Plot Synopsis

In this half-hour mockumentary series from Charlie Brooker, Philomena Cunk tells the entire story of human civilization -- from prehistoric times to the present day -- covering all the main bits of history, science, culture, and religion. Along the way, Philomena asks experts hard-hitting questions about humanity's progress, and stands on or near impressive old ruins and inside museums, before the shot cuts away to some archive of the bits that don't exist anymore or were too expensive to film at. CUNK ON EARTH made its U.S. debut on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 on Netflix, as the streaming service released all five episodes:

"In the Beginnings": Cunk travels the world, heading down caves and up mountains in her search for Mankind's first moments, and with the help of a variety of experts she explains how the earliest societies were formed: from the easier ones to spell like Rome and Greece, to the ones that are harder to spell, like Egypt and Mesopotamia.

"Faith/Off": Cunk tells the story of the birth of two of the world's great religions and learns what came next: the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, and Genghis Khan. So a bit of a rough patch for Mankind, if we're honest.

"The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised": Continuing her journey through Mankind's journey, Cunk visits the allegedly beautiful city of Florence to explore the Renaissance; and she interrogates experts and historians about the revolutions that went on to shape the modern world, including the American War of Independence and, to a lesser extent, the French Revolution.

"Rise of the Machines": Cunk continues her ambitious march across the face of Mankind into an age of industry, science. With the help of scientists, historians, and a science-historian, she explains the scientific breakthroughs of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. She also demonstrates the inventions that changed the world, and covers the US Civil War, World War I and World War II to learn how Humanity used its new grasp of technology to shoot, blow up and irradiate itself in huge numbers.

"War(s) of the World(s)": In this, the final episode of her epic journey across history, Cunk takes us from 1945 to the present day (which at the time of writing is Tuesday). Cunk travels the world and meets top experts to examine the Cold War, the Space Race, Globalization and Social Media. Our recent history is one of polarization and division, as humanity divided itself down the middle: Communism vs Capitalism, Apple vs Microsoft, Beatles vs Stones. Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of history?