NEW YORK, NY - JULY 18:  EXCLUSIVE   Actor Morgan Freeman poses for a portrait backstage during the Mandela Day Concert at Radio City Music Hall on July 18, 2009 in New York City.  (Photo by Scott Gries/PictureGroup)
Morgan Freeman (Photo by Scott Gries/PictureGroup)

National Geographic announced today the greenlight of a new series “The Story of Us With Morgan Freeman,” from the creators of the critically acclaimed series “The Story of God with Morgan Freeman.”

In this expansion of the network’s hit franchise, Freeman will once again take viewers on a global journey to meet with people from all cultures whose lives are shaped in surprising ways by different fundamental forces, this time exploring themes that unite us all. “The Story of Us With Morgan Freeman” will premiere in Fall 2017 on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages.

At a time when global events seem to be driving cultures apart, “The Story of Us” aims to uncover the fundamental forces that keep our societies together, and to reveal the common humanity that lies inside each one of us. Each of the six hour-long episodes will explore a single fundamental force or topic, including love, belief, power, war and peace, rebellion and freedom.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Revelations Entertainment once again on a refreshing new take on our successful series franchise,” said Tim Pastore, president of original programming and production, National Geographic. “It is no surprise that our global audience has warmly embraced Morgan as part of the National Geographic family. The beauty of this franchise is that Morgan represents all of us on his personal quest to understand these topics.”

“I’ve been given the incredible opportunity to take viewers on a new global journey to understand how human culture has taken on so many remarkable forms,” added Freeman, who co-founded Revelations Entertainment with Lori McCreary. Both are joined as executive producers by James Younger. “We’re exploring how primal forces, such as love, has shaped human culture around the world and where it will take us in the future.”

“The Story of Us” is produced by Revelations Entertainment for National Geographic. For Revelations Entertainment, the executive producers are Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary and James Younger. For National Geographic, the executive producer is Betsy Forhan; Kevin Tao Mohs is vice president, production and development; and Tim Pastore is president of original programming and production.