Ages of Ice: David Tennant narrates ABC TV polar documentary – The three-part Australian-made series Ages of Ice will premiere at 8pm on Tuesday 3 November on ABC TV and ABC iview. David Tennant narrates as scientists travel through the planet’s polar regions to investigate what changing ice can tell us about its future.
The premiere gives a firm date to a project the ABC first announced in 2025. For Australian viewers, the documentary brings a locally made scientific story to free-to-air television and ABC iview, rather than treating the Arctic and Antarctic as remote scenery alone. Its researchers examine processes that affect oceans and climate far beyond the poles.
Northern Pictures, the Emmy Award-winning company behind Love on the Spectrum, produced the series. Its cameras follow researchers across the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica and the polar seas of the Arctic and Southern Ocean. Their work explores how glaciers move, how oceans rise and how the pace of change today compares with evidence from the past.
What Ages of Ice explores
The ABC describes Ages of Ice as a mix of expedition, frontline science and human stories. The researchers must work in difficult conditions while gathering evidence from places central to understanding Earth’s climate. The series presents the frozen regions as active systems connected to the rest of the planet, not as untouched wilderness separate from everyday life.
When the project was announced in February 2025, ABC Head of Documentary and Specialist Susie Jones highlighted the combination of Australian production talent and international relevance. The confirmed November premiere now turns that broad 2026 commitment into a viewing date.
Watch the first look
The ABC has released a 96-second first look at the documentary through its promotional video channel. The preview offers a look at the scale of the frozen landscapes and the fieldwork behind the series.
The team behind the three-part series
Ages of Ice is a Northern Pictures production co-commissioned by the ABC and US broadcaster PBS. Screen Australia provided major production investment in association with Screen NSW. Screen NSW also supported post-production, digital work and visual effects. ITV Studios is associated with the production and handles international distribution.
Karina Holden is the series director and executive producer. Judith Curran and Nicola Sullivan are producers, while Stephen Oliver is the ABC’s commissioning editor. Jones oversees documentary and specialist programming for the broadcaster. Those credits underline that the series is an Australian production with an international commissioning and distribution path.
Ages of Ice premieres at 8pm Tuesday 3 November on ABC TV and ABC iview. The ABC has announced three parts but has not provided an episode-by-episode schedule in this release.
For more TV Central ABC coverage, head here. To watch the series in Australia, visit the official ABC iview service.
