Discovery en Español 2010-2011 Upfront.

Headlining the network’s upfront schedule are several blockbusters and specials including HUMAN PLANET, a high-definition epic celebration of humankind as well as EARTH FROM SPACE, which brings audiences face to face with a unique view of the world in a project filmed in partnership with NASA. Historic moments near and far are brought to life in spellbinding productions such as THE RISING: REBUILDING OF GROUND ZERO, a documentary series by the legendary Steven Spielberg and REIGN OF THE DINOSAURS a voyage back millennia, courtesy of Disney and Pixar.

Discovery en Español is also unveiling a number of impactful original productions such as NARCOSUBMARINOS, 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE, and a new series spin-off of the highly acclaimed MARAS special, MARAS THE SERIES.

“Discovery en Español’s consistent record demonstrates the network’s staying power. The compelling story lines and quality of our programming has an undeniable appeal that has positioned us in the # 2 slot among all Hispanic cable networks in primetime,***” said Luis Silberwasser, SVP and General Manager, Discovery Networks U.S. Hispanic Group. “Discovery en Español combines the best programming available from across Discovery’s portfolio of networks with a robust slate of original programming that tell stories on real world issues facing Hispanics today.”

EPIC BLOCKBUSTERS

REIGN OF THE DINOSAURS: Avatar meets Jurassic Park as the latest paleontological research meets Hollywood story telling. Discovery Channel teams with the top creative talent from Disney and Pixar to create an unparalleled television event. New creatures abound in a wondrous new world – giant dinos with Freddy Krueger style clawed hands, pygmy T-rex, frogs so big they can eat dinosaurs. Learn the latest in understanding of dinosaur behaviors with exotic mating dances, dinosaurs drunk on fermenting fruit, dinosaurs in apocalyptic events, the underwater birthing of mosasaurs, and prehistory’s angriest mammals. A daring and provocative new chapter in television.

HUMAN PLANET: An epic yet intimate celebration of the incredible diversity of human life on the planet. Wherever people live traditional lives, our cameras capture – for the very first time – practices that go back millennia. In the spectacular HD quality pioneered by LIFE and PLANET EARTH, these are ways of life that will shock, intrigue and inspire. Each episode is set in a different, amazing environment: Arctic, Rivers, Mountains, Ocean, Jungles, Grasslands, Desert and Urban. As much action movie as anthropology, this is people at their most daring and innovative.

EARTH FROM SPACE: Discovery Channel partners with NASA for a truly unique television experience. EARTH FROM SPACE will use cutting-edge satellite data to show for the first time what exists beyond the visible spectrum: Earth as a living organism. Its satellite technology so exacting, one could zero in from space and read a newspaper on the Earth’s surface. Observe Earth actively adapting and self-regulating to sustain life. See how lightning created the first life, stand inside a hurricane as it forms, see how dust in the Sahara creates rainstorms in the Amazon, and how recent earthquakes altered the spinning of the planet and shortened the length of a day.

SPECIALS

NARCOSUBMARINOS (Original Production): In 2008, Mexico’s navy seized a 30-foot makeshift submarine, carrying a drug shipment off its Pacific coast. This was not the first time home-built submarines had been discovered trying to smuggle large amounts of cocaine to the U.S. through Central America. This one-hour documentary takes us from the FARC – controlled jungles in Colombia, where most of these vessels are built, to Mexico’s Pacific, where the Sinaloa Cartel usually awaits for the arrival of the cocaine-packed submarines.

ATLANTIS: Europe’s first great civilization and the natural disaster that gave rise to the legend of Atlantis are brought to life. The BBC is collaborating with leading scientists, archaeologists and historians to recreate, in spectacular high def, the fabled world of the Minoans – the cradle of Western civilization, predating classical Greece by a thousand years. An immersive, factually grounded drama will tell the gripping story of the Minoan town of Akrotiri on the island of Thera and its destruction by the most violent volcanic eruption in recorded history.

11 DE SEPTIEMBRE (Original Production): A documentary that recreates the tragic day when America and the world came to a standstill (September 11, 2001), through the eyes of a number of Hispanics who lived it. As thousands fled the scene, many of our protagonists ran towards the unfolding tragedy (rescuers as well as heroes). Today, ten years later, each one of them offers a unique perspective that can only be told by those who where there and lived through the horrors.

INSIDE THE TITANIC: You think you know the Titanic story; heroism, nobility, the battle with nature, right? Wrong. You know nothing. Titanic documentaries and movies wrongly tell the story from the perspective of the victim. For the first time, we reveal what really happened from the POV of the killer – the water. Dynamic wave-cam follows the water as it bursts through walls, seeps silently under doors and engulfs freezing passengers.

