How to Watch Earth Online Free: Stream Chris Packham Series from Anywhere

Earth is a new nature docuseries telling the astonishing 4.5-billion-year story of the planet we call home: Earth. The title debuts in the UK on Monday, July 17, 2023, when it airs on BBC Two and streams on BBC iPlayer. It also airs and streams on PBS in the US on October 4, 2023.

BBC’s streaming service only works inside the UK and blocks your access from abroad due to geo-restrictions, but don’t worry; there is a workaround. 

Using a VPN app will let you watch Earth online from anywhere since it helps you change your IP address to a UK one, thus making it seem like you’re in Great Britain and bypassing the blockade. 

With this said, let's see when, where, and how to easily watch Earth online from anywhere, and also what you need a VPN for, the series preview, release date, plot, cast, and more.

How to Watch Earth Online With a VPN

You can watch Earth with a VPN solution on BBC iPlayer while being abroad as long as you use a UK server and then load the streaming service. Let’s check out how to do this step by step:

1. Sign up for a VPN that works with BBC iPlayer (we recommend NordVPN).
2. Download and install the VPN on your device or system.
3. Launch the VPN app and switch it on via a UK server.
4. Load the BBC iPlayer platform and stream the title.

Why Do You Need a VPN to Watch Earth?

You need a VPN to o Watch Earth because BBC iPlayer doesn't let you play titles outside the UK and blocks your access due to geo-restrictions.

If you try to play titles on iPlayer from outside the UK without a VPN, an error message appears on top of the episode image saying, "BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues. In the UK? Here's some advice."

A VPN changes your IP address to a UK one and removes this error message, helping you stream Earth from anywhere. You just need to select a UK server to circumvent the geo-blockades. We recommend NordVPN because it effortlessly works with almost all streaming platforms, including BBC iPlayer, and it’s one of the top VPN services on the market right now.

Where to Watch Earth

The Earth documentary series will premiere in the UK on Monday, July 17, 2023, via BBC Two at 9 pm local time, and it will stream on BBC iPlayer soon after the premiere broadcast ends on TV. It will also debut in the US on October 4 via PBS. The season has 5 episodes, each one hour long, that will be released as a boxset for streaming on the series premiere day and with one episode a week on TV.

We have no release date for Canada and Australia yet. Here's where to see Earth stream:

Streaming Service	Monthly Price Starting At	Available Locations
BBC iPlayer	Free (with ads)	UK
PBS	Free	US, Canada

How to Watch Earth in the UK

If you live in the UK, Earth airs on Monday, July 17, 2023, at 9 pm local time on BBC Two, and BBC’s streaming platform will also carry each new episode soon after the premiere broadcast concludes on TV. You can stream Earth on BBC iPlayer for free after logging in with your free account credentials. 

The BBC library includes many other popular shows, including MasterChef, Peaky Blinders, Inside No. 9, The Gallows Pole: This Valley Will Rise, Shetland, Gentleman Jack, Call the Midwife, The Gold, and Eastenders.

BBC iPlayer is only available in the UK, but you can circumvent the geo-restrictions while traveling abroad with a secure VPN app running via a UK server in the background.

How to Watch Earth in the US 

In the US, the global version of the series, which will be called Ancient Earth, will premiere via NOVA on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 9 pm ET on PBS. The series will also stream on the PBS website and on the PBS app, where you may be asked to log in with your TV provider credentials.

PBS is only available in the US and Canada, but a top-rated VPN set to a US server will remove the geo-blockade while traveling abroad if you want to watch BBC 2's Earth series.

Can I Watch Earth in Canada and Australia?

No, you can’t watch Earth in Canada and Australia right now, and we have no premiere date for this documentary series in other countries besides the UK and the US. 

Until then, we suggest you turn to a high-quality VPN set to a UK server to unblock BBC iPlayer and watch Earth online for free in the US, Canada, Australia, and anywhere else.

Can You Watch Earth Online Free?

Yes, you can watch Earth online for free, considering the BBC iPlayer offers free access to its library for UK viewers after logging in with your free account’s credentials.

Earth 2023 Docuseries Preview

In this new jaw-dropping nature series, Chris Packham uses the latest immersive cutting-edge CGI science to show the critical and most epic moments, from the moment it came into being to the arrival of its most impactful inhabitants, humans, as we get to see massive asteroid bombardments, extreme climate changes, and collisions of continents.

To recreate the landscape and life that existed millions and even billions of years ago, the producers consulted with over two hundred leading paleontologists, geologists, climatologists, and other specialists and checked thousands of peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

Each episode focuses on a pivotal era as landscapes and ecosystems evolved. Adding Chris Packham’s vast knowledge of our contemporary natural world, the series focuses on how special our planet is and the challenges we face today.

Earth Episode Guide and UK Release Schedule

• Season 1 Episode 1: Inferno (July 17, 2023) - One of the darkest periods in Earth’s history: the worst mass extinction the planet has ever seen, when as much as 90% of all species died, 252 million years ago. This extraordinary moment in Earth’s history took life to the brink, wreaking havoc and destruction on an unprecedented scale. But somehow, life found a way to bounce back, and a new geological era ushered in the age of the dinosaurs. 
• Season 1 Episode 2: Snowball (July 17 on iPlayer and July 24 on BBC Two) - Earth’s terrifying journey into the deep freeze starts with fire, not ice. The giant supercontinent Rodinia broke up 800 million years ago, long before the age of the dinosaurs, before there was even animal life. Earth’s vast powerful tectonic forces rip the land apart, kicking off a series of events that results in huge amounts of carbon dioxide being sucked from the atmosphere and sending global temperatures plummeting.
• Season 1 Episode 3: Green (July 17 on iPlayer and July 31 on BBC Two) - How plant life turned Earth from a barren rock into a vibrant green world - a four-billion-year saga of extraordinary highs and lows that almost wiped out all life on the planet. Beginning as a water world without land masses, a giant asteroid bombardment triggered Earth's plate tectonics, leading to huge fungi, soil, and giant swamp forests. But the early plants locked so much carbon dioxide that global temperatures suddenly plunged.
• Season 1 Episode 4: Atmosphere (July 17 on iPlayer and August 7 on BBC Two) - When Earth first formed from clouds of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago, it was - like so many other lifeless worlds in the universe - devoid of an atmosphere, an inhospitable rock floating in the black void of space. But as the young planet is pummelled by asteroids, a period of extraordinary upheaval begins.
• Season 1 Episode 5: Human (July 17 on iPlayer and August 14 on BBC Two) - Today, Earth is a human world, home to eight billion people and counting. Humans now have a greater effect in shaping Earth’s surface than many natural processes. Chris Packham explores how dramatic twists in Earth’s story enabled humans to go from being part of nature to controlling it and what can be learned from this epic tale before it’s too late.

Earth 2023 Series Official Trailer

Final Thoughts

You can watch Earth online on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on PBS in the US. And that’s not a problem for people who live in other countries or are traveling outside the UK or the US since a secure VPN set to a UK/US server can easily unblock iPlayer/PBS from anywhere.

In conclusion, we recommend NordVPN due to having thousands of servers worldwide, high speeds, stable connections, unlimited bandwidth, and the best security and privacy features. Moreover, the money-back guarantee lets you virtually try NordVPN risk-free for 30 days.