Earth at Night in Color season 2 review – when the lights are away…

Earth At Night in Color season 2 is one of the three Apple TV+ releases – the others being The Year Earth Changed and the second season of Tiny World – dropped ahead of this year’s Earth Day, and whether or not you consider it the weakest of the three is going to depend on whether you buy into its central conceit, which is that the footage captured by its uber-sensitive cameras is the first of its kind. Dedicated natural history fans might quibble with that assertion, but mileage will vary. Either way, the technology on show here is undeniably impressive, giving an intimate look at the nocturnal lives of animals that, blessedly, include more than just big cats this time.

But take that technology away, and what are you left with? Well, you have a returning Tom Hiddleston on narration duties, and he’s fine, if lacking the gravitas of David Attenborough and the obvious enthusiasm of Paul Rudd. You have a better range of animal subjects and biomes than before, though admittedly not to a considerable degree. And you have a couple of standout episodes and moments that are probably worth the price of admission alone for fans of the genre.

Then again, though, fans of the genre will be most likely to consider what Earth At Night In Color Season 2 offers to be a bit old hat, despite the excellence of the camerawork. The six 30-minute episodes are breezy, but whereas Tiny World turned that slight format to its advantage, this docuseries feels like a wannabe epic trimmed down against its will. It lacks its sister show’s excitable energy and the sweeping power of The Year Earth Changed, so it’s left in a somewhat uncomfortable middle ground, saggy in places, and with genuinely evocative sequences fewer and further between than seems ideal.

It’d be hard not to recommend Earth At Night in Color Season 2, especially as a companion to the other two releases that dropped on Apple TV+ alongside it. But it’s in comparison to those releases that it does suffer a little. There’s nothing egregiously bad here, but also nothing that is really going to blow your mind, and with the natural history genre keeping pace with revolutionary filming techniques and subjects, that’s kind of what you expect sometimes.