Dr. M. Sanjayan serves as on-air correspondent in “Big Blue Live”

West coast wonders: Nature is a beautiful and wondrous thing. It's something we've been studying and examining and exploring for as long as we've been cognizant. So when there's an opportunity to broadcast one of nature's most awe-inspiring, organic events, it's hard to pass up.

A team of scientists, who are no strangers to TV screens, are converging on California's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to help bring a remarkable natural occasion into homes from coast to coast. "Big Blue Live" is an exciting, three-night event, airing Monday to Wednesday, Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, on PBS.

"Big Blue Live" pays a visit to the United States' largest national marine sanctuary, where, every year, a fortuitous converging of marine creatures takes place. Humpback whales, sea lions, dolphins, blue whales, elephant seals, great white sharks, brown pelicans and so much more all come to this place once a year.

With cameras keeping watch and a live online stream ongoing throughout the event, audiences at home will be able to watch as the many animals swing by for their annual stop. To give perspective and information on the wet-and-wild event, four scientists will be on hand to share their expertise.

Emmy-nominated conservation scientist M. Sanjayan hosts PBS's "EARTH A New Wild" and specializes in improving wildlife and the environment. Liz Bonnin is a U.K.-based journalist who has worked on the BBC programs "Stargazing Live" and "Bang Goes the Theory." Joy Reidenberg hosts "Sex in the Wild" on PBS and is a comparative anatomist who specializes in marine mammals. Finally, Steve Backshall is a TV anchor and naturalist who stars in "Deadly 60" on BBC.

"Big Blue Live" is a joint production between PBS and the U.K.'s BBC and could be a once-in-a-lifetime event for many people, as one of nature's most wondrous convergences of so many species in one place occurs.

"Big Blue Live" airs Monday to Wednesday, Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, on PBS.

Wicked animation: It looks like the younger crowd is headed back to Auradon. It's far from unusual for Disney to spin off its films into animated series, and the Big Mouse company is doing it again with its latest hit. The made-for-TV movie "Descendants" premiered on Disney Channel earlier this summer, and it already has a spinoff series in the works.

Scheduled to premiere Friday, Sept. 18, on Disney Channel, "Descendants Wicked World" continues the storyline told in its live-action parent movie, and a good number of original cast members are returning to reprise their roles.

"Descendants" told the story of the teenage children of some of Disney's most notorious heroes and villains attending the same school. There, the children of the villains were tempted by a powerful magic wand that could have freed their outcast parents and brought in a new era of dark villainy to Auradon.

Returning from the film to do voice acting for the animated "Descendants Wicked World" are Dove Cameron ("Liv and Maddie"), Cameron Boyce ("Jessie"), Sofia Carson ("Faking It"), Booboo Stewart ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," 2010), Mitchell Hope ("Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS"), Sarah Jeffery ("Rogue"), Dianne Doan ("Vikings") and Brenna D’Amico ("Descendants," 2015).

"Descendants" brought in more than 10 million viewers for its premiere, so perhaps it's a no-brainer that a spinoff is coming so soon. The animated "Descendants Wicked World" premieres Friday, Sept. 18, on Disney Channel.

From superheroes to ordinary heroes: Superheroes are pretty cool, but the men and women in blue patrolling the streets are the real crime-fighting heroes.

Now, an actor who has guest starred with a superhero is paying a visit to the Chicago police department this fall.

Clancy Brown, who has recently been playing the villainous Gen. Wade Eiling in "The Flash," has been cast in a recurring role in NBC's "Chicago P.D." as an inmate who doubles as an informant for Hank Voight (Jason Beghe, "Californication"). He's set to make his first appearance in the cop drama's season 3 premiere Wednesday, Sept. 30, on the peacock network.

His role in "The Flash" is simply a drop in the bucket for Brown, who has established himself very firmly in the movie and TV scene. On the big screen, he has starred in "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), "Starship Troopers" (1997) and "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011), to name just a few, while on TV he's been seen in "Sleepy Hollow" and lent his voice talents to "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." and "Archer."

Besides "Chicago P.D." and "The Flash," Brown will also star in two upcoming big-budget films due out in 2016: "Hail, Caesar!," a comedy that's been in the works for more than a decade, and "Warcraft," the big-screen adaptation of the massively successful franchise of computer games.

Look for Brown in the season 3 premiere of "Chicago P.D." airing Wednesday, Sept. 30, on NBC.