Christian Cooper, the Black man who recorded a white woman calling police on him after he asked her to put her dog on a leash in New York City’s Central Park, has a new project on National Geographic.
The channel announced this week that the life-long bird-watcher is set to host a new series titled “Extraordinary Birder.”
Cooper, 59, was previously in the spotlight after Amy Cooper (no relation) called 9-1-1 and falsely accused him of threatening her in a May 2020 viral video. The woman was charged with a third-degree misdemeanor for making a false report, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance later reported.
In Cooper's new series, the bird enthusiast “takes us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds,” according to National Geographic.
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“Whether braving stormy seas in Alaska for puffins, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above,” the network added in an accompanying press release. No release date has been announced.
While speaking with the New York Times, Cooper — whose love for birdwatching began when he was 10 and growing up on Long Island — shared that he “was all in” when he was approached to do the series. He's already completed six episodes.
“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” he said, adding that he hopes the show will encourage people “to stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures that we have among us.”
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“Extraordinary Birder” is produced by Lucky 8, with George Kralovansky, Irfan Rahman, Kimberly Woodard, Jon Kroll and Doug Veith as executive producers. Pam Caragol is executive producer and Janet Vissering is senior vice president of development and production for National Geographic.
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