History Time's Amazon documentary was five years in the making

Pete Kelly's jungle archaeology film remains among the channel's most active uploads during a week without a new release.

Channel: History Time Story of October 21, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

The Amazon Wasn't Empty: The Incredible Prehistoric Cities Hidden Beneath the Jungle

Pete Kelly started writing his Amazon documentary in 2020. By the time it reached History Time, he had visited the region, filmed there and incorporated discoveries that emerged while the project was taking shape.

With no new uploads this week, that patient work is part of what keeps the channel moving. "The Amazon Wasn't Empty: The Incredible Prehistoric Cities Hidden Beneath the Jungle" explores societies whose settlements challenge the idea of an untouched wilderness. Kelly says his 2023 visit supplied much of the footage and research, while findings from Ecuador's Upano Valley, published in 2024, made him glad he had waited. The final edit alone took a solid month.

The Amazon film and "The Entire History Of The Hittites / Ancient History Documentary," written by Gordon Doherty, are drawing similar daily audiences. Both sit behind "The Forgotten Origins Of Medieval Britain - History Documentary," currently the most active of the three, with its journey through Welsh archaeology and Britain's origin legends.

History Time added roughly 243,000 views over the week, while its subscriber count stayed unchanged. Daily viewing is running at a little over half its usual level. Fellow long-form history channel Fall of Civilizations is closer to its customary pace.

For Kelly, the Amazon film offers a particularly tangible account of the work behind the archive: a script begun years earlier, research on location and original music by Joss Edwards and Brodie Marshall.

Published on Trari

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More from History TimeThis week on the channel +348K views this weekDinas Powys and a dream of Rome: The Forgotten Origins Of Medieval BritainPete Kelly's film on post-Roman Wales, nearly a year old, is the History Time video drawing the most daily viewers while nothing new went up.Channel: History Time · Story of October 3, 2026 Also in Explainers, history and educationVideo taking off 106x its usual first dayAI could take the work you enjoy, Daniele Quercia warnsHis TEDxBerlin talk asks whether automation will leave workers with the admin while taking away the tasks that make a job feel like theirs.Channel: TEDx Talks · Story of October 24, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo people are talking about 11x its usual commentsZelenskyy tells Steven Bartlett why he needed "ammunition, not a ride"In a nearly two-hour conversation, Ukraine's president moves from sleepless nights and grieving parents to Bucha, Paddington Bear and the morning the invasion …Channel: The Diary Of A CEO · Story of October 24, 2026

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The videos drawing views on History Time right now

The Forgotten Origins Of Medieval Britain - History Documentary706,818 views The Entire History Of The Hittites / Ancient History Documentary2,146,781 views

The numbers

Here is how History Time's week and its older documentaries compare in views and subscribers.

views gained this week: this channel and similar channels

Drew Durnil

2,618,073

Mr. Beat

1,949,294

Speak English With Class

864,526

English Unleashed: The Po…

464,911

Fall of Civilizations

405,812

oliSUNvia

304,160

Lindybeige

246,846

History Time

242,509

Learn Spanish with Spanis…

45,903

subscribers

1,340,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

211,295,165

views per day

22,186

typical day: 40,273

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Speak English With Class

1,590,000

Drew Durnil

1,560,000

Fall of Civilizations

1,520,000

English Unleashed: The Po…

1,500,000

Mr. Beat

1,430,000

History Time

1,340,000

Lindybeige

1,250,000

oliSUNvia

1,250,000

Learn Spanish with Spanis…

1,190,000

As of October 21, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.