Name: Human: Neanderthal Encounters
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Where did humans come from, and what makes us unique? Discover the remarkable origins of Homo sapiens, and the crucial moments of innovation, communication, and ritual that set us on our path.

Trace the remarkable origin story of Homo sapiens and the crucial moments that shaped our species.

Human: Origins

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Where do we come from? To find out, journey back to a time when multiple human species walked the earth. Discover how radical fossil finds in Morocco rewrote the history of our origins – suggesting we did not have a single birthplace, but that modern Homo sapiens emerged from a mosaic of prehistoric, early human communities. Explore the tools, language, and rituals that bound us together, and the setbacks that nearly destroyed us. (A 5-part series premiering September 17, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)

Trace the remarkable origin story of Homo sapiens and the crucial moments that shaped our species.

Evolution

Follow Homo Sapiens as they venture across the world, farther than any other human species. See how they invented new tools to thrive in challenging environments – and meet the mysterious hobbit-like humans they may have encountered along the way.

Follow Homo sapiens as they venture out of Africa and spread farther than any other human species.

Human: Journeys

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From the time humans arose in Africa, they have been on the move – but one species, Homo sapiens, has journeyed farther than any other. Follow in our ancestors’ footsteps as they travel the globe, and meet the mysterious hobbit-like humans they may have encountered along the way. How did Homo sapiens manage to thrive across the planet? And how did our drive to explore shape us and the world as we know it today? (Premiering September 24, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)

Follow Homo sapiens as they venture out of Africa and spread farther than any other human species.

For 400,000 years, Neanderthals thrived across frigid, Ice Age Europe. What happened when Homo sapiens arrived, and how did these encounters change our species –  including our DNA – in ways still with us today?

Discover how Homo sapiens outlasted Neanderthals – and how they helped make us who we are today.

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Human: Neanderthal Encounters

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For hundreds of thousands of years, Neanderthals thrived across Europe. Then, Homo sapiens arrived. Explore the surprising encounters between these two human species, including evidence of interbreeding that has reshaped our understanding of early human history. As a brutal ice age descended, both groups were pushed to their limits. Uncover the latest archaeological and genetic breakthroughs revealing the surprising truth behind the Neanderthals' mysterious disappearance. How did Homo sapiens manage to survive and outlast our remaining human cousins? And how did our time together – written in our DNA – leave a lasting impact on us? (Premiering October 1, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)

Discover how Homo sapiens outlasted Neanderthals – and how they helped make us who we are today.

Follow ancient humans’ perilous journey into the Americas, where a frigid Ice Age landscape, mammoths, and other fearsome beasts tested their resilience.

Follow ancient humans’ journey into an icy and perilous new land.

Human: Into the Americas Preview

Human: Into the Americas

Journey back to when humans first ventured into the Americas, a world teeming with colossal megafauna and dramatic climate shifts. Witness their ingenious survival tactics against formidable predators, and uncover the mystery of ancient footprints in the desert of White Sands. See how these pioneers transformed from nomads to living in rooted communities, forever altering our world. (Premiering October 8, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)

Follow ancient humans’ journey into an icy and perilous new land.

Discover how Homo sapiens transformed from nomads to empire builders. Witness the innovations – from animal domestication to writing – that revolutionized ancient life and shaped our modern world.

Discover how two revolutionary ancient inventions changed the course of humanity forever.

Human: Building Empires Preview

Human: Building Empires

What caused humans to stop roaming and start building? How did we transform from a tiny, fragile population of Homo sapiens into the 8 billion strong, globally interconnected species we are today? Discover pivotal moments that set humanity on a new path – toward cities and modern civilizations. What role did the domestication of plants and animals play in this transformation? And how did the invention of writing begin to reshape how we shared knowledge and organized society? From ancient temples like Göbekli Tepe in Turkey to the Egyptian Empire that built the Pyramids along the banks of the Nile, witness the birth of cities, the dawn of communication, and the inherent human drive to build, connect, and thrive against all odds. (Premiering October 15, 2025 at 9 pm on PBS)

Discover how two revolutionary ancient inventions changed the course of humanity forever.

Silhouette of people walking towards camera with setting sun behind them

Around 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens emerged in Africa – one of at least seven human species alive at the time. Now, we are the only remaining human line, and our impact on the planet is undeniable. In this stunningly cinematic five-part series, paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi traces the surprising story of human origins. Remarkable new fossil evidence, modern DNA sequencing, and other cutting-edge scientific tools are shedding new light on the lives and journeys of long-vanished human species, and how our encounters with them helped make us who we are today. (A five-part series premiering on September 17, 2025)

Follow the epic story of Homo sapiens as they outlast other human species and spread across the globe.

Follow the epic story of Homo sapiens as they outlast other human species and spread across the globe.

Human

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Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters. In Alaska, a huge lake erupts with bubbles of inflammable gas. Scientists are discovering that these mystifying phenomena add up to a ticking time bomb, as long-frozen permafrost melts and releases vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. What are the implications of these dramatic developments in the Arctic? Scientists and local communities alike are struggling to grasp the scale of the methane threat and what it means for our climate future. (Premiered February 2, 2022)

In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate.

Arctic Sinkholes

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A composite image of Jupiter using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

Explore the cosmos, delve into ancient history, and follow an extreme rescue with NOVA’s most-watched documentaries released in 2022.

NOVA’s most popular science documentaries of 2022

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A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Scientists have cured a handful of people of HIV by piggybacking on treatments they received for blood cancer. But does that bring a widespread cure any closer?

Human: Neanderthal Encounters

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Human: Journeys

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Support Provided By

Human: Journeys

Human: Into the Americas

Explore More

Decoding Neanderthals

Ancient Earth: Humans

Human Nature

Making North America: Human