Three years after filming a viral video of a white woman who tried to call the cops on him after he asked her to leash her dog in Central Park, birdwatcher Christian Cooper is now the host of a birdwatching docuseries to the internet’s utter delight.
The series is Extraordinary Birder With Christian Cooper, and according to NatGeo’s description, Cooper “takes us on a journey to dive into and discover the wild, wonderful, and unpredictable world of birds.” Episodes show Cooper traveling to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alabama, and his hometown of New York City to explore each place’s diverse avian life.
The series debuted on National Geographic on June 17 and will air new episodes weekly until July 22. But, if you don’t want to wait for new episodes to drop every week, you can binge the entire first season (which encompasses six episodes that are about 45 minutes apiece) on Disney+ or Hulu right now.
Cooper has been doing press for Extraordinary Birder in the leadup to the show’s debut. But with so much TV at the touch of a button these days, it took until after the premiere for some people to discover its existence.
One trailer for the show introduces viewers to Cooper, who says that “Birds are central to my way of seeing the world and loving the world.” Even in the one-minute preview, Cooper’s love and enthusiasm for birdwatching are on full display.
People are thrilled to see that Cooper is not only thriving but also that he gets to share his love of birdwatching with the world.
Cooper, who wrote and edited comics in the ’90s, first went viral in June 2020 after encountering Amy Cooper (no relation) in Central Park. He was birdwatching while she was walking her dog. Christian Cooper asked her to leash her dog (they were in an area of the park where leashes were required) and started filming Amy Cooper when she called 911 and told the operator he threatened her. He posted the video on Facebook while his sister shared it on Twitter, where the video was viewed millions of times and illustrated just how false reports could cause harm. The video resulted in Amy Cooper losing her job and being charged with filing a false police report (which was later dropped after she completed a program on racial bias).
He’s since written a bestselling memoir, and along with the show, some are comparing his successes to how Amy Cooper has fared over the past three years.
New episodes of Extraordinary Birder air on National Geographic Saturdays at 10pm ET/9pm CT.
