Nat Geo Wild Taps Emmy Award-Winning Mark Steines As Host Of Animal Er Live, A New Live Event Series From Big Fish Entertainment

From the Creators of “Live PD,” Animal ER Live Puts Viewers a Heartbeat Away From the Doctors Saving Our Pets in Cities Across the Country, From Vet ERs in Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Charleston, South Carolina; Plainfield, Illinois; Kanab, Utah; Fort Bragg, California; and Waller, Texas.

Washington, D.C. Nat Geo WILD announced today that it has tapped Emmy Award-winning journalist Mark Steines (“Entertainment Tonight”; KTLA’s Rose Parade) as host of its ambitious Animal ER Live, a four-week, live event series from “Live PD” creators Big Fish Entertainment, an MGM Company. Animal ER Live airs Saturday and Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT, for four weeks premiering Saturday, March 30.

Based out of a studio in New York City, Steines will be joined by veterinary experts Dr. Justine Lee and Dr. Will Draper as they guide viewers through the night, giving commentary on what audiences are seeing in real time as cameras bounce to and from the featured animal hospitals and mobile vet emergency units in Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Charleston, South Carolina; Plainfield, Illinois; Kanab, Utah; Fort Bragg, California; and Waller, Texas.

Capturing the fast-paced drama and intensity of a hospital procedural mixed with the unbreakable bonds between pets and their owners, each episode of Animal ER Live will trail teams of emergency veterinarians and specialists as they work tirelessly through the night to save the lives of our pets from coast to coast, giving viewers insight into the extraordinary and unpredictable world of urgent animal care. The series will also follow a wide range of touching cases in emergency rooms and waiting rooms, and accompany on-call vets to homes and farms to treat animals that are too sick or too big to travel.

Animal ER Live will feature animal emergency rooms and mobile clinics from around the country, including:

• Angell Animal Medical Center — Boston, Massachusetts
• DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital — Portland, Oregon
• Animal Care Center EMERGENCY — Plainfield, Illinois
• Best Friends Animal Society — Kanab, Utah
• Mendocino Equine and Livestock — Fort Bragg, California
• Waller Equine Hospital — Waller, Texas
• Veterinary Specialty Care — Charleston, South Carolina

“I’m thrilled to partner with Nat Geo WILD and Big Fish Entertainment on this exciting new series that highlights the amazing work of those who have dedicated their lives to helping animals,” said Steines. “As an animal lover and advocate myself, I’m looking forward to showcasing the realities, drama and heartwarming moments these urgent care teams face on a daily basis as they work tirelessly to save the lives of animals in need.”

Animal ER Live joins a stable of family-friendly veterinary programs featured on Nat Geo WILD, including Secrets of the Zoo, Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER, Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet and the network’s No. 1 series, The Incredible Dr. Pol.

“Nat Geo WILD always celebrates animals and the people who love them, and now, we’re taking that further by going LIVE with the compassionate animal caregivers who help our beloved pets when they need us the most,” said Geoff Daniels, executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment. “Animal ER Live pulls back the curtain to give viewers an exclusive, totally unscripted look at the incredible skill and hard work that goes on behind the doors of some of the country’s busiest urgent pet care clinics. This innovative new series promises endless inspiration and heartwarming and heroic moments that reinforce the amazing bonds we share with our pets.”

Animal ER Live is produced by Big Fish Entertainment, an MGM Company, for Nat Geo WILD. For Big Fish Entertainment, executive producers are Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino, Meghan Spielberg and Richard Hall. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Tracy Rudolph, SVP of natural history programming and development is Janet Han Vissering and executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment is Geoff Daniels.

About Mark Steines

Emmy award-winning Mark Steines is known as one of the entertainment industry’s most dynamic and well-respected television journalists. Steines, along with Leeza Gibbons, are the annual hosts of KTLA’s Rose Parade broadcast. During his 17-year tenure at “Entertainment Tonight,” he helped set the gold standard in entertainment news. For more than six years Steines co-hosted Hallmark Channel’s “Home & Family.” Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, he resides in Los Angeles, California, with his wife, acclaimed author Julie Steines; his two teenage sons; and their baby girl, a golden retriever and therapy dog named Norbert.

About Dr. Justine Lee

Justine A. Lee, DVM, DACVECC, DABT is a board-certified veterinary specialist in both emergency critical care (DACVECC) and toxicology (DABT). She works as a criticalist at Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota, and is a consultant for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, Litter-Robot, and several other veterinary companies. She is also the CEO and co-founder of VETgirl, an online veterinary continuing education company. Currently, she is one of approximately 500 board-certified veterinary specialists worldwide in emergency critical care, and the only double-board certified specialist in her area.

About Dr. Will Draper

Dr. Will Draper is co-founder and CEO of The Village Vets practice group, the largest privately owned small animal general and emergency/critical care practice in the Atlanta metro area. “Dr. Will” grew up in Inglewood, California. He attended Tuskegee University for both undergraduate and veterinary medical studies, receiving his DVM in 1991. He moved to Atlanta in 1992 and started The Village Vets in 2000 with his wife, Dr. Françoise Tyler. Dr. Will has received many accolades, including being ranked as a FIVE STAR veterinarian in Atlanta magazine — an honor bestowed to only 7 percent of the veterinarians in the Atlanta area. He was also honored as Purina Proplan’s “Best Veterinarian in America” in 2013. He serves as the pet expert and editor for WebMD magazine, and has been a featured guest on CNN, HLN, WSB, “Rachael Ray” and numerous local TV and radio stations. He and his wife were the stars of Nat Geo WILD’s vet reality series Atlanta Vets and are now featured on their new online series, “The Village Vets.” Dr. Will and his wife have four children (a son and three daughters); three dogs, Max, Louie and Frankie; and two cats, Zig-Zag and Charlemagne.

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About National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and Disney, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 131 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About Big Fish Entertainment

Big Fish Entertainment, an MGM Company, is a full-service production company that creates multiplatform, visually driven content that compels and entertains audiences with the “unexpected.” Founded in 2006 by President Dan Cesareo, Big Fish has produced more than 1,000 hours of award-winning and top-rated programming in the live, unscripted reality, lifestyle and documentary space. Current Big Fish series include Animal ER Live for Nat Geo WILD; No. 1 unscripted crime series “Live PD,” “Live PD: Police Patrol” and “Live PD Presents: PD Cam” for A&E; “Live PD Presents: Women on Patrol” for Lifetime; mega-hit franchise “Black Ink Crew” (New York and Chicago) and mental health special “In Session Live With Dr. Jess” for VH1; culinary docuseries “Hustle & Soul” for WE tv; Chris Paul’s “Chapter 3” for ESPN; “Tattoo Girls” for TLC; and “How Far Is Tattoo Far?” for MTV. With other credits, including “Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan” and the Gates Foundation Reality PD public schools project, Big Fish captures and relates extraordinary worlds, characters and stories for such networks as Lifetime, A&E, VH1, WE tv, Discovery, TLC, MTV, E!, National Geographic, Oxygen, Travel Channel and Paramount Network. For more information, visit bigfishusa.com.