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This Week: 

A sneak peek at the stunning new series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World. Plus, an exclusive Q&A with the show's producers and directors.

Finally, secure your tickets now for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.

WATCH: See the last refuge for burrowing parrots

A new series showcases Patagonia's most elusive animals

Patagonia is a land of extremes, home to spectacular and reclusive wildlife that has what it takes to survive in one of the world's last great wildernesses.

The new Original Series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World,

premiering this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, follows the compelling stories of the animals, plants and people who live on the pristine southern tip of South America. 

From rare cold-water corals in the fjordlands to the pocket-size predators in the region's magical ancient forests. the dancing birds on the volcanic plateaus of the wild highlands and resourceful orca on the desert coast — these are a few of the elusive creatures featured in the nature series, some of which haven't been filmed before. 

 

Here's a sneak peek of the unique wildlife featured in the series: 

Kodkods - The Valdivian temperate rainforest in southern Chile is home to this peculiar little predator: the kodkod. Now threatened with extinction, the wild cat is so elusive that some call it the "ghost of the forest."

Monito Del Montes - This tiny marsupial raises its young in pouches like kangaroos. It's the only creature in South America to hibernate, and when it enters this state, it breathes once every 3 minutes. Its amazing ability to survive the winter could help scientists better understand human metabolism. 

Orcas - This pod of orcas off the coast of Estancia el Pedral in Argentina and targets unsuspecting seals and sea lion pups. The orcas have developed a remarkable hunting technique: They beach themselves, snap up their meal and then expertly maneuver back into the sea. They are one of only two orca families in the world to catch prey in this way. 

Pumas - Pumas are protected across Patagonia's national parks, such as Torres del Paine in Chile, but in the past, ranchers have hunted the animals to protect their sheep and cattle from predators.

Chilean Dolphins – Found only along Chile's Corcovado Gulf, the Chilean dolphin is one of the smallest species in the world. Little is known about these dolphins, but their distinctive round fins and white bellies make them easy to recognize.

Don't miss the premiere of Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World on Sunday, July 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT only on CNN. The series kicks off by exploring Patagonia’s Atlantic coast where the land may be barren but the sea is rich with life.

An inside look at the making of Patagonia

Filmed over one year, the ground-breaking series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World was a challenging feat to produce. CNN’s Rene Marsh spoke with executive producer James Smith and producers/directors René Araneda, Kate Laurie and Kevin Zaouali about creating the stunning series in such an extreme environment. 

Here's a recap of their conversation:

 

Q: What can viewers expect from the series?

A: (Executive Producer James Smith) Viewers can expect to be transported into this amazing world of beauty and drama, and experience this world through the eyes of the extraordinary animals and human characters. But it's also an important reality check on some of the challenges facing wildlife and people in this wild part of the world, too.

 

I think a lot of wildlife series portray a rather idealized and perfect view of the world, where everything is fine. But we present the reality. We reflect on things like climate change, fishing, salmon farming and some of the other things that are threatening the natural world.

 

Q: How hard was it capturing the world's largest animal?

A: (Producer/Director Kate Laurie) You'd think filming the world's largest animal that's ever lived would be easy. We had a team of experts that flew in to help us on our mission. We had an incredible boat crew that knew the waters where we were sailing. We had all eyes on deck. And we spent 11 days sailing up and down this area where the blue whales come to feed every summer, and we found nothing.

Our captain informed us that no one had seen a blow or any whale in five weeks, so we were then faced with this decision: do we keep going, or do we make a call to move on? We stuck it out and luck paid off literally on the 11th hour. We found a whale on the last day, so we manage to tell the story, but it was very tense. 

 

Q: What was it like filming in such a remote area?

A: (Producer/Director Kevin Zaouali) Spending an entire year filming the series was amazing. We spent days and nights — stormy, rainy and beautiful days — putting it all together for the show. 

 

The penguin fights don't happen every day, but if you're up there living with them, you start to understand them. You start to know them very well. I feel very privileged to work on this series because I was able to share all these animals' amazing stories.  

