BBC America announced “Blue Planet II,” a new installment of the nature documentary series, on Sunday.
The seven-episode series that will explore the world’s oceans will be presented by world-renowned broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
“I am truly thrilled to be joining this new exploration of the underwater worlds which cover most of our planet, yet are still its least known,” Attenborough said. The announcement comes just a week after BBCA premiered “Planet Earth II” in the United States.
“Blue Planet II” explores the latest frontiers of scientific discovery, from icy-white polar seas to coral atolls, from the Atlantic coastline to the black depths of the alien deep.
Viewers will encounter new landscapes such as methane volcanoes which erupt in the Gulf of Mexico, creating underwater lakes of poisonous brine; and the so-called “Boiling Sea” phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. And by taking two manned submersibles to Antarctic waters to 1000m for the very first time, the series will bring a “new world” to the audience.
The series’ camera teams have worked on every continent and across every ocean, often in collaboration with marine scientists. They have developed new filming technologies, including UHD “tow cams” that allow predatory fish and dolphins to be filmed front-on; UHD suction cams which enable the viewer to “travel” on the back of large creatures such as whale sharks and orcas; and a motion control rig, which is used to shoot time-lapse footage in the ocean to reveal previously unseen wild behaviors.
“Blue Planet II” is produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC America, WDR and France Télévisions in partnership with The Open University, Natural History and Specialist Factual.