SURVIVING D-DAY: The D-day landings have inspired generations, as the great American forces stormed the beaches to liberate the French. The story has always been told as one of heroism. This telling is different – it’s all about the odds. Using new studies, for the first time, this special forensically analyzes the chances of survival. As 2,000 Paratroopers face 345,000 bullets, across an area of sky covering 9 squares miles, the chances of survival were 1 in 4. But 50% of the men survive. How?

NEW SERIES

MARAS THE SERIES (Original Production): A new series spin-off of the highly acclaimed Maras special. This series takes an objective and chilling look at a problem that has grown to epic proportions. Latin American bred gangs are the topic of much of the current news coverage, including the escalating drug war on the U.S. border. Discovery en Español explores this growing phenomenon and its roots by going deep into the bowels of the most dangerous and violent communities here and in Latin America, underscoring the realities through vivid exchanges with its members (reformed and current), leaders in the community and the authorities.

CURIOSITY: From the visionary mind of John Hendricks, Discovery’s iconic founder, comes CURIOSITY, a landmark television event. Can we ask and answer the most fundamental questions facing the world today? Are we alone in the universe? Can we colonize other planets? Is time travel possible? Can we live forever, and do we want to? CURIOSITY will span five years with 60 episodes. Each episode will focus on a single enduring question in science, civilization, technology and the human experience.

THE RISING: REBUILIDNG GROUND ZERO: From executive producer Steven Spielberg, comes the definitive special series chronicling the historic reconstruction of Ground Zero. This is the story of the heroic quest of ordinary people – engineers, construction workers, city planners, architects – on an extraordinary journey of passion and purpose.

WILD RECON: It’s one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet, but venom expert Donald Schultz is willing to risk his own life to save those of others. Whether harvesting venom from the fangs of a deadly taipan in Australia, or vaccinating cheetahs against a disease that threatens to wipe out the entire population, Donald is fearless in his quest to ensure the survival of dozens of species across the globe.

MR. AND MRS. HAWKE: Myke Hawke is a former Special Forces survival expert. His wife Ruth is a TV journalist. Together, they take on some of the most forbidding and remote locations around the world. Dropped into each spot they must survive as a team for four days and nights, with only a knife and the clothes on their backs. As they test their will and their marriage, the two find common ground standing up to nature as husband and wife in the wildest places on Earth.

RETURNING SERIES

MAN VS. WILD (Season 5 and 6): Adventurer Bear Grylls is put to the ultimate test. Left in the middle of nowhere, Grylls employs his encyclopedic knowledge of nature to scavenge for food and keep his body in order. Headache? Grylls searches for pain-relieving plants. Hunger? He eats maggots in the Rocky Mountains. No matter the climate or locale, Grylls is up to the task.

I SHOULDN’T BE ALIVE (Season 4): Why does one person manage to survive against all the odds and another die? Stories of human survival make for compelling television; they hone into our most basic human instincts and tell us so much about the human condition.

MONSTERS INSIDE ME (Season 2): A ten year old boy mysteriously spikes a high fever after swimming in a warm fresh water lake. An 11-month old becomes unresponsive and brain scans reveal something is methodically destroying his brain. A group of students return from spring break and develop mysterious symptoms. The causes of these illnesses are not viruses or bacteria, but stealthy, cunning creatures who have taken up residence in their unsuspecting hosts, parasites! It is a life or death battle between modern medicine and evolution as these patients fight off the MONSTERS INSIDE ME.

EXTRAORDINARY STORIES (Anthology): Moving anthology that delves into some of today’s most astounding medical conditions. “Extraordinary Stories” examines how breakthrough science is overcoming extreme medical challenges.

RIVER MONSTERS (Season 2): Forget the big fish that swim in the oceans. If you want to see the strangest, largest most dangerous, most elusive beasts of the deep, then you have to go to the world’s murky rivers. Ecologist, adventurer and anthropologist, Jeremy Wade immerses himself not just in the waters to search for these fresh-water behemoths, but in the local cultures and traditions surrounding these monsters.

ATLAS 4D (Season 2): Atlas 4D reinvents the Atlas concept, creating a new and solid story-telling backbone for this landmark series. It ties together fascinating stories, while it explores the world’s iconic regions and places. These individual chapters are joined together by a striking CGI-enhanced “God’s Eye View” called 4D, linking them in both space and time.

WICKED ATTRACTION (Season 3): Welcome to the dark side of passion. Serial killers are certainly not a new phenomenon, but what happens in the mind of the “average” person when they fall under the spell of a sadistic predator? Deadly pairings and killer couples are legendary but what truly drives them? WICKED ATTRACTION investigates some of the most terrifying crimes in recent history and delves inside the criminal mind to explore the psychological motivations behind these deadly duos.