Read an oral history of Steve Irwin's The Crocodile Hunter, which turns 25 this year

Mel Magazine

"In June 1996, Discovery came out with a new, experimental network dedicated to animals called Animal Planet," says Quinn Meyers. "Around the same time, the Irwins’ honeymoon footage, which had been edited into a documentary by Australian film and television producer John Stainton, was finding its footing on Australian TV. Discovery liked what they saw in the Irwins, but investing in an unknown Australian with a wildly new approach to nature documentaries was a gamble for the nascent Animal Planet. Historically speaking, nature shows were straightforward and academic; viewers observed wildlife from an arm’s length while listening to a David Attenborough-esque narrator. ​​Irwin’s approach was completely different."