The partnership will revive vintage National Geographic footage from its vast film archives and utilize Mashable Studios? expertise in producing digital-first series: the first series will examine how animals use tools in their natural habitats to survive. The second will be a comedy series allowing Mashable to combine its sense of Internet humor with some of National Geographic?s archival content.

?We've always been inspired by the amazing work of Nat Geo WILD and with our audience's insatiable appetite for coverage of science and wildlife, it was a natural partnership,? said a Mashable spokesperson. ?Regarding the development idea for a digital comedy series?we were initially inspired by Mashable's Watercooler channel, which surfaces comical animal videos on an almost a daily basis.?

The appetite for science and wildlife content among social media users?and especially within the millennial cohort?has been the subject of much discussion recently, with the release of Sir David Attenborough?s Planet Earth 2 premiering to hosannas late last year and becoming one of the BBC?s most popular programs in 2016.

And nowhere was wildlife content?s capability for virality more manifest last year than in Nat Geo Wild?s own ledger. A short clip from the network?s Animal Fight Night which depicted a brutal showdown between a cuckolded penguin and his homewrecking adversary caused Twitter to lose its collective mind last November, racking up over 260,000 retweets and 330,000 likes. 

?The viral ?penguin home wrecker? clip from Nat Geo WILD?s series Animal Fight Night is one example of the type of surprising, unique programming that our viewers expect,? said Geoff Daniels, executive vice president and general manager at Nat Geo Wild. ?We are excited to join forces with Mashable to inject their digital wit and expertise into our content to create fun, new experiences that resonate with audiences.?

The digital series will be produced by Mashable Studios, the company?s dedicated division that creates and distributes original digital video content for both its community and brand partners. Both series will begin production in early 2017.

The partnership is the latest in a series of bold moves in the publishing industry in response to a rapidly changing media landscape. Last week, Penske Media property Variety announced the creation of a branded content studio in service to its parent company?s many properties, and brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Delta Air Lines are already on board (see story). 

And America?s newspaper of record, the New York Times, is partnering with Samsung to produce a daily 360-degree video series named The Daily 360 (see story). 

?We?re incredibly excited to be able to tap into National Geographic?s vast archive of wildlife content and bring it to life in new ways for our audience,? said Adam Ostrow, chief strategy officer of Mashable. ?Creating serialized video content in partnership with TV networks is a key pillar of our strategy at Mashable Studios, and we?re delighted to be teaming up with one of the most iconic brands in media to deliver on this mission.?