A special aired on 19 March 2015 about the solar eclipse of 20 March 2015: it taught children how solar eclipses happen and how to stay safe. Following the special a full series was commissioned for the Summer of 2015. The series is narrated by Michael Palin and co-produced by Smallfilms with the involvement of Oliver Postgate's son Dan and Peter Firmin. The series is directed by Chris Tichborne and Mole Hill,with music composed by John Du Prez. 52 11-minute episodes have been commissioned. The first episode of the new series aired on 15 June 2015.[15] It turned out to be a massive hit for CBeebies. The BBC News Entertainment and Arts magazine revealed that 65% of the episode's viewing audience of 484,000 were adults, and that it was CBeebies' most watched programme of 2015 to date. The rating was more than double the previous record set by an episode of Alphablocks, Numberjacks and Waybuloo that year. According to the 7 June 2015 issue of Parade magazine, actor William Shatner has been chosen to be the American narrator for the series when it begins aring on the cable network Sprout.