Over the past few years, HBO has found a lot of success with outdoor sports documentaries and docuseries, from surfing to skiing to snowboarding to skateboarding to mountain biking. They now have a new four-part documentary coming in July in combination with famed outdoor film company Teton Gravity Research (who they previously worked with on a Lindsey Vonn documentary), which will see top snowboarders, skiers, kayakers, climbers and surfers exploring beautiful remote locations. That’s Edge of the Earth.
The series, directed by Steve Jones and Todd Jones and produced by Drew Holt, will air its first episode Tuesday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Subsequent episodes will follow the next three Tuesdays at that time, and the series will also be available to stream on HBO Max. Here’s more from a release:
A thrilling blend of action-adventure sport, travel journal, and nature documentary, EDGE OF THE EARTH follows four groups of elite action-adventure athletes on four unique, never-before-accomplished missions. Taking place around the globe, within awe-inspiring, undiscovered realms of nature, each installment features a different team of adventurers journeying into the wild to take on incredible endeavors of physical prowess and mental fortitude.
As the athletes venture up and down mountains, down rivers, and across oceans, they rise to meet intense, life-threatening challenges that test their decision-making and athletic capacity. Pushing the boundaries of their abilities in an attempt to accomplish what no other human has done before, they face the ultimate consequence, or the ultimate reward.
EDGE OF THE EARTH features jaw-dropping aerial photography and immersive video in some of the world’s least accessible and rarely seen locations. Taking part are snowboarders Jeremy Jones and Elena Hight, and skier Griffin Post; kayakers Ben Stookesberry, Nouria Newman, and Erik Boomer; climbers Emily Harrington and Adrian Ballinger; and surfers Ian Walsh and Grant “Twiggy” Baker.
The series explores the marvels of nature’s fierce beauty amidst the present-day risks of climate change, deforestation, and the perils of human industry in these remote and beautiful parts of the world, while celebrating the inspiring feats of human achievement along the EDGE OF THE EARTH.
Here’s a trailer for the series:
The first episode, set for July 12, covers a ski and snowboard expedition in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. Episode two will cover an attempt to descend the potentially impassable Chalupas River in the Llanganates National Park in Ecuador. Episode three will cover an attempt at the first individual free climb ascent of a difficult route on Pik Slesova in Kyrgyzstan. And the fourth episode will cover chasing never-before-ridden big waves off the coast of South Africa.
There’s certainly some potential here, with prominent outdoor sports athletes and filmmakers involved. And the locations chosen for this should make for some spectacular visuals. This also fits with HBO’s growing coverage of outdoor sports. We’ll see how the series turns out.
Edge of the Earth premieres Tuesday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
