Christian Cooper is gaining national attention again, this time for landing a show on National Geographic.
In 2020, Cooper, 59 made headlines after Amy Cooper (no relation), a white woman called the cops on him in Central Park and falsely accused him of physically threatening her. The viral moment was a tipping point in the wake of the 2020 racial uprising, following the news of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor.
Later, Amy Cooper was charged with a third-degree misdemeanor over making the false claim, but the charge was later dropped, given her lack of a criminal background. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office says it dropped the charge after Amy Cooper completed five restorative justice sessions.
Now, the avid birdwatcher will host a National Geographic show called Extraordinary Birder, which will consist of six episodes and will take viewers around the world.
NatGeo said in a press release, “Life-long birder Christian Cooper takes us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds. 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.”
At this time the network has not set a release date for the show, however Cooper told The New York Timesthat he has completed filming for the entire series.
“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” he told the newspaper. He hopes that his show will inspire viewers “to stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures that we have among us.”
The channel has yet to announce a premiere date for the show.