AGES OF ICE Documentary Series to Premiere on PBS, Narrated by David Tennant
Northern Pictures production follows scientists across the Arctic and Antarctica as episodes air weekly.
PBS has announced AGES OF ICE, a three-part documentary series narrated by David Tennant, set to premiere on PBS and the PBS App, with new episodes airing weekly. Produced by Northern Pictures, the hour-long series follows scientists into the Arctic and Antarctic to examine the wildlife, landscapes and shifting ecosystems of the planet's polar regions.
AGES OF ICE will premiere Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), with new episodes airing weekly.
From the Emmy-Award-winning Northern Pictures, AGES OF ICE combines epic adventure, frontline science and deeply human stories. From the frozen Arctic Ocean to the high plateaus of Antarctica, viewers are immersed in places of staggering beauty and brutal extremes, where every landscape feels at once magnificent and impossibly fragile. Scientists explore the harshest frontiers on Earth and uncover the dramatic changes transforming the world.
Both awe-inspiring and urgent, AGES OF ICE explores Earth's extremes, where every new finding has the power to transform understanding of the world we call home.
'AGES OF ICE combines breathtaking filmmaking with powerful scientific discovery, offering viewers an extraordinary look at Earth's frozen frontiers,' said Diana El Osta, Sr. Director, Multiplatform Programming & Development, PBS. 'The series reflects PBS's commitment to bringing audiences stories that inspire curiosity and deepen our understanding of the natural world.'
Episode Descriptions
Episode 1 'The Frozen Heart'
Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 10 p.m. ET
At the farthest reaches of our planet, amid landscapes of staggering beauty and peril, scientists venture into the ice to unlock the story of Earth's climate. Scaling jagged peaks, battling brutal storms and skiing across frozen deserts, they track how polar regions are transforming. Each mission is an act of discovery: a step toward understanding how glaciers move, how oceans rise, and how the rhythms of the past compare to the quickening tempo of today.
Episode 2 'Polar Seas'
Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. ET
The polar seas help regulate Earth's climate, storing carbon, driving ocean currents and sustaining vast ecosystems. But as sea ice retreats and oceans warm, scientists are racing to understand what comes next. Above the Arctic, NASA investigates the complex relationship between sea ice and clouds. In Antarctica, researchers aboard the RRS David Attenborough track changes in the Southern Ocean and the krill that support extraordinary wildlife. In the High Arctic, WWF scientists monitor the underwater soundscape as increasing shipping threatens marine life. Meanwhile, in Nunavut, innovators and Inuit communities test ways to restore sea ice. Together, their discoveries reveal a planet in transition.
Episode 3 'The Incubator of Life'
Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m. ET
Across the solar system, ice is scattered on comets, planets and moons. Where there is ice, there is water, raising the possibility of life elsewhere in the cosmos. To understand what we may discover out there, scientists journey to Earth's frozen extremes: probing microbes living on air alone, uncovering ecosystems in glaciers, and measuring algae transforming the ice itself. From drones beneath Arctic seas to submersible dives under Antarctica, their work leaves us with a profound truth: life, in all its resilience and strangeness, is not confined to warm, sunlit places. Sometimes, it begins in the cold stillness of ice.
AGES OF ICE premieres nationally on PBS on September 16, 2026 and will stream simultaneously with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Apple TV, Android mobile and tablets, Android/GoogleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and tablets, Comcast Xfinity, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, VIZIO and LG Smart TVs. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries, and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website or contact your local station.
Funding for AGES OF ICE was provided by the Anne Ray Foundation, Margaret A. Lindberg Foundation Inc, and Janet Satz Nordgren.
AGES OF ICE was produced by Northern Pictures in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), ITV Studios, and PBS. Production funding was provided by Screen Australia and financed in association with Screen NSW. ITV Studios also handles international distribution.
The series consists of three episodes, The Frozen Heart, Polar Seas and The Incubator of Life, each focused on different aspects of polar science, from glacier movement and ocean warming to the search for life in extreme environments.
