Frozen Planet II: a ‘spectacular’ return to the world’s cold places
Second series ‘bears all the hallmarks of another dazzling David Attenborough/BBC operation’

“It’s 11 years since our minds were collectively blown by Frozen Planet,” said Fiona Sturges in the Financial Times. Now it is back for a second series, and it “bears all the hallmarks of another dazzling David Attenborough/BBC operation”.
Where the first series explored the Arctic and Antarctic, this one deploys cutting-edge satellite and drone technology to investigate non-polar frozen habitats, from high mountain ranges to ice-covered seas.
There are the usual “crowd-pleasers” – emperor penguins and polar bear cubs – but also more rarely spotted animals, such as the Himalayan Pallas’s cat, which looks like a domestic cat, only “fluffier and grumpier”. The series “sounds the alarm” on the risks posed by climate change, “but even the impending apocalypse doesn’t detract from the openmouthed wonder that Frozen Planet instils”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If the original series was “spectacular”, said Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail, this one is “spectacular-squared”. The footage is so “crisp and clear” that “every time I gasped, I expected to see my breath billow out in chilly clouds”. Whether you’re a child or the world’s greatest naturalist, it is sure to “amaze, astound and entertain”.
“The stark beauty of the frozen Earth” has certainly “never been better captured”, said Nick Hilton on The Independent. But it’s a spectacle that we have seen before. “Tigers and bears and whales and penguins: this feels more like a greatest hits compilation than a documentary that has something new, and pressing, to say.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more