In 1980, PBS aired a now-legendary science documentary TV series called Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. It was presented by Carl Sagan. In 2014, FOX and National Geographic aired a revival titled Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. It was hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and ran for 13 installments.
The new version was a bit of an anomaly in the FOX primetime lineup and didn’t draw very impressive ratings. It seemed like it was a “one and done” revival but now, it’s being brought back for a second season.
The new version, titled Cosmos: Possible Worlds, is expected to air in Spring 2019. Here’s the press release, as well as a quick teaser:
FOX AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ANNOUNCE THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RETURN OF THE EMMY AWARD-WINNING SERIES “COSMOS”
New Season to Launch Alongside the Release of a Companion National Geographic Book Written by Druyan, COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS
(Los Angeles, CA / Washington D.C. – January 13, 2018) FOX and National Geographic today announced the highly anticipated return of the Emmy Award-winning worldwide phenomenon COSMOS, from executive producer/writer/director Ann Druyan (who won an Emmy Award for writing the 2014 series and a Peabody Award for producing it) and executive producers Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, THE ORVILLE, “COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey”), Brannon Braga (THE ORVILLE, “COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey,” “Terra Nova”) and Jason Clark (THE ORVILLE, “COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey”). Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famed pop-culture icon, astrophysicist and host of the Emmy Award-nominated “StarTalk,” returns as host of the series, scheduled to premiere globally in Spring 2019.
Following a wildly successful run in 2014 as the most-watched series ever on National Geographic Channels internationally, and seen by more than 135 million people worldwide on National Geographic and FOX, the new season will once again premiere in the U.S. on both FOX and National Geographic and globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 43 languages.
In the vastness of space and the immensity of time, the number of worlds to explore and stories to tell are virtually infinite. The first two seasons of the COSMOS television series transported a global audience to the farthest reaches and most deeply hidden recesses of the universe. In the course of those journeys, the series dramatized the lives of many of the forgotten searchers who contributed to the world’s understanding of who, when and where we are in the universe. COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS will venture to previously uncharted territories.
In conjunction with the launch of the new season, National Geographic Books also will publish a companion book, COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS, by Ann Druyan, the long-awaited follow-up to Carl Sagan’s international bestseller, COSMOS: A Personal Voyage.
COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS is produced by Cosmos Studios, the Ithaca, NY-based company Ann Druyan co-founded in 2000, and Fuzzy Door Productions, Seth MacFarlane’s company. Druyan and Brannon Braga are the series’ writers. Druyan, MacFarlane, Braga and Jason Clark executive-produce. “Like” COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS on Facebook @CosmosOnTV. Follow the series on Twitter @CosmosOnTV. See photos and videos on Instagram by following @CosmosOnTV.
About FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX), a unit of 21st Century Fox, is home to some of the highest-rated and most acclaimed series on television, including EMPIRE, THE MICK, LETHAL WEAPON, LUCIFER, GOTHAM, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, NEW GIRL, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, STAR, THE EXORCIST, THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, BOB’S BURGERS, HELL’S KITCHEN, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE; as well as new series THE GIFTED, THE ORVILLE, 9-1-1, LA TO VEGAS, GHOSTED, BEAT SHAZAM, LOVE CONNECTION and THE F WORD WITH GORDON RAMSAY; and upcoming drama THE RESIDENT. FOX airs 15 hours of primetime programming a week, as well as major sports and Sunday morning news. Through the FOX NOW app, FOX viewers can watch full episodes of their favorite FOX shows on a variety of digital platforms, while enjoying enhanced interactive and social capabilities around those shows. Download the FOX NOW app at www.fox.com/foxnow. To watch primetime programming live on the web, visit www.fox.com/live. “Like” FOX on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FOXTV and follow the network on Twitter @FOXTV. For additional information about FOX, please visit www.fox.com.About National Geographic Partners LLC
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 130 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.About Cosmos Studios
Co-founded in 2000 by CEO and visionary Ann Druyan, Ithaca, NY-based Cosmos Studios creates, produces, and distributes eye, brain, heart and soul-nourishing science-based entertainment in all media.Cosmos Studios aims to tear down the walls that have excluded so many from the scientific enterprise. We work to demystify the language, values, and drama of science, to give everyone the power of its permanently revolutionary methodology.
Carl Sagan, and those privileged to work with him, demonstrated that there is a world-wide appetite for compelling entertainment that reflects our dawning awareness of cosmic evolution and our place in its great story. There is a planet-wide hunger for images and dreams that reflect our radically altered sense of who, where, and when we are… where we might go, who we might become.
In collaboration with award-winning writers, artists, filmmakers, producers, researchers, engineers, educators, artists, and a growing list of partners across science, communications, and finance, we seek to touch audiences with the soaring spiritual high that comes from grasping science’s central revelation- our oneness with the cosmos.
About Fuzzy Door Productions
Led by director, writer and producer Seth MacFarlane, Fuzzy Door Productions is the production company behind many of today’s most successful film and television projects. Jason Clark serves as its President and oversees all areas of development and production for the company’s film and television slate. Fuzzy Door produced “COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey,” and currently produces FOX’s hit space adventure series, THE ORVILLE, as well as the beloved animated television shows FAMILY GUY and “American Dad!.” On the film side, Fuzzy Door has produced “Ted,” “Ted 2” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
What do you think? Do you enjoy the Cosmos TV show? Did you watch the original version or, the first season of this version that aired in 2014?
Images are fantastic. Neil DeGrasse’s fictionalized storytelling as truth is not. I love science, so I endure.
This should prove to be fascinating in regards to furthering our knowledge about this universe – can’t get enough of intelligent TV.