Ali, who won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight and Green Book, is narrating Chimp Empire, a four-part series for the streamer.
The series hails from director James Reed, who won an Oscar for co-directing Netflix's My Octopus Teacher. It is his last documentary on chimpanzees, after having been responsible for Rise of the Warrior Apes for Discovery.
Star: Mahershala Ali
Chimp Empire explores the world of the largest chimpanzee society ever discovered. Nestled under the lush canopies of Uganda's Ngogo forest, scientists and field trackers have lived alongside this tribe for the past 25 years, watching as they built a sophisticated family and political structure: forming alliances, building trust, caring for one another. and often going head to head in a never-ending struggle for power.
Reed and his team put together a camera crew to capture an intimate look at the Ngogo chimps, who saw some of the most tumultuous battles and dramatic changes in the tribe's history. During the series, babies will grow, relationships will flourish, and leaders will rise and fall.
The series is produced by Keo Films, which also produced Rise of the Warrior Apes and Lucy The Human Chimp, and Reed's Underdog Films. Reed will executive produce with Keo Films' Matt Cole. Callum Webster is a producer on the series.
Chimp Empire will be released on April 19, just before Earth Day.