Schlaue Schwärme: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Swarms – whether insects, animals, birds, or even humans – are powerful and complex coordinated actions between individuals, working together to benefit the community. Some see a higher intelligence in a swarm, while others doubt the wisdom of crowds. Swarm behaviour has even been equated with herd stupidity. 

In this two-part documentary, internationally renowned scientists and experts from diverse research fields dispel prejudices and show the intelligence of swarms. Using fascinating high-speed recordings and thermal images of various natural swarms, the researchers attempt to break down swarm codes, explain strange collective behaviour, and explore how we can learn from nature to bring about astounding technological advances. 

This series aims to help viewers understand the intelli- gence and organised chaos of swarms, even as they are mesmerised by the swarms' astonishing beauty.

Series details

• Title: Schlaue Schwärme
• Format: Documentary
• Language: German
• Genres: Nature
• Premiere date: 2023-03-05
• Final broadcast date listed: 2023-03-12
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ZDF
• Network country: Germany
• Typical episode runtime: 50 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 79924
• TVDB ID: 455020

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2023-03-05; final listed air date 2023-03-12; episode order: 2.

Source and licence

Adapted from Schlaue Schwärme on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.