Plot Synopsis

Narrated by David Tennant, PENGUINS: SPY IN THE HUDDLE reveals what it's really like to be a penguin -- from a whole new perspective -- because filmmakers deployed 50 animatronic cameras disguised as realistic life-size penguins, eggs and rocks to infiltrate the colonies of three very different species: emperor penguins in Antarctica; rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands; and Humboldt penguins in Peru's Atacama Desert. With 50 remotely controlled spycams operating in tough environments for nearly a year, there were many mishaps, like losing three eggcams in a blizzard or having a rockhoppercam lose its head in an attack by a jealous mate. But when a predator bird mistakes an eggcam for the real thing and flies off with it, viewers are treated to the first aerial of a penguin colony shot by a flying bird. The spycams, which captured many first time events and challenges faced by these dedicated parents and chicks, provide new insights into the study of penguin behavior. PBS aired the U.S. premiere of this three-episode series on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT (check local listings), ten months after Discovery aired "Penguins: Waddle All the Way," a two-hour special that was a condensed version of this series.