Series Premieres Thursdays at 9 p.m. beginning August 27

Voyaging to the most hostile environments on earth, intrepid explorer Steve Leonard braves the elements — and the animals — to uncover the most incredible examples of endurance in the natural world. The thrilling three-part series begins with “The Big Chill/The Heat is On,” premiering Thursday, August 27 at 9 p.m. Traveling to the Arctic, Steve investigates the extremes of cold climates by huddling with king penguins in 125 mph winds and diving into minus–2 degrees Celsius water for a swim with the blubbery bearded seal. For contrast, Steve encounters elephants in the scorching heat of the Namib Desert, then firewalks on 800 degrees Celsius glowing embers to demonstrate how Sahara ants survive the scorching midday sand temperatures. Next week’s episode, “Fight Club/Mission Impossible” (Thursday, September 3 at 9 p.m.), reveals more incredible feats as Steve dives with wild tiger sharks in Africa and survives a bite on his leg. In the finale, “Creatures from the Deep/High Society” (Thursday, September 10 at 9 p.m.), Steve enters a nightmare cave in Texas where the floor heaves with millions of cockroaches and the ceiling glitters with the eyes of 10 million bats — an oxygen mask his only defense. Then, to discover which animal has the best head for heights, Steve hurls himself from a Himalayan peak in a paraglider to soar with griffin vultures. Extreme Animals is the ultimate armchair experience of life on the edge with an adventurer who’s not afraid to go there.

Watch a preview of Thursday’s series premiere: