In National Geographic's Queens, Females Finally Get Their Say

glamour.com:

—the largest unbroken caldera in the world—when our safari guide stops our vehicle in front of a dozen elephants. It is in this quiet moment of observation when Vanessa Berlowitz, the executive producer of National Geographic's , Queens, casually mentions the kind of random fact you know you’ll never forget.“Wrinkles on an elephant help them stay cool because their wrinkles retain ten times more water than smooth skin," she says.That’s my headline, I decide: “Elephants Reveal the Best Reason to Embrace Your Wrinkles.”And yet, little did I know that coming up with a headline—and a particular focus for this piece—was going to take weeks to figure out.

As much as I’d love to write about how elephants can redefine our views on aging, or where to stay in Tanzania for , the truth is that the most important story here is the one I had no idea needed to be told.Queens is (premiering on National Geographic on March 4, and all episodes on Disney+ and Hulu come March 5) narrated by Angela Bassett that focuses on how female species like elephants, hyenas, lions, and more, rise to power and survive in a rapidly changing world.

It’s raw, it’s powerful, and .But the bigger story—and the one that will make episode seven all the more impactful for the viewers at home—is how Queens came to be in the first place.Wrinkles: They do a body good.Much like that surprising elephant fact, I was stunned to learn that most wildlife production you watch on TV is actually developed, edited, and based in Bristol, England.

These series are very rarely made by the locals who share this sacred land with the species who inhabit it. You also won't find a lot of women making the creative decisions, or being out in the field or up in a tree shooting footage..