The BBC’s Blue Planet III will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 1 November at 8pm. Radio Times reported on 21 October that the BBC had confirmed the start date for its new ocean series narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The six-part series arrives 25 years after the first Blue Planet and almost a decade after Blue Planet II.
According to Radio Times, the first three episodes will be available on iPlayer on launch day. In the United States, the series will follow on BBC America and AMC+ from 23 January 2027, with one episode a week, according to the TV news site Tellyvisions.
What Blue Planet III covers
Made by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, the series has six hour-long episodes. Five explore the ocean’s main habitats: Tropical Seas, Open Ocean, Seasonal Seas, Polar Waters and The Deep. The sixth, Future Seas, looks at what lies ahead for the oceans and how they might be protected.
Filming took four years. The team used newer tools including splash drones, long-term remote underwater cameras and a small camera dome to capture behaviour that had previously been impossible to film or had only recently been discovered. According to the Royal Television Society, the new series is built around stories of adaptation and resilience in a changing world.
When Attenborough’s role was confirmed in May, Jack Bootle, the BBC’s head of specialist factual commissioning, said: “I’m thrilled that David is taking the helm of Blue Planet once again.” Jonny Keeling, head of the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, told the Discover Wildlife website the series was “full of never-before-seen animal behaviour, new locations, new science”.
Attenborough’s centenary year
The series lands in the year Attenborough turned 100, and his name now features across the documentary calendar. The Grierson Trust has renamed its science and natural history prize the Sir David Attenborough Award for Best Science and Natural History Documentary, while Sheffield DocFest marked his birthday with family events in June.
In material quoted by Dork, Attenborough described the ocean as “an endlessly fascinating place”. For more on his recent work, see our earlier reports on his National Geographic ocean documentary and Attenborough and the Giant Elephant.
Music, premiere and a live tour
The BBC has given the series a high-profile launch. A premiere in central London on 7 October turned the screens at Piccadilly Circus into an ocean display, and Attenborough sent a recorded message for guests, Country & Town House reported. The first-look trailer features an original song by Hans Zimmer and the singer Jade Thirlwall, formerly of Little Mix. Dork reported that the song, “Into the Deep (Seas Cry)”, was first played on BBC Radio 1, and that Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music composed the series score.
The series will also go on tour. Blue Planet III Live in Concert will pair footage with a live score played by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and hosted by executive producer Elizabeth White, Dork reported, with UK dates at Manchester’s AO Arena on 21 May 2027, Birmingham’s bp pulse LIVE on 22 May and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 23 May. A London date had not been confirmed.
How to watch Blue Planet III in the UK
- When: Sunday 1 November 2026, 8pm.
- Where: BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
- Licence: you need a TV licence to watch live on BBC One or to watch or download on iPlayer, on any device.
- Earlier series: the first two Blue Planet series can be streamed on BBC iPlayer.
Why it matters
Blue Planet is one of the BBC’s best-known natural history brands: Country & Town House notes that Blue Planet II became the UK’s most-watched show of 2017. The trade publication C21Media reported in February that the new series had been pre-sold to broadcasters in markets including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, New Zealand and Spain. With a Sunday-evening slot, a same-night streaming release and a concert tour to follow, the BBC has several ways to reach audiences in Attenborough’s centenary year, and the closing Future Seas episode puts the protection of the oceans at the centre of the series.
Sources: Radio Times, Blue Planet III release date confirmed by the BBC with boxset treat (21 October 2026); Dork, Blue Planet III release date confirmed for BBC One and iPlayer (22 October 2026); Tellyvisions, Blue Planet III sets a mid-winter debut for 2027 (21 October 2026); Royal Television Society, Sir David Attenborough will narrate Blue Planet III (11 May 2026); Discover Wildlife, David Attenborough to narrate blockbuster BBC series (20 May 2026); Country & Town House, When will we see Blue Planet III? (7 October 2026); The Grierson Trust, Revealing the 2026 Grierson Awards longlist (20 July 2026); TV Licensing, BBC iPlayer and the TV Licence (accessed October 2026); Sheffield DocFest, Announcing our full public programme for 2026 (29 April 2026); C21Media, Wave of Blue Planet III sales and copro deals done on first day of BBC Showcase (23 February 2026).
