America the Beautiful is a documentary television series dedicated to showcase North America's natural diversity and extreme conditions. The series is narrated by Michael B. Jordan and premiered on Disney+ on July 4, 2022, as a Disney+ Original, under the National Geographic banner. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.
Contents
Production
National Geographic produced the series as a streaming exclusive for Disney. Before the showed premiered in July 2022, Disney announced that they would be working with V/SPEED Films on the series, who supplied footage that was captured using cinema-grade cameras mounted to fighter jets, which is a first for the industry. Joe Trapanese composed the score of the documentary.
Release
The series was released on July 4, 2022, coinciding with Independence Day in the United States. It consists of six episodes.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.90/10, based on 5 critic reviews. Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Joel Keller of Decider wrote, "Despite the series' scattershot focus, America The Beautiful has more than enough spectacular footage to satisfy fans of nature docuseries." John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal said, "It's a feel-good physical exam of the third largest and "most diverse" continent, environmentally speaking, and while there's no voice saying, "I'm North America and I approve this message," if a place could run for president, this show could be the campaign ad."
Stephanie Morgan of Common Sense Media gave America the Beautiful a grade of 4 out of 5 stars, praised the presence of educational value, and complimented the positive messages and role models, writing, "Nature footage and storytelling like nothing seen before." Aimee Mills of Collider included America the Beautiful in their "10 Best Wildlife Documentaries On Disney+ Right Now" list, saying, "With stunning shots of nature at its finest, it's a great new series to get stuck into if you're in the mood for beautiful landscape visuals from the Arctic to the deep South."