EcoWatch
Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    Home Culture

    6 Must-See Environmental Films and TV Shows of 2023

    By: Linnea Harris
    Published: January 29, 2023
    Edited by Irma Omerhodzic
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Video on demand menu on TV
    demaerre / iStock / Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    Looking for something to watch? Check out these environmental films and TV shows from 2022.

    Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcI_xfryMD0

    Along with protecting more lands than any other president, add Emmy Award-Winner for Best Narrator to former president Barack Obama’s accomplishments. Over five episodes, this short series transports viewers to ten countries over five continents and features a few of the 4,000-some National Parks around the world. 

    Obama’s narration guides us through the landscapes and wildlife of Gabon, Madagascar, Japan, Costa Rica, Australia, Rwanda, Chile, Kenya, and Indonesia, with shots of remote landscapes and rare species: a 1,000-year-old Japanese cedar tree, a one-ton leatherback turtle, and Super Tusker elephants among them. In the US, we’re taken through Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii (near where Obama grew up), Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in California, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

    Beyond just showing us these magnificent natural places, Obama also explains how government-regulated lands can have beneficial relationships with nearby populations, and how more protected land means a better life for all of us. He concludes the show with a call to action: “Vote like the planet depends on it.”

    To The End (available on Amazon Video February 6, 2023)

    Directed by Rachel Lears and produced by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, To The End highlights the efforts of four powerful women of color who have been champions of the Green New Deal: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. House Representative; Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement; Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the Justice Democrats; and Rhiana Gunn-Wright, climate policy director for the Roosevelt Institute. 

    The Green New Deal aims to transition the U.S. economy to 100% renewable energy in 10 years, with jobs and justice at the center. Similar to Roosevelt’s New Deal, the GND isn’t a single bill, but a framework for future policies. The film debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was filmed over four tumultuous and significant years for climate policy. The footage moves from California wildfires, to the halls of Congress, to protests in the streets, up until the end of 2021 with President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, which barely passed in the House, and would later fail in the Senate. The film conveys the roadblocks, compromises, and hopelessness that these women and other champions of climate action often experience, but also the joy of victory and change.

    High Water (Netflix)

    Based on true events, High Water tells the story of a Polish city underwater. The Central European Flood (or the Oder Flood) of 1997 sunk 40% of Wroclaw, Poland underwater after several months’ worth of rain fell within just a few days. The flood began in the Czech Republic and spread to Germany and Poland, and ultimately killed 114 people. Directed by Jan Holoubek and Bartłomiej Ignaciuk, this show is a fictionalized account of the decisions made by scientists and the government before, during, and after the disaster. In the midst of our current environmental crisis, High Water is eerily reminiscent of the recent floods and other natural disasters caused by climate change now, 25 years later. The show asks audiences to consider the increasing frequency of these disasters and how our handling of them alters cities and communities forever.

    Polar Bear (Disney+)

    Yes, it stars a polar bear, but this Disneynature film has none of the Snow-White-like animals of classic Disney tails. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson and narrated by Catherine Keener, Polar Bear chronicles the lives of a mother polar bear and her two cubs in the Arctic, filming them through all of the seasons and challenges they face. Using memories of her own upbringing, the mother tries to teach her own cubs how to survive in a harsh, changing environment. The film highlights how climate change has impacted this landscape and threatened the livelihood of polar bears as ice flows shrink and seal populations diminish. “The Arctic could be ice-free by the summer of 2040,” the movie reminds viewers. “The actions we take today can positively change the future of polar bears”

    How to Change Your Mind (Netflix)

    Based on the 2018 book by Michael Pollan, this docuseries directed by Lucy Walker and Alison Ellwood turns the camera on psychedelic substances and their capacity to aid human health. Each of the four episodes focuses on the uses and history of one drug: LSD, psilocybin (a compound found in mushrooms), MDMA, and mescaline (a compound found in cacti). Guided by Michael Pollan himself, the show explores psychedelic therapy and the traditional and sacramental uses of these substances that have been employed for centuries. Interviews with practitioners and participants show the capacity of psychedelics to treat addiction, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the strong governmental resistance that psychedelic therapy has faced.

    Down to Earth with Zac Efron: Down Under Season 2 (Netflix) 

    Zac Efron is our tour guide for a second season of Down to Earth. Season one featured Efron and co-host/wellness expert Darin Olein, who traveled to different countries to learn about healthy and sustainable living, and to “find some new perspectives on some very old problems.”

    Season two looks a little different. After Efron found himself stuck in Australia as the pandemic lockdowns of March 2020 began closing borders, he now presents a season that focuses entirely on the Australian continent and the conservation efforts happening there. Each episode has a different focus, including habitat conservation, waste, the Torres Strait, wildfire, aboriginal voices, and eco-innovation. Across eight episodes, see the efforts of Australian organizations that are saving koalas and other wildlife from the devastating bushfires of 2020, participating in regenerative agriculture, restoring the Great Barrier Reef, breeding threatened Tasmanian devils, and the Aboriginal communities that are protecting lands. 

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Linnea Harris

      Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Along with her most recent position at Hunger Free America, she has interned with the Sierra Club in Washington, DC., Saratoga Living Magazine, and Philadelphia’s NPR Member Station, WHYY.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Humpback Whales Give Birth During Epic Migrations and Continue Traveling: Study
      Scientists once believed that humpback whales only gave birth in
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs Leads to Increase of Native Pond Turtles in Yosemite, Study Finds
      By reversing a takeover by non-native species, native species have
      By Paige Bennett
      PBS Documentary Shows Triumph and Tragedy in Fight for Water Rights
      Water For Life began its journey when filmmaker Will Parrinello
      By Craig Thompson

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Pollination ‘Magic’ Happens at Night Too, First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 23, 2025
        • Humpback Whales Give Birth During Epic Migrations and Continue Traveling: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 23, 2025
        • Plants Produce More Nectar in Response to the Sound of Buzzing Bees: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 23, 2025
        • NOAA: 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted to Be Above Normal With 13 to 19 Named Storms
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 22, 2025
        • IEA Warns of Potential Shortages of Copper as Demand Increases For Renewables
          by Paige Bennett
          May 22, 2025
        • States Can Take Meaningful Climate Action, Even Without Federal Support: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 22, 2025
        • Cultural Values on Indigenous Lands Help Forests Thrive at Nearly Twice the Rate of Protected Areas: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 21, 2025
        • Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs Leads to Increase of Native Pond Turtles in Yosemite, Study Finds
          by Paige Bennett
          May 21, 2025
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 558k
          Twitter 222k
          Instagram 52k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2025 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.

          Advertiser Disclosure

          Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.

          The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.