National Geographic is known to put its audiences out in some of the most beautiful and dangerous environments on Earth and do so in the most beautiful and majestic way you can imagine. They are constantly coming up with new concepts that break the mold, but every now and then, it’s nice to get back to basics.
7 Toughest Days, a new series, sees adventurer Dwayne Fields take on Earth’s most hostile worlds during their toughest time ― a “deadly window” when epic natural forces combine. He has just seven days to guide himself and his camera op to the safety of civilization, overcoming epic physical and psychological challenges that lie in his path.
7 Toughest Days isn’t exactly breaking any new ground, but rather relying on the familiar concept of following a talented adventurer into some of the most uninhabitable places on Earth. It’s a format that works for a lot of reasons and this new series is just different enough to be exciting for National Geographic fans.
Another hallmark of National Geographic is the beautiful camera work and this series is no different. Not only do we get some impossibly stunning overhead shots of the other-worldly terrains featured in this series, but we also get the shaky, point-of-view shots that really give the viewer a sense of what it is like to traverse these terrains. This series strikes a great balance of picturesque and deadly.
And on that note, another thing this series accomplishes is the constant build of suspense. Whether Fields is wading through water in a rainforest without knowing what lurks underneath or walking carefully across a glacier not knowing if his next snow-covered step will lead him right into a crevasse, there is constant tension building throughout each and every episode. The audience is kept on the edge of their seat throughout in the best way possible.
And of course, the show can only be as good as its host, as they will provide just about the only voice heard for the duration of each episode. Fields executes everything you could possibly want from a host, from those aforementioned suspenseful moments as he interacts with the environment to education on every bit of wildlife he comes across. He even takes some moments to open up about his personall life and the things he’s been through, adding some depth and humanity to the series.
Overall, 7 Toughest Days is just exactly what you want out of a new National Geographic series. The new show takes you to some truly incredible locations and gives audiences a look at wildlife they would never otherwise get to see. Fields does everything you could want a host to do for a series like this and viewers are sure to have a great time watching him explore these locations.
7 Toughest Days premieres Tuesday, February 7th on National Geographic and debuts on Disney+ on February 8th.