AlthoughPlanet Earth II hit the schedule in the U.K. a few months ago, the new series only began airing in the U.S. this past weekend. Apparently, the BBC was waiting for the big U.S. release to make some other news. This morning, we learned that the BBC and BBC America are putting together Blue Planet II, a sequel to both the Planet Earth series, as well as the original Blue Planet.
Of course, the big question related to any of these BBC America projects is whether or not David Attenborough will be narrating, and we're pleased to tell you that the famous narrator will be back for Blue Planet II. The upcoming series will be comprised of seven parts that were filmed by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced with BBC America.
The original Blue Planet was filmed 20 years ago and ended up being aired on television back in 2001. Of course, plenty has changed in filming technology since then, and new UHD "tow cam" technology that has been used in the filming of Blue Planet II, per the BBC. That technology has allowed the upcoming series to film dolphins up close and personal. A second, "suction" camera technology was used so that the audience could feel like it is on the back of large mammals, like whales. In addition, the teams have filmed in oceans all over the world and across every continent in collaboration with marine scientists to bring us information about interesting new sea creatures and more. Two manned submersibles were even taken into the waters
The news is coming after _Planet Earth I_I was a big success in the U.K., averaging 10.2 million total viewers. Ratings are not in for U.S. viewership, yet, as the first episode just premiered over the weekend on BBC America. New episodes of Planet Earth II will be airing here on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET. If you'd like to take a look at what to expect, you can seen incredible footage from the show with our snake and lizard footage and our giraffes footage. Or, just give the first episode a watch, login free, on the BBC America site.
Neither the BBC or BBC America are revealing premiere dates for Blue Planet II, yet, and the new docuseries has yet to be sold to TV channels worldwide, so it could be some time before we learn exactly when Blue Planet will air. The good news is that the series seems to be in the later stages of development, so hopefully we will get new episodes sooner rather than later. We'll let you know as soon as U.K. and U.S. premiere dates are agreed upon. In the meantime, you can take a look at what else is heading to the schedule with our midseason TV premiere guide.
