Ocean and are considered to be some of the most successful penguins on earth.

The third episode follows perhaps the smartest penguins to ever exist. They have left the icy shores and adapted to the deserts and tropical nature, while some have even learned to live among humans. Gregory gets a glimpse of the penguins' problem-solving skills and their search for new landscapes.

The series features some top-class conservationists and scientists, including biologists like Dr. Pablo Borboroglu, Dr. Michelle LaRue, and Dr. Katta Ludynia. Penguin experts Dr. Andrea Thiebault and Dr. Jessica Kemper also make an appearance.

The franchise takes audiences of all ages to the remotest points around the globe to see penguin behaviors caught on camera for the first time, presenting the flightless birds as they face some of the most hostile environments on the planet.

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Secrets of the Penguins is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.