When the first episode of BBC’s Kingdom aired on 9 November, viewers were transported into the tangled dramas of Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, a place where every dawn brings new alliances, rivalries, and hard-won survival. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the six-part series follows four powerful families: lions, wild dogs, hyenas, and leopards. All fighting for space and supremacy in the Nsefu Sector, one of Africa’s most wildlife-rich corners.
Yet among these fierce contenders, one character captured hearts across the world: Olimba the leopard.
Five Years in One Location
Kingdom is the result of one of the BBC Natural History Unit’s most ambitious filming projects to date. Over 1,400 days in the field, a team of more than 170 people, including over 90 Zambian crew members and conservation experts, lived and worked from a base camp in the Nsefu Sector.
The level of detail achieved by staying in one place for so long is remarkable. The production team worked closely with local scientists and conservationists who’ve been in Nsefu for generations, as well as partners like Remote Africa Safaris, who hosted the crew throughout filming. These people know the family lineages, the individual personalities, and the history of conflicts between these animals. That insider knowledge gives the filmmakers a massive advantage in understanding what might happen next.
As Executive Producer Mike Gunton described, Kingdom feels “almost Shakespearean”. Full of drama, loyalty, betrayal, and resilience. Yet what makes it truly special is its honesty. Nothing is staged. Every moment was witnessed, patiently, by those who lived among these animals for half a decade.
The technical achievement here is extraordinary. To capture the behavior of these four families, the team used an arsenal of equipment: long lens camera systems, camera traps, drones, thermal imaging cameras, car rigs, helicopter rigs, and infrared cameras.
The crew operated from a remote base camp powered entirely by solar energy. Two repurposed shipping containers served as the production office and equipment storage, with one fitted with solar-powered air conditioning to keep the gear cool in the 40-plus degree heat of the dry season.
The Queen of Nsefu
For years, Olimba has reigned quietly in the forests and floodplains along the Luangwa River. A master of stealth and resilience, she has successfully raised three cubs to adulthood. An extraordinary feat in a landscape ruled by larger, louder predators. Kingdom shows her at her most vulnerable and her most powerful: tenderly teaching her cubs to hunt, vanishing into the long grass at the first scent of danger, and holding her ground when wild dogs and lions close in.
Through Olimba’s story, we witness the beauty and brutality of life in the wild. The constant negotiation between risk and reward, strength and nurture. She is both hunter and mother, teacher and survivor.
As Executive Producer Mike Gunton shared in an interview about the series:
“Oh, team Olimba, definitely! Of all these animals, she’s at the bottom of the pecking order. We think of leopards as these beautiful and very powerful animals, but actually because they’re solitary, they find it quite tough in an environment surrounded by these other multi-individual animal families and packs. But she’s so clever, she’s so accomplished and she’s such a survivor. I love the fact that throughout all this turmoil and the ups and downs of all these other players coming and going… throughout all of that, she’s still there.”
What viewers can expect
The first episode gives viewers a taste of the drama to come. We meet Olimba, a leopard mother raising two cubs. Things go terribly wrong when her young son goes missing just as threatening lions appear on the scene. Olimba’s powerful story of motherhood and survival so captured the hearts of the film crew that the series was named in her honor.
Beyond the main predator families, the series also showcases a colorful supporting cast. Elephant herds, troops of baboons, and flocks of hamerkops all play their part in this ecosystem, impacting the lives of the main characters in surprising ways. It’s a reminder that nature doesn’t exist in isolation. Everything is connected, and every species plays a role in the complex web of life.
The final episode takes a different approach by going behind the scenes to meet the conservationists working to protect South Luangwa and its wildlife. Viewers get to see the scientists, anti-poaching teams, and filmmakers who made this series possible, including those using everything from chilli bombs to trained dogs to protect the animals and their habitat.
When and Where to Watch
Kingdom premiered in the UK on Sunday, 9 November 2025, airing weekly at 6:20pm on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer. The series will roll out to international audiences in early 2026, bringing the wild heart of South Luangwa — and Olimba’s unforgettable story — to screens around the world.
From Film Set to Safari Camp
That same base camp has now been reborn for travelers. Opening for the 2026 safari season, it carries a fitting new name, Olimba Camp, in honour of the leopard who became the series’s quiet heroine.
Located in the heart of South Luangwa, Olimba Camp offers guests the chance to experience the landscapes and wildlife that inspired Kingdom firsthand. It’s a place where leopards still move through the ebony groves at night, where the Luangwa River bends through wild country, and where every rustle in the grass could be the beginning of another remarkable story.
For those who watched Kingdom and felt the pull of Africa’s raw beauty, a stay at Olimba Camp is an opportunity to step into that world, to see the drama unfold not on screen, but from your veranda, beneath the same stars that guided Olimba through her reign.
