Experience a rapid-fire journey from the beginning of time to today in...

HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS

Premieres Sunday, October 2 on H2 and Encores Thursday, October 6 on HISTORY

September 20, 2011 - From the Big Bang to the present day, 13.7 billion years of epic history will be told in just 120 minutes...

HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS is the story of humankind from the very beginning of time - from the birth of the Universe and Earth to the dawn of life, from the fall of the dinosaurs to the rise of man, from the Stone Age to Silicon Valley. Each beat in the story will reveal a surprising connection to our world today. The new special, from the producers of Life After People, premieres Sunday, October 2 at 9 pm on H2 and encores Thursday, October 6 at 9 pm ET on HISTORY.

This thrilling, fast-paced film examines the biggest moments over the course of billions of years - the Big Bang, the birth of our solar system, the emergence of the first primates, the voyage of Columbus, the invention of the steam engine and beyond - and demonstrates how everyone and everything are all connected.

Our modern world holds surprising clues to the distant past. HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS demonstrates that all life forms are descended from the lowly bacteria, and shows that if not for grass, the primates would never have climbed down from the trees and learned to walk upright. The Great Pyramids were built with material made from 50 million-year-old seashells left behind when modern-day Egypt was submerged beneath the sea. All the dots are connected: from donkeys that made trade possible to the spread of disease and religion, from the invention of gunpowder to today's political landscape.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS marks the first joint programming experience between the newly renamed H2 (formerly known as History International) and its parent network, HISTORY. Kicked off on September 26, 2011, H2 builds on the success of HI by offering a global perspective to history and extends the HISTORY brand with original series and specials that will immerse viewers even more deeply into the topics they enjoy.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWO HOURS is produced by Flight 33 Productions for HISTORY. Executive Producer for HISTORY is Paul Cabana.

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H2 offers more to explore, more to reveal, more to know and more to understand. H2 provides a deeper perspective on global history, where information is entertainment, experienced in unexpected, clever and exciting ways. H2 is currently available in more than 65 million Nielsen households. It is available nationally through all major distributors.