Keen to build on the success of hit series like Blue Planet, BBC Studios has unveiled plans for five new natural-history shows scheduled to air in China, Xu Haoyu reports.

The BBC announced a slew of new natural-history shows - One Planet: Seven Worlds, Planet Earth III, Green Planet, Perfect Planet and Frozen Planet II - to be broadcast in China.

The producers of the highly successful BBC Planet series, which examines the relationship between humankind and the natural world while tackling the major issues affecting the planet, have confirmed that five new natural-history series are currently under production.

Julia Noccoiolino, the commercial director of the BBC Studios brand in China, and Chaldean Hunter, an Australian wildlife biologist and filmmaker, who worked on Planet Earth and Frozen Planet, made the announcement recently at a media conference in Beijing.

Since the release of Planet Earth in 2006, BBC Planet titles have become a global phenomenon, with Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II attracting over a billion viewers over the past three years.

The productions of the five new series are expected to involve over 10,000 days of filming across more than 120 countries over several years.

Presented by Sir David Attenborough, One Planet: Seven Worlds is made up of seven 60-minute episodes. The series sets out to celebrate the diversity of life on each of the seven continents, while highlighting the many challenges faced by animals in a world dominated by humanity. By telling the story of each continent and introducing the spectacular wildlife and iconic landscapes they are home to, the series aims to uncover what makes the continents unique.

The series is due to be launched globally this autumn and is scheduled to be broadcast in China via the Tencent video platform and China Central Television's CCTV-9 channel.

The five-part series, Green Planet, aims to showcase the "emotional stories and surprising heroes of the plant world". Due for release in 2021, the show will employ the latest advanced technology like robotics, high-definition thermal imagery, time-lapse and ultra-high-speed photography. The series aims to bring to life the hidden world of plants.

Due for release in 2020, Perfect Planet II will fuse natural history and Earth sciences to show how the forces of nature - weather systems, ocean currents, solar energy and volcanoes - drive, shape and support the great diversity of life on Earth and demonstrate how the animal world is able to adapt to what-ever the natural environment throws at them.

Frozen Planet II continues to tell the story of the entire quarter of our planet that's perpetually locked in ice and blanketed in snow, and the huge impact rising temperatures and climate change has on them. The series is scheduled for broadcast in 2021.

Due to premiere in 2022, Planet Earth III has been described by BBC Studios as "the most ambitious natural-history landmark ever undertaken by the BBC".

The third season aims to keep up with the most recent developments in nature and will see the production team revisit locations from the first season to examine and record the environmental changes taking place. According to Hunter, the impact of human activity on the planet will be covered in two of the episodes, while extreme environments, such as volcanoes and other geological phenomena, will also be explored.

As Charlotte Moore, the BBC's director of content, explained at an earlier media conference: "These new series will take an in-depth look at specific aspects of the natural world, revealing sometimes-surprising insights into animals and their habitats.

"It's our biggest-ever commitment to natural history and one we are proud of."

Hunter says: "It's comforting that our work reaches such a remarkable number of relatively young audience members. As they are more environmentally conscious than their predecessors, they are not only watching the show but also actively interacting with the content. I think natural-history documentaries will bring them a lot of positive energy."

At the recent media conference, Noccoiolino discussed Earth Tribes, an online community set up by the BBC on the Tencent platform to cater to Chinese fans of natural history and science.

The channel not only offers some 650 hours of BBC Studios' natural history and documentary series, such as Dynasties and Rituals, but also provides access to online and offline content developed by award-winning producers from the BBC Studio's Natural History Unit.

Short videos, Q&As, 360-degree videos, live interviews and livestream broadcasts from BBC production locations are just some of the additional content offered to Earth Tribe subscribers.

"We are constantly creating opportunities to generate more conversations with our audiences," says Noccoiolino. "We want to understand what they like, what they want to see and how they want to see it."

Since Noccoiolino joined BBC Worldwide's content-strategy team in 2006, she has been helping producers gain an insight into the viewing habits of global audiences. Responding to growing outside interest in China, Noccoiolino says the BBC has been adding Chinese elements to many of their programs, including the Earth From Space documentary and dramas like Sherlock Holmes.

Contact the writer at xuhaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn