It was just last week when I mentioned Human Planet and Deadliest Catch as being excellent shows to watch in the near-future and as it turns out, Mike Rowe has signed on to narrate Human Planet.

Here’s the official press release:

MIKE ROWE TO NARRATE EPIC NEW SERIES HUMAN PLANET, PREMIERING APRIL 10 AT 8PM ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL

April 4, 2011
(Silver Spring, Md.) – Discovery Channel today announced Mike Rowe will lend his legendary baritone voice as narrator for its awe-inspiring new six part series HUMAN PLANET, a majestic portrait of people’s incredible ability to survive and thrive in our planet’s most extreme environments. The BBC/Discovery Channel co-production makes its U.S. premiere on Discovery on Sunday April 10 at 8PM e/p with the episode Rivers and Oceans.

Rowe is best known as host and creator of Discovery’s DIRTY JOBS WITH MIKE ROWE as well as the voice of DEADLIEST CATCH and host of AFTER THE CATCH. But Rowe is no stranger to natural history – he narrated the Discovery Channel/BBC co-production WILD PACIFIC in 2009.