Expedition with Steve Backshall

Expedition with Steve Backshall is a TV nature adventure documentary hosted by naturalist and explorer Steve Backshall.

Expedition with Steve Backshall
Genre	Nature, Documentary
Directed by	Ali May
Presented by	Steve Backshall
Starring	Steve Backshall, Aldo Kane, Katy Fraser
Composer	Onur Tarcin
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer	Wendy Darke
Producer	Ali May
Production location	Various
Editors	Tin Lasseter, Danny McGuire
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	45 (62 for Season 2)
Production company	UKTV
Original release
Network	Dave
Release	21 July 2019 (2019-07-21) – 9 January 2022 (2022-01-09)
Related
Expedition Unpacked (Spin-Off)

Production

The show was adopted by PBS during a Fremantle deal.^[1] The UK channel Dave rebooted it essentially for an initial 4 episodes, but was extended to 6.^[2][3] After a pre-air date deal, the French channel France Television bought the rights to air it in their country.^[4]

Expedition: Unpacked

This spin-off series was commissioned in 2021, going behind the stories of their original episodes.^[5][6][7]

Episodes

Season 1

No.	Title	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
1	"Oman: Lost Canyon"	21 July 2019 (2019-07-21)	N/A
Steve sets foot in the deepest (400m) canyon in Saudi Arabia.
2	"Bhutan: White Water"	28 July 2019 (2019-07-28)	N/A
Steve Backshall kayaks the uncharted waters of a wild river, seeking help from the Buddhist monastery.
3	"Suriname: Lost World"	29 January 2020 (2020-01-29)	N/A
Encountering unknown animals in the jungle, Steve is in the Guiana Shield.
4	"Suriname: Ghost River"	20 May 2020 (2020-05-20)	N/A
The team explores a surprising natural scene in a concealed, natural world locked away for generations.
5	"Borneo: Dark Shadow"	12 February 2020 (2020-02-12)	N/A
The team rewrites history with rediscovered treasures in Indonesian Borneo.
6	"Oman: Desert Fortress"	27 May 2020 (2020-05-27)	N/A
Steve finds one of the world’s rarest animals while he and a team of rock climbers are in southern Oman.
7	"Arctic: Frozen Frontier"	20 January 2020 (2020-01-20)	N/A
Steve kayaks the biggest fjord in the world during the spring melt in Greenland.
8	"Mexico: Maya Underworlds"	26 July 2020 (2020-07-26)	N/A
Steve finds new artefacts when he crawls through a cave in subterranean Mexico.
9	"Arctic: Ice Mountain"	15 September 2019 (2019-09-15)	N/A
Steve leads a mission to the summit of a large mountain in Greenland.
10	"Mexico: Flooded Cave"	5 February 2020 (2020-02-05)	N/A
Steve and the team push themselves beyond capacity with a cave dive in Mexico.

Season 2

No.	Title	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
11	"Kamchatka: Expedition Grizzly River"	28 November 2021 (2021-11-28)	N/A
Steve returns after a year to kayak the dangerous Kronotsky river with his team and elude the Russian grizzlies.
12	"Saudi Arabia: Expedition Volcanic Underworld"	5 December 2021 (2021-12-05)	N/A
Steve traces the lava tubes in Saudi Arabia with his team.
13	"Kyrgyzstan: Expedition Mountain Ghost"	12 December 2021 (2021-12-12)	N/A
Steve helps a team of scientists track the snow leopard in hopes of protecting the environment it lives in.
14	"Gabon: Expedition Jungle Paradise"	19 December 2021 (2021-12-19)	N/A
Steve heads to the Moukalaba Dou Dou national park to be guided through its natural scenery and see a population of chimps.
15	"Socorro: Expedition Shark Island"	26 December 2021 (2021-12-26)	N/A
Steve helps a team of protectionists track and gather data on a gathering of Great White Sharks in hopes of protecting their declining numbers.
16	"Expedition Unseen"	9 January 2022 (2022-01-09)	N/A
Steve winds up his year with 3 under-filmed new adventures at the places he had been this year.

Reception

In 2022, the programme was nominated for a Broadcast Award in the category Gamechanger Programme of the Year.^[8]

Katie Brooks of Birmingham Mail wrote, "Will inspire a new age of explorers."^[9]