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After recently signing on to reboot one classic TV show, Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones, Seth MacFarlane is taking on another iconic TV series, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Fox has greenlighted Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, a 13-part docu-series from Family Guy creator MacFarlane and late Sagan’s original collaborators – his widow, writer/producer Ann Druyan and astrophysicist Steven Soter. Envisioned as a successor to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original 13-part program, which was hosted by Sagan, the new Cosmos series will be hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. 
Underscoring MacFarlane’s commercial appeal, Cosmos will air on Fox in primetime, something pretty unprecedented these days for a science documentary series on commercial American television. (The original series aired on PBS.) Fox will air Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 2013, which is also when the network will launch MacFarlane’s Flintstones reboot. National Geographic Channel, which will co-produce Cosmos, will air a same-night encore of the episodes following their broadcast on Fox. The project is being done outside of MacFarlane’s overall deal with 20th Century fox TV. “Never more than at this moment in the modern era have we needed a profound reminder of the colossally important and exciting role that science, space exploration and the human quest for knowledge must continue to play in our development as a species,” MacFarlane said. “We should be vigorously exploring the solar system by now, and who better to inspire us to get there than Ann Druyan, Steven Soter, Neil deGrasse Tyson and, of course, Carl Sagan.”
A self-professed geek, MacFarlane hit it off with Druyan after the two met at a function some time ago. When she shared with him the idea for a new Cosmos series, MacFarlane immediately sparked to it and set up a meeting with Peter Rice, entertainment chairman of Fox where MacFarlane has 3 series on the air, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad. That happened about a year ago, and after lengthy negotiations, Fox just closed all deals for the project to go forward. In September 2010, MacFarlane and Druyan appeared together on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher where they shared their concern about the growing anti-science sentiment in American society, something Druyan attributed to “the failure of public education,” which has “compartmentalized science to 20-40 boring minutes a week, maybe taught by a gym teacher.” That is a far cry from the way her late husband approached science. “Carl believed that science belongs to all of us,” Druyan said now in reference to the Fox series. “He wanted to convey the thrill of its cosmic perspective to the widest possible audience. I wish I could tell Carl what Seth’s leadership on this new Cosmos has made possible. Besides, I know how much they would have liked each other.”
According to the producers, the new series will tell “the story of how human beings began to comprehend the laws of nature and find our place in space and time. It will take viewers to other worlds and travel across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. The most profound scientific concepts will be presented with stunning clarity, uniting skepticism and wonder, and weaving rigorous science with the emotional and spiritual into a transcendent experience.”
Carl Sagan’s original series Cosmos, which was first broadcast in 1980, remains the most successful American public television series of all time and has been seen by an estimated 700 million viewers around the world. One of the signature features of the 1980s series were the groundbreaking for its time visual effects, which allowed Sagan to walk through space. The new series is expected to employ the latest special effects, though it is unclear if it will incorporate another signature element of the original, the catchy music by Vangelis. Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey will be produced by Druyan’s Cosmos Studios. Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane and Cosmos Studios president Mitchell Cannold will executive produce along with Allan Butler of National Geographic Channel.
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Very cool. However, and I find this depressing, I don’t think it’ll be successful at all. Perhaps it’ll live on when Fox cancels it, on National Geographic.
I love Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I love that they’re doing this show on network primetime. I wonder though, does this mean the end of the show Tyson host on PBS, (NOVA Science NOW?)
You do realize that Nat Geo is owned by Fox, right?
“Without change, something in us sleep’s and seldom awaken’s”. That line is from ‘DUNE’, a science fiction movie with a few profound insight’s. ‘Cosmos will succeed because we live in a time when people are searching for the truth amidst a mountain of bullshit. A series like this can remind people who they are as a species, EXPLORER’S. It can also show the folly of some of the crap we believe in now, and how these same assanine idea’s will let us down badly, here on Earth, and especially out there in space.
Likewise I feel that FOX is going to be the show’s misfortune. It is primarily a junk TV network with no credibility. We will simply have to wait till FOX gets tired of playing with science and some operation more serious about what they do picks up the rights to re-run it. An even better outcome would be they sell it off on a DVD package and I can enjoy it without commercials or public broadcast supporters endorsements. Thank you, but I only want the content.
Sagan was a one of a kind guy. Good luck in trying to out do him…
I don’t think they’re trying to OUTDO Sagan. I’m pretty sure that everyone involved with the show has a lot of respect and admiration for him. I think this is more in homage to him and it’s being done in hopes of rekindling America’s love for space.
couldnt have said it better! I really hope it fulfills this purpose.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, is it not? I also believe this is more of a tribute than an attempt to outdo. To carry on (and update) his legacy. I grew up watching Carl Sagan. And given the choices I would be proud for my children to grow up watching Tyson.
