Biology professor has starring role in six-part nature documentary

Graham Scott started to worry while watching Cunk on Earth.

The Netflix mockumentary stars a clueless host who asks real historians inane and absurd questions.

Scott had agreed to appear as an expert on a documentary series and was just weeks away from taping his segment. As the credits rolled on Cunk on Earth, Scott turned to his wife and asked “what if it’s actually a prank and I’m about to become the butt of a joke?”

It turns out his fears were unfounded – the nature documentary series The Animal Within was exactly as promised by the Toronto production company when they reached out to Scott in January 2025.

Over six hour-long episodes, the show examines the adaptations animals have evolved over time and how humans can learn from their evolution. Season two explores how evolution has engineered animals to be master hunters, communicators, endurance champions, stealth experts, survivors and warriors.

“It sounded like my kind of show,” says Scott, a comparative and evolutionary physiologist whose research aims to understand how various species of vertebrates respond and adapt to natural and human-induced challenges. “I’m not sure how the producers found me but I’m glad they did.”

While he’s given his share of radio and print interviews about animals in stressed environments, he’d yet to go in front of the camera. “It sounded like fun.”

His homework arrived a month before the video shoot – a thick stack of fully sourced background information and research on the animals he’d be asked to talk about. “Some of it I already knew and some of it I was learning for the first time.”

He was interviewed on March 2025 at a hotel near the university where a meeting room had been converted into a studio.

Scott was interviewed by the director for 13 hours, from early morning to early evening with a break for lunch. “It felt like I as teaching an undergrad class. By the 12^th hour though, I’d hit the wall. We still made it through to the end.”

Scott kept his role on the documentary under wraps until he’d watched the series.  “I was kind of nervous to see how it would all come together.” He was especially impressed by how computer-generated images shows the biological structure of each animal’s unique powers.

The show earned high marks from his wife and two tough critics – his two kids. “My daughter kept asking me when the show was coming out and she wound up watching it with her friends.”

Scott has a starring role in episodes one and five and key contributions in episodes three and six. The series also features experts from other universities and organizations.

So would he go in front of the camera again? “Absolutely. The documentary was pretty fun to be involved in.  And the next time, I’ll know what I’m in for.”

The Animal Within is produced by Toronto-based Go Button Media in partnership with Munich-based distributor Autentic and Canadian broadcaster Super Channel.

Season two of The Animal Within is available now on the Super Channel.