Extreme explorer Victor Vescovo embarks on an unprecedented global mission to dive to the deepest points of all five oceans – a feat no one has ever achieved before. Vescovo, an ex-naval commander and a multi-millionaire investor, is funding the entire mission himself – at a cost of nearly $50 million. Central to this bold mission is a newly-engineered prototype mini-sub, which will have to withstand staggering pressures at full ocean depth – the equivalent of being crushed beneath the weight of the US’s largest aircraft carrier.
This is a remarkable story of human endeavour and scientific discovery in the face of huge challenges of mother nature – from nerve-shredding leaks during the first test dives in the Atlantic Ocean, to rough seas and icebergs in the Southern Ocean, diving into a tsunami trigger zone in the Indian Ocean, breaking the record for the world’s deepest ever dive in the Mariana trench in the Pacific, and evading floating pack ice to complete the final dive in the freezing waters of the Arctic. During a year-long expedition Victor and his team of adventurers and scientists draw on all their reserves of ingenuity and endurance to achieve their dream.
With over 40 new species discovered – from fish with transparent heads in the Pacific, to floating balloon-like creatures in the Indian Ocean – new swathes of the ocean bed mapped with cutting-edge sonar in unprecedented detail, and the first ever footage captured of hidden landscapes over 5 miles below the surface, this series bears remarkable witness to a landmark in exploration history – an epic journey to the final, unexplored frontier of our planet – the deep ocean.
Series Director
David Lee
Series Producer
Anthony Geffen
Executive Producer
Siobhan Mulholland
Executive Producer for Discovery
Neil Laird
Directors of Photography
Paul Williams
Christopher Sutcliffe
Music by
Graham Hadfield
Editor
Rich Lester
Sarjit Bains
Edit Producers
Claire Forsyth
Lina Zilinskaite
Alex Turner
Production Managers
Tammy Cannon
Juliet Hofmann
Assistant Producers
Sam Clarke
Abi Glading