Frozen Planet II

Broadcast

BBC Studios handles worldwide distribution of Frozen Planet II, having pre-sold the documentary to broadcasters such as BBC America, ZDF, France Télévisions, Migu Video, NHK, Friday!, Mediaset, KBS, and the Nine Network. In the UK, the series first aired on BBC One, BBC One HD, and BBC iPlayer on 11 September 2022, occupying the 8pm to 9pm slot. A week later, on 18 September 2022, it debuted on BBC Earth Asia across Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Reception

Reviewers at The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Times all awarded the opening episode a maximum five stars, with Lucy Mangan of the former stating 'You cannot stay unengaged, you cannot remain unmoved by the sight of nature in all her glory'. The opening episode was also given five stars by Rachel Sigee at the I stating 'Ending exactly as it should – with a call to arms – its scale and finesse must not be taken for granted, and its message must be heard'. In contrast Nick Hilton at her sister paper The Independent awarded the opening episode just 3 stars opining that 'this feels more like a greatest hits compilation than a documentary that has something new, and pressing, to say'.

Merchandise

Frozen Planet II accompanies the TV series and was released in hardcover format on 11 September 2022 to coincide with the series debut in the UK. It is written by the series producers Mark Brownlow and Elizabeth White.

The UK version is published by BBC Books. A 64-page children's book to accompany the series, also called Frozen Planet II, will be released in hardcover format on 6 October 2022. Written by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe, it is illustrated by Kim Smith, with a foreword by Chris Packham. The UK version is published by BBC Books. A Frozen Planet II poster was produced in collaboration with and distributed for free by The Open University.

Music

On 22 August 2022, the BBC announced that the Cuban-born American singer and songwriter Camila Cabello had collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer to write and record a new song entitled Take Me Back Home. The accompanying press release highlighted that it marked the first time a completely new song had been written to support a BBC One natural history landmark release (previously Radiohead had rerecorded 'Bloom' for Blue Planet II and Sia being credited as co-writer for the original song 'Out there' which was used on the series Seven Worlds, One Planet). In a press release, Camila Cabello said: '...Frozen Planet II is stunning and Sir David's narration is deeply powerful as we try to protect these incredible ecosystems from global warming.

I'm grateful to be able to lend my voice to such an inspiring series.' The song was used as the soundtrack for a Frozen Planet II extended trailer released by the BBC to promote the series and saw its debut on 26 August 2022. The musical score and songs featured in the series are composed by Hans Zimmer, Adam Lukas and James Everingham for Bleeding Fingers Music. Additionally Anže Rozman (score arranger) is credited alongside Zimmer for the opening titles.

Russell Emanuel serves as score producer alongside Greg Rappaport and Marsha Bowe as score supervisors. Hans Zimmer returned to score the series having previously worked with the BBC Natural History Unit on both Seven Worlds, One Planet and Blue Planet II. On 27 August 2022, as part of the pre-launch publicity, it was revealed that vocals by Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora would feature as part of the incidental music used during the series.

Did You Know?

• The series took four and a half years to produce, using drones to capture live avalanches and disintegrating glaciers.
• Each episode except the last concludes with a segment called 'Out in the Cold' that highlights how some sequences were made.
• Camila Cabello's song 'Take Me Back Home' marked the first time a completely new song was written to support a BBC One natural history landmark release.