What leads you to believe he’s trying to out-do Sagan? It’s not always about competition.
exactly… it’s about carrying on sagan’s message. of course there will never be another sagan or jacques cousteau. there efforts were to act as a catalyst for everyone to think and understand the magnitude of life. wow, the simplest and most important messages escaping people.
Why does he have to “out do” Sagan? Tyson has his own style that is appealing.
No one is trying to out-do Sagan. That would be a fools errand of the highest order.
They best they’ll be trying to do is make Carl proud.
Two of the executive producers of the original series, one of which was Carl Sagan’s wife, are in high command of this series. I anticipate something spectacular.
If anyone in the world could outdo him, its Neil.
This is a refreshing announcement, and one I’d never expect from a source like Macfarlane. His public appearances always make him appear as an attention-starved douche. But I may be guilty of casually judging him based on his astoundingly generic ripoffs of his own Family Guy, and the ensuing success. He seemed like a showman selling snake oil and loving it, but this is truly a worthy cause to invest his considerable influence in (and you know Fox is grinding their teeth while smiling happily and Mr MacFarlane). The slow death of the space program reinforces that we need people like this to inspire a new generation towards the possibilities beyond our own limited world. My only concern with the series itself is the inclusion of Tyson as the host playing Sagans former role. He’s certainly proven he has the charisma and knowledge for the forum, but he’s also over exposed as the go-to science/space guy on TV. And quite honestly, although I don’t know who could fill his shoes, Sagan had an inexplicable poetic optimism and dignity that nobody has recaptured. Tyson has the enthusiasm and excitement, but I don’t think he can INSPIRE in the same way that made the original such a monumental success. Regardless, I’m looking forward to the results.
I think Brian Cox has come closest of anyone to Sagan as far as capturing the audience with charisma with his “Wonders of the Solar System” and “Wonders of the Universe” series. They are some of my favorite space shows to watch. His excitement and enthusiasm, the way he speaks and the knowledge he presents was enough even to make my girlfriend become interested in astronomy and physics.
It’s called “The Universe” and it’s been on the History Channel for five seasons now.
The Universe series went into the crapper after the first season. I suggest you watch Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman on the Science Channel. Far better.
Yes, I love Through the Wormhole!
I watched one episode of The Universe at the urging of several people. The episode I saw was about constellations. I lost hope in it when the narrator said Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the sky, which is an absurdly trivial error (a quick Google search could have told the writers that it’s Sirius). I also though their explanation of the precession of Earth’s pole was badly done. I haven’t watched the show since.
I should have known, though. I saw a show on The History Channel a couple years ago about a BLACK HOLE IN THE CENTER OF THE EARTH that is causing ships to disappear in the BERMUDA TRIANGLE, and that should have been the last straw. That bears repeating for the full effect: Black Hole. Center of Earth. Bermuda Triangle. Every “science” show on this “educational” channel (UFO Hunters?? Come ON!) is laughable at best, a travesty at worst.
Cosmos, on the other hand, is beautifully done. I’m looking forward to the reboot, and I hope it does justice to the spirit of the original. I’ll be sorely disappointed if it doesn’t. American audiences need a show like Cosmos now more than ever.
Lets get the Old Spice guy, Ryan Renolds, and the mythbusters on board! No? How about stewie griffin and that guy on pbs?
Neil has been riding the coattails of Carl Sagan since I dont know when…now his obnoxiously overweight shadow will officially eclipse the fading image of an icon that was once Carl Sagan. The thing Carl is most remembered by today is that one word, Cosmos. “Carl who? Oh that guy from that Cosmos show, I loved him.” thanks Neil, just because nobody watches NOVA doesn’t give you the right to usurp the title of being “that Cosmos guy.”
There’s no need for this. It’s such a desperate attempt. Maybe the reason our generation is so disinterested in science is because the only public figure they have to look up to is. . . Neil Tyson, not our educational system. Oh and that asian guy from the science channel who talks about time travel.
Wanna get kids interested in science? Play the reruns of Cosmos, they’re already perfect..
“There’s no need for this.”
I completely disagree, just like I completely disagree with the notion that people are disinterested in science because of people like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. As far as I’m concerned, we need more scientists like Tyson out in the public sharing their enthusiasm and love for science.
It might be instructive to insert here the fact that Sagan was denied tenure at Harvard, and ended up at Cornell, instead, because his ivory-tower colleagues at Harvard felt he was too “flamboyant” to remain at Harvard, what with his appealing to the “unwashed masses” as “science huckster.”
Additionally, Sagan’s well-known copious consumption of cannabis could not have gone over well at Harvard