Series 1

Stranger and more dramatic than we ever imagined - these are our untold origins. With stunning visuals and cutting-edge science, Ella Al-Shamahi reveals the story of our species.

1. 

   1. The First of Us

   2025-07-14 · 54m

   The extraordinary story of how the human species, Homo sapiens, first emerged, where the discoveries of recent years are revolutionising the understanding of humanity's origin story.

2. 

   2. Into the Unknown

   2025-07-21 · 54m

   Following early Homo sapiens's ancestors as they step out of Africa and venture into the wider world, heading into areas inhabited by other human species.

3. 

   3. Last Humans Standing

   2025-07-28 · 54m

   Shocking new insights into the demise of modern humans' sister species, the Neanderthals, Homo sapiens's possible role in their downfall and how it become the last human species on Earth.

4. 

   4. Discovering the Americas

   2025-08-04 · 54m

   During the height of the Ice Age, one of the coldest times humanity has ever known, Homo sapiens steps into the last habitable continents on the planet: the Americas.

5. 

   5. A Great Gamble

   2025-08-11 · 54m

   Around 12,000 years ago, as the Ice Age finally thaws, humanity makes a dramatic shift - abandoning nomadic life for permanent settlements.