His iconic voice has been explaining the ways and wonders of animals to the world for the past eight decades and now Sir David Attenborough is focusing his famous nature narrations on mammals in a new wildlife series entitled—you guessed it—Mammals.

Twenty years after Attenborough's seminal series The Life of Mammals, the six-part documentary series will revisit the most successful animal group in the world. Per the BBC, the official synopsis reads: "66 million years ago, when the reign of the dinosaurs came to an end, mammals were set free to exploit every corner of the planet. Mammals reveals the strategies, behaviors and traits that lie behind the astonishing success of this remarkable group of animals. Above all, the series celebrates the amazing intelligence that enables mammals to learn, remember, problem-solve, parent, and co-operate."

Each hourlong episode will focus on mammals living in different habitats across the globe, including Dark, Water, Cold, Heat, Forest and The New Wild. “Mammals are adaptable and found in every ocean and continent," explains Attenborough, whose most recent credits include Planet Earth III and Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster. “We reveal the secrets of their success and the challenges they face in a world dominated by the most successful mammal of all—us. There are astonishing sequences that take my breath away.”

Mammals first aired on BBC One in the UK this past spring, but is now making its stateside debut tonight, July 13, at 8pm Eastern Time on BBC America. The documentary series will also be available to stream on AMC+ same day. The premiere episode, "Dark," will spotlight the over two thirds of the mammal species who are creatures of the night, with "heightened senses verging on superpowers."

BBC America is available with most cable packages but if you're a cord-cutter, it's also included on a few live TV streaming services including Philo (your cheapest option at $28 per month), Sling TV (either Blue or Orange plan, each is $40 per month) or DirecTV ($69.99 per month for the Entertainment plan, though the pricier tiers also include it).

Check out the trailer for the natural history series before tuning in to Sir David Attenborough's Mammals on BBC America tonight. 

Members of the Our Planet II crew had a terrifying brush with danger with some "incredibly hungry" 15-foot-long tiger sharks whilst working on the David Attenborough-narrated documentary for Netflix.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Our Planet II producer and director Toby Nowlan revealed that the encounter came during filming on the first episode of the series which is all about unraveling the mysteries of animal migration patterns. They were filming the predators in a remote location in the seas of Laysan, one of the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. 

There, tiger sharks travel as far as 2,000 miles to feed on unlucky albatross chicks who are still waiting to be fed by their parents. Nowlan revealed that the hungry sharks attacked the inflatable boats that the crew had set out in. 

"This 'v' of water came streaming towards us and this tiger shark leapt at the boat and bit huge holes in it", he said. "The whole boat exploded. We were trying to get it away and it wasn't having any of it. It was horrific. That was the second shark that day to attack us."

The director went on to explain that the attack was "extremely unusual". "They were incredibly hungry", Nowlan said, "so there might not have been enough natural food and they were just trying anything they came across in the water". 

As the crew wasn't far from land, they were able to get their inflatable dinghy onto the beach. The crew's trouble didn't even end there, as the small dinghy they sent out after patching the boat up was subsequently attacked by some giant trevallies that knocked out the boat's motor!

Series producer Huw Cordey described the shark attacks as "like something out of Jaws" when discussing the series with Forbes. He revealed that there were originally plans to do an underwater shoot watching the underwater sharks as they waited in the shallows, but plans changed after the crew made their emergency landing. 

Our Planet II is now available to stream on Netflix. And if you're looking for more factual entertainment to enjoy, check out our recommendations for the best Netflix documentaries you should be streaming right now.