James May's Great Explorers

James May's Great Explorers (2025- )

To Be DeterminedDocumentary showTravel

There was a time, before football and rock'n'roll, when explorers were the A-listers of their day. Death-defying antics and tales of daring made them the stuff of legend: names like Columbus, Raleigh, and Cook, who sailed off over the horizon to discover new lands and bring home treasures unimaginable to those sitting at home in dark, damp Europe.   

Intrepid explorers they may have been, but ‘great' might be pushing it. Across the seven seas, they spilled blood and spread disease. They enabled the destruction of civilisations and the growth of slavery.  And many of their ‘discoveries' weren't quite what you'd think...   

Christopher Columbus - who stumbled across the Americas, but insisted he was in Asia.   

Sir Walter Raleigh - who didn't discover potatoes, tobacco, or El Dorado, but hustled his way into the history books.

Captain James Cook - who failed in his search for Antarctica but charted a third of the world map along the way.   

James will discover what really happened - and how. There'll be hands-on experiments, technological wonders, and plenty of messing about in boats, as he explores the science, engineering, and sheer stubbornness that allowed these extraordinary explorers to sail to every corner of the earth.   

Network
Scheduleevery Thursday at 21:00 (90 min)

Last Episode

Captain Cook
Season 1Episode 390 min

Captain Cook

Captain James Cook was the last explorer in the age of sail – and one of the busiest, charting one third of the globe. His voyages brought huge advancements in navigation, biology, and geography, and in Britain he is generally thought of as a hero – but in other parts of the world, that's not the story at all.

James May is diving headfirst into history, and getting hands-on with science, to understand how this studious and serious son of a farmer broke through the class ceiling to become the greatest naval captain of his age.

In Whitby, the young Cook was an eager apprentice on coal ships before joining the Navy - and James attempts his own apprenticeship aboard tall ship Bessie Ellen in Cornwall.

Cook was the first European to chart New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. At the Natural History Museum, James gets to actually touch the incredible creatures brought back aboard the Endeavour, and learn about the unorthodox collecting methods employed by chief scientist Joseph Banks.

Cook is renowned for being – at first anyway – a caring and considerate Captain. James experiences the strict measures Cook put in place to preserve the sailors' health – including all manner of delicious scurvy cures, and dancing the hornpipe. But at least he gets to taste all the ship's alcohol too.

On his second voyage, Cook lent a hand in solving the greatest navigational puzzle of the age. James visits the Royal Museums in Greenwich to scratch his head over the Longitude problem and see the failed attempts that led to the H4 chronometer that finally cracked it.

But Cook's triumphant voyages undoubtedly paved the way for the destruction of the civilisations he encountered, and British occupation of their lands. James grapples with Cook's intentions and culpability – as indeed, did Cook himself.

févr. 27, 2025

Recent Episodes

EpisodeNameAirdate
S01E03Captain Cookfévr. 27, 2025
S01E02Sir Walter Raleighfévr. 20, 2025
S01E01Christopher Columbusfévr. 13, 2025
View all episodesView all seasons

Cast

View all cast

Characters

View all characters

Also known as

  • The Great Explorers with James May

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Buccaneers
Running

The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers are the daughters of America's new rich — beautiful and untameable, despite the best efforts of England's finest governesses, they are on their way to London to snare themselves an aristocrat, low in funds but high in class, to make a perfect match.

Chopped
Running

Chopped

Chopped is a cooking competition show that is all about skill, speed and ingenuity. Each week, four chefs compete before a panel of expert judges and turn baskets of mystery ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal. Course by course, the chefs will be "chopped" from the competition until only one winner remains. The challenge? They have seconds to plan and 30 minutes to cook an amazing course with the basket of mystery ingredients given to them moments before the clock starts ticking! And the pressure doesn't stop there. Once they've completed their dish, they've got to survive the Chopping Block where our three judges are waiting to be wowed and not shy about voicing their culinary criticisms! Our host, Ted Allen, leads this high-energy, high-pressure show that will have viewers rooting for a winner and cheering for the losers. Chopped is a game of passion, expertise and skill — and in the end, only one chef will survive the Chopping Block. Who will make the cut? The answer is on Chopped!

GenreFood
The Librarians: The Next Chapter
Running

The Librarians: The Next Chapter

The Librarians: The Next Chapter centers on Vikram Chamberlain, a "Librarian" from the past who time traveled from 1847 and now finds himself stuck in the present. When Vikram returns to his castle in Belgrade, Serbia and discovers that it is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. With the help of a new team of eclectic heroes, including a savant in world history, a scientific genius, and a highly skilled Guardian, Vikram has only six months to clean up the mess he made.

Ironheart
Running

Ironheart

Set after the events of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams - a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world - returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka "The Hood".

Resident Alien
Running

Resident Alien

Resident Alien is a dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story that follows a crash-landed alien named Harry who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth — ultimately asking the question, "Are human beings worth saving?"