 

Q: Why is this story so important to share with the world? 
A: (Producer/Director René Araneda): There are so many stories we've been for years trying to show, trying to tell, trying to film. This series gave us the opportunity to go there and try to tell those stories.

 

The human side of these stories brings so much to every animal story. I think those are the stories the world needs to see, the relationship between humans and animals. Some are positive. Some are not working that great. What are those solutions? There are stories that needed to be shared. 

 

Click here to listen to the full conversatons. 

New season of United Shades starts Sunday

The seventh season of the five-time Emmy Award-winning documentary series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell launches this Sunday, July 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

 

In the premiere episode, W. Kamau Bell explores "wokeness" — a term that's become the epicenter of a massive political and ideological fight. Bell visits Arizona, an emerging swing state, and asks people about critical race theory, which has polarized the nation.

 

Need a refresher on CRT? Click here to learn critical race theory is — and what it isn't.

 

Heres is the upcoming schedule of United Shades of America:

• 7/10  - The Woke War
• 7/17 -  Black in Appalachia
• 7/24 - Athletes and the Cost of Winning
• 7/31 - California is Burning
• 8/7 - Asian Americans in the Spotlight
• 8/14 - The Landback Movement
• 8/21 - Hawaii for Hawaiians

WATCH: W. Kamau Bell asks people on street about critical race theory

W. Kamau Bell: What you need to know about the 'woke war'

Comedian and political provocateur W. Kamau Bell wrote about the frenzy over “woke"— the topic of the season opener. Here's what he said:

 

"Wokeness." "Wokesters." "Wokerati." "Woketember." "Wokeuary." Okay, I made the last two up. It's easy to do because everybody seems to be making up variations on the woke theme. Everywhere you look someone is worried that America has gotten too woke. People who society has embraced as supposedly intelligent and thoughtful are worried that Netflix (for example) is too woke. Netflix, the streaming service that has a show called, "Is It Cake?" Is it too woke to find out if something is cake or not?

 

And as Black person, I feel like this whole argument might destroy me. At this point in American history there are clearly more important things to fret about. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and made it clear they are coming after more of our hard-fought-for rights. We have averaged more than one mass shooting a day since the beginning of the year. We are having hearings to determine if the insurrection that we all saw was actually an insurrection at all. A truck filled with 53 dead undocumented people was found in San Antonio, Texas. Cops are still killing unarmed Black men while they are somehow able to non-violently arrest armed White men. And that is just the things off the top of my head. But the GOP, much of the media and various self-appointed concerned citizens think that "woke" is the scourge of our times.

 

Woke is just another example of the White dominant culture taking a word Black people invented and then twisting it beyond recognition. Woke was a word first attributed to the singer Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter in the 1920s. But it didn't really pick up major traction for Black folks until the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014 in the wake of the killing of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown by White police officer Darren Wilson. "Stay woke!" was a battle cry and a hashtag. And then it became a t-shirt that White people could buy from Etsy from other White people. Kind of like how namaste went from a Hindu greeting to "Are you getting up?" "Nope. Nama-stay in bed."

 

In an interview we did in 2019 for "United Shades," CUNY professor Syreeta McFadden and I even declared "woke" dead because of all this. But that scene got deleted. Maybe if we had included it, we might not be in this mess right now. Maybe this is all my fault.

 

To read his full opinion piece, click here. 

Tickets on sale now for new documentary

Now, more than ever, people need inspiration and hope. Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down tells the incredible story of the former US representative Gabby Giffords following a horrific assassination attempt in 2011 that left her with partial paralysis and a language impairment. 

 

“The intelligence, humor, and toughness she brings to every personal and political challenge that comes her way makes Gabby not only an ideal documentary subject, but also a spectacular human being to spend time with,” said directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen 

 

You can watch special advance presentation on Wednesday, July 13. And it will in theaters on Sunday, July 15. Tickets are on sale now. 

Click here to watch the trailer.