A wildlife sanctuary at the bottom of the world is set to be in the spotlight as the star of a streaming giant's new docuseries.Tasmania's Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is the subject of a series that will be released on Paramount+ later this year. The show, titled The Animal Sanctuary, will follow Bonorong director Greg Irons, his partner Mel, and Bonorong's team of staff and volunteers as they work to rescue and rehabilitate Australian wildlife.The sanctuary is a popular tourist destination in Tasmania and coordinates over 20,000 animal rescues every year.Greg Irons says he informed his mum at age 7 that he would one day own Bonorong. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)From a young age, Mr Irons dreamed of owning the beloved sanctuary,"Every year for our birthday, we're allowed to choose somewhere to go … Bonorong was just always my choice every year," he said."On my seventh birthday, I sat on (a balcony at Bonorong) and told my mum I'd own the place one day."Mr Irons says the series will not "make it look like everything's happy Larry … because it's not. It's not the reality of what we do". (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)In 2009, Mr Irons' dream became reality, and over the years, Bonorong has caught the attention of multiple production companies."We have been approached a number of times to do (a) series and we didn't feel we were ready in many regards," he said.But after building a hospital in the sanctuary and expanding his team, he decided the time was right.University of Tasmania media students are gaining experience during the production of the series. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)With support from the Tasmanian government, the series is being produced with an international team including several Australian production companies and two acclaimed US studios that are known for titles like The Menendez Brothers and The Zoo.Bonorong has attracted international attention in the past.The sanctuary's hospital was built with support from a US 'de-extinction' company, Colossal Biosciences. Kirsty Slemint filming Lucy the goose during the production. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)The production team also includes a local connection.The project's director of photography and one of the producers, Fraser Johnston, went to school with Mr Irons."If we knew we'd be working together on a TV show now … I think we'd both be pretty pumped as kids," he said.The director of photography, Fraser Johnston, is a former schoolmate of Mr Irons. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Mr Johnston had spoken to Mr Irons about creating a series for "a long time"."Greg was already talking to an American production; when we mentioned to Greg that we were interested in doing a show here, he immediately put us in touch with them."Mr Johnston at work on the show. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Showcasing Tasmania to the worldMr Irons sees the series' potential global reach as an "opportunity to showcase Tassie to the world"."I describe Tassie as the Noah's Ark of Australian wildlife. We're sort of like this last stand for all these species that used to be on mainland Australia, and they're now only here," he said."If we look at the rate of mammal extinction in Australia, it's over 20 mammals in the last 200 years we've lost, which is sadly the most of anywhere in the world. "Without Tassie, that number would be a lot higher."One of the stars takes a nap between takes. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Mr Irons is hopeful the show will help to educate viewers on behaviours that could cause harm to animals and contribute to their extinction."It's our actions that hurt the animals; it's changing our actions that will help them," he said."We don't want to put a blanket on this to make it look like everything's happy Larry — you know, fluffy, cute animals having a bottle — because it's not. It's not the reality of what we do."[When audiences] see how these animals are being hurt and what they're going through, my big hope is that people see things and say, 'Gee, something I did yesterday could have caused that exact same situation, and I never thought about it. I could be inadvertently hurting an animal without knowing that I'm ever doing it.'"The show will follow Bonorong's team of staff and volunteers as they work to rescue and rehabilitate Australian wildlife. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Nurturing animals and artistsMedia students from the University of Tasmania have been given 12-day placements on the series, helping to bolster local filmmaking skills.Seven media students received 12-day placements across filming and post-production. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Nineteen-year-old Amber Coad is in her first year of study. She jumped at the opportunity to work on the production."The head of the media department came into my class and told us about the opportunity, and I raised my hand straight away, especially when he told us what it was about and where it was."Claire Clements (left) with Amber Coad, a UTAS media student. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)The students have been shadowing key crew members and contributing to the series with behind-the-scenes photography.Ms Coad said the opportunity is "incredibly valuable and hard to come by"."Being a first-year media student myself, I don't know a lot yet. Everything is new, and everything is a learning experience. So this has been really incredible, and everyone's been so lovely and willing to educate," she said."[Media is] a very hard sector to get into, especially when you don't have any previous experience."I would love it if everyone interested in media had the opportunity to work in it like this."The production has offered much-needed opportunities for established crew, too.Ms Clements says work opportunities on screen projects in Tasmania have been limited. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Series post-producer Claire Clements said the production is the first local gig she has worked on since moving to Tasmania five years ago, where opportunities have been limited."I actually haven't managed to work in Tasmania until this point," she said."I would fly to the location, do the shoot, and then come back and do post [production] remotely."The series has given her six months of work. She and the post-production team will edit eight one-hour-long episodes from Tasmania."The more productions we can attract to the island, the more work we get, the more talent we foster here," she said.The series will be released on Paramount+ later in 2026.The series will feature eight one-hour-long episodes. (Orange Entertainment Company)