National Geographic has acquired the BBC docu-drama Titanic Sinks Tonight, a re-creation of the final hours of the Titanic’s doomed voyage. The series uses virtual production technology to reconstruct the moments before the ship struck the iceberg on April 14, 1912, and the final stages of its sinking, combining dramatized scenes with documentary testimony to tell the story of the 2,208 passengers and crew aboard.
Produced by Sony-backed Stellify Media, the program is the BBC’s most-watched documentary of 2025-26 so far, according to distributor Sony Pictures Television. It arrives nearly 30 years after the release of James Cameron’s blockbuster Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, which reignited global interest in the disaster.
In the U.S., Nat Geo will launch Titanic Sinks Tonight on June 22. The title has also been sold widely internationally, including to MGM+ for multiple territories such as Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Other buyers include HBO Max in Latin America, BeIN in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye, and broadcasters and platforms such as TVNZ in New Zealand, NOW TV in Hong Kong, KT Genie TV in South Korea, WOWOW in Japan, RTÉ in Ireland, TV2 in Hungary, Telia services across Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway and SVT in Sweden.
Nat Geo has previously featured Titanic-related programming, including Titanic: The Digital Resurrection, which produced a high-resolution 3D digital model of the ship. Sony Pictures Television said the strong international response to Titanic Sinks Tonight reflects demand for premium factual storytelling that can travel across markets. The series was filmed at Studio Ulster with support from Northern Ireland Screen and features actors from Northern Ireland. Fiona Keane serves as executive producer for BBC Northern Ireland, and Simon Young is the commissioning editor for BBC factual.
