Ancient Apocalypse, a documentary series based on the research of alternative history author Graham Hancock (and hosted by him as well) reached a massive audience upon its release in November 2022 when it became one of the top-ranking Netflix shows. So it is little surprise that a second season of the series was approved – and the happy news is that it will be premiering on Netflix next month, on Wednesday October 16, 2024.
This time around, the focus of the six 40-minute episodes is firmly on the Americas (see the trailer video embedded below for more):
In this second series produced by ITN Productions, Graham goes to the Americas to search for evidence supporting his hypothesis that an advanced civilization was lost to history in the series of cataclysms that brought the last Ice Age to an apocalyptic end between 12,800 and 11,600 years ago.
Each episode investigates new discoveries being made in the American hemisphere, which until recently has been largely under-explored by archaeologists interested in humanity’s origins. Graham reveals new findings and speculates about how those findings might suggest the existence of a globe-traveling advanced civilization that left traces of itself in ancient cultures.
In episode one, evidence from New Mexico’s White Sands desert confirms the presence of people in the Americas long before it was possible to migrate across the Bering Straits that formed a land bridge during the lowered sea-levels of the Ice Age. The series takes us to multiple locations in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Easter Island to investigate when people first arrived in the “New World” and how they made the journey. The findings give Graham reason to question the accepted timeline of human history.
As well as interviewing archaeologists, historians and indigenous elders, Graham is also joined at times by actor Keanu Reeves, as shown in the trailer for the second season:
One would imagine that the content of Ancient Apocalypse: the Americas will likely be sourced in part from Graham’s 2019 book America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization, as well as incorporating new discoveries that have been announced in the intervening 5 years.
I had some criticisms of the way in which the the first season of Ancient Apocalypse demonised archaeologists as a whole, so I’m hoping that element is not emphasized as much in the new season – although given the nature of how controversy and polarising debate feed into the publicity machine these days, I’m not optimistic.
But maybe having Keanu aboard this time around will make everyone chill a bit, and be excellent to each other. Here’s hoping!
