The lengths people will go to to change their looks.

People who deal with death for occupational, cultural and sometimes questionable reasons.

People in love with inmates serving time include a Texas inmate in solitary confinement who is married with the help of a radio host as the surrogate groom and a man serving life for murder who meets and marries a woman over the Internet.

As people across the globe are getting heavier, beauty norms for some are changing; for others, the sight of fat is still taboo.

What people can and can't eat may be nothing more than a question of mind over matter.

Women who mutilate their bodies.

Nontraditional weddings; a naked wedding in Jamaica; dog wedding; a young man kidnaps his bride.

In one married couple, each partner has switched gender; one person self-refers as a hybrid -- neither male nor female.

Many traditional cultures require boys to pass through initiations of pain and fear in order to become men.

The hidden world of prostitution.

Young men leap head-first from a 70-foot tower in a potentially deadly ritual; a girl tattoos her face before marriage as part of her transition to womanhood; a 70-year-old man participates in a bloodletting ceremony.

Gender, sex and sexuality can be interpreted as cultural or genetic.

Strange cuisines.

Measuring people's worth by the ability to overcome the fight-or-flight instinct.

Love and what attracts the opposite sex can differ from one society to another.

The lives of those haunted by addiction include a young boy hooked on video games, a woman addicted to anonymous sex and a man addicted to shopping.

People who dwell on the fringes of society.

A man who began drinking at the age of 12 is now 27-years-old and cannot stop; he faces withdrawal symptoms and rehab proves to be his most difficult challenge.

An Australian health therapist drinks his own urine; men and women in the Philippines sell their kidneys to wealthy foreigners; a woman in Papua New Guinea breast-feeds a pig.

Every society contains people who live on the fringe, either by force or by choice, and must suffer the consequences.

The sexual customs and age of consent varies in countries around the globe.

"Naked Science" strips away the layers of a scientific investigation into one of the big mysteries of our time, revealing through expert analysis realistic scenarios that either confirm or deny long-held assumptions and misconceptions.

Advanced computer graphics, forensic science, eyewitness accounts, interviews with experts, archival footage and re-enactments piece together in great detail the events that led to some of the biggest disasters of modern time.

This award-winning series presents compelling untold stories and covers a wide array of provocative subjects. "Explorer" aired for 25 years -- the longest-running documentary series in cable TV history -- before being relaunched in 2015 after a five-year hiatus. Each monthly episode of the new "Explorer" takes a similar deep dive inside a story from the pages of a recent National Geographic magazine issue, taking viewers not only to the most remote corners of the globe but also to the furthest reaches of the mind and deepest crevices of history -- on urgent missions of discovery.

Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman explores the meaning of life, God, and many big questions in between in an effort to understand how religion has evolved and shaped society. A different divine subject is covered in each hourlong episode, titles of which include "Creation," "The Devil Inside," "Afterlife," "Apocalypse," and "Who Is God?" To explore these topics, host and narrator Freeman visits nearly 20 cities in seven countries to see some of the world's greatest religious sites, among them Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, India's Bodhi Tree, Mayan temples in Guatemala, and the pyramids of Egypt, and he immerses himself in religious experiences and rituals. "In some places I found answers, and others led to more questions. The constant through it all is that we're all looking to be part of something bigger than us. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that we certainly are," Freeman says.

From the award-winning team of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") and producer Jane Root ("America the Story of Us"), this 10-part cinematic event series explores the fragility and wonder of planet Earth -- one of the most peculiar, unique places in the universe. Host Will Smith guides viewers on an unprecedented exploration, bolstered by an elite group of eight astronauts who provide unique perspectives and relate personal memoirs of the planet seen from a distance. Hourlong episodes delve into monumental events such as genesis, cosmic violence, human intelligence and alien life, oxygen, and survival vs. destruction.

Adventurer James Keziah Delaney, long believed to be dead, returns home to London from Africa in 1814 in order to inherit his late father's shipping empire. All is not what it seems, however, as Delaney encounters numerous enemies intent on making his life back in the United Kingdom very difficult. Focused on building a shipping empire to rival the imperious East India Company, Delaney's other wish to seek vengeance for his father's death means conspiracy, betrayal and bloodshed are also in the cards. As he works to accomplish that, Delaney must also navigate increasingly complex territories in order to avoid his own death sentence.

How did we get here? How did humankind evolve from apes swinging in trees to astronauts walking on the moon? National Geographic's eight-part time-travel adventure series delves deep into history to highlight pivotal "origin" moments that fundamentally and irrevocably created modern living. Host Jason Silva ("Brain Games") guides viewers through a dazzling audio-visual portal to explore these events, such as the discoveries and applications of fire, medicine, money and transportation, while experts across each field inject commentary. The series also incorporates scripted storytelling and documentary sequences.

Julia Child melded TV and food 50 or so years ago. Now with scads of celebrity chefs, cooking shows, and networks devoted to it, cuisine is even more popular. National Geographic Channel's six-hour miniseries salutes its history, science and culture. Each episode tackles a central theme: revolutionaries, meat, sugar, seafood, junk food, and grains -- with stories and reflections by a smorgasbord of chefs, authors, scientists, etc. Interviewees include Padma Lakshmi, Nigella Lawson, Simon Majumdar, Rachael Ray, Marcus Samuelsson, Anna Boiardi and Graham Elliot.