While Blake Lively narrates National Geographic’s new docuseries, Secrets of the Penguins, it’s the baby penguins that really steal the show.
Lively, 37, lends her voice to the three-part docuseries about unique penguin behaviors and traits caught on camera across the globe. In Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at the show, which premieres on Sunday, April 20, Lively takes viewers through an interaction between two emperor penguins and their adorable chicks.
“Scientists believe it’s possible that, at just two weeks old, the chicks are already being encouraged to make friends,” she says over footage of one baby penguin squealing at another to come out of their mom’s brood pouch. “Their mothers bring them face to face, perhaps so they can learn to communicate the emperor way.”
After one of the chicks shakes their head, the other one mimics their actions, something Lively notes adult emperor penguins also do.
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The clip goes on to show dozens more penguin mothers gathered to socialize with their babies. “It’s a mommy and me class, and the empress has brought her daughter,” Lively states. “She’s a little shy, but mom knows how important this will be.”
Just as Lively says, the clip ends with the little one coming out of their mother’s pouch to join the fun.
Lively’s narration of the motherly interaction makes for a sweet moment, and the actress is a mother herself. She shares four kids with her husband, Ryan Reynolds: daughters James, 10, Inez, 8, and Betty, 5, and son Olin, 2.
The Gossip Girl alum shared her excitement for the docuseries via Instagram. “This Earth Month dive into the incredible & SECRET Lives of the Penguins with breathtaking cinematography by @bertiegregory along with the thoughtful work that went into this production by so many @natgeo @natgeoanimals @jamescameronofficial,” she wrote alongside the show’s trailer on March 12.
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She continued, “It was a dream and honor to narrate this series and to learn about these fascinating penguins’ joys, challenges, loves and devotion to their families. It was beautiful to see how well we humans can relate to creatures seemingly so different than us 
.”
The docuseries — produced in part by director James Cameron — marks Lively’s most recent project ahead of the May 1 release of her new Prime Video movie, Another Simple Favor. A sequel to 2018’s A Simple Favor, the sequel picks up with Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie Smothers after Lively’s Emily Nelson ended up in jail for the murder of her father and twin sister. Now released, Emily surprises her frenemy by asking her to be the maid of honor at her lavish Italian wedding. Just as she took Emily down in the first film, Stephanie quickly suspects there’s more to the wedding trip than meets the eye.
Lively, who was recently named to the 2025 TIME 100 list, has also been wrapped up in legal drama with her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni since December 2024. While Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her, Baldoni has refuted her claims and alleged that she attempted to take over creative control of the film, among many other claims from the two. Both sides and their legal teams have vehemently denied the other’s allegations, and a trial date is set for March 2026.
Secrets of the Penguins premieres on National Geographic Sunday, April 20, at 8 p.m. ET. All three episodes will be available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Disney Channel will celebrate Earth Day by airing the first episode on Tuesday, April 22, at 8 p.m. ET.
