Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Extreme athlete series has great visuals, intense moments.
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Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin
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What's the Story?
EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN WITH JIMMY CHIN is a 10-part docuseries produced by Free Solo's Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi that explores what drives extreme athletes to redefine what is humanly possible. Chin, who's an extreme mountain athlete in his own right, introduces each installment, which features archive video of the athletes shot by Chin and his team and the athletes over the years, often with the help of GoPro cameras. These visuals also capture some of the athletes' most harrowing experiences, which served as pivotal moments in their individual careers. Meanwhile, recent interviews with the athletes reveal what motivates them to take calculated risks. They also have the opportunity to review archive footage of what happened on the day things went wrong and talk about how the incident influenced how they approach the sport today.
Is It Any Good?
Each episode of this bingeable docuseries offers very human stories about the way some professional extreme athletes understand and negotiate life and death while pursuing the sport they love. Athletes in Edge of the Unknown share intimate details about how they see the world, and how this fuels their need to push themselves to do things that most people would never consider attempting. They also candidly discuss what it feels like to face their fears, to experience failure thanks to careless mistakes, and to rethink how to approach their sport after coming face to face with death. Their stories are sensitive and engaging, but outside of some minimal cinematic devices to enhance the sense of danger, what makes Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin an impressive watch is the video footage, which offers bird's-eye views of the athletes in action. Adventure sports enthusiasts will be drawn to this series, but you don't have to be an athlete or love sports to appreciate or enjoy it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what drives people to participate in extreme sports. What satisfaction do they get from it? How do they overcome the human inclination to protect themselves in order to do what they do?
How do the athletes profiled in Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin feel about taking calculated risks versus taking chances? Why? Who do they blame when things go terribly wrong?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 5, 2022
- Cast: Jimmy Chin
- Network: Disney+
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts , Adventures , Science and Nature , Wild Animals
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: May 7, 2023
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