Nat Geo WILD celebrates Cesar Millan’s arrival to the channel with the premiere of a new series, Leader of the Pack, and an exclusive one-hour biographical film, Cesar Millan: The Real Story. The special premieres Sunday, February 3 followed by the premiere of Leader of the Pack.
Holding nothing back when discussing the good, the bad and the ugly, Millan reflects on his personal life journey for Cesar Millan: The Real Story. The biopic features, for the first time on television, the comprehensive, behind-the-scenes story of Millan’s incredible rise from poverty to fame.
During the hour, Millan recalls how his incredible skill with dogs led to his rise to fame as the Dog Whisperer, and addresses those who are critical of his methods. “I don’t think there is only one way to help a dog,” said Millan. “In nine years on television I have shown that there are many ways. So when critics come after me, it doesn’t really bother me.” He continued, “My show gave people hope that they could have a good relationship with their dog. And that’s something that I’m very proud of.”
Millan also reflects in detail on the impact his hectic travel schedule had on his family life, leading to the darkest time in his life, how he courageously pulled himself out of it, and for the first time, he talks about finding new love and renewed personal balance.
Immediately following The Real Story, is the premiere of Millan’s brand new series, Cesar Millan’s Leader of the Pack, premiering Sunday, February 3 on Nat Geo WILD. In his new series, Millan will combat the global issue of canine abandonment and give “unadoptable” dogs a second chance at life.
Following the wild success of his long-running series Dog Whisperer, Millan’s new show takes him to the beautiful country of Spain, where each week he transfers extreme canine cases to his new Dog Psychology Centre in Miraflores, just outside of Madrid. In each episode, three candidates compete for the chance to adopt one special pup, with their dog skills put to the test in a series of special Cesar Millan canine challenges. Meanwhile, Millan employs his “exercise, discipline and affection” method to overcome hurdles with dogs that are particularly skittish or aggressive to painstakingly rehabilitate each one and prepare them for adoption.
To raise awareness about rescuing, rehabilitation and rehoming, Millan will go through a journey to show the difficult situation of rescued dogs and to demonstrate that it is not about the breed, age, size or the backstory of the dog; it is about the human who handles the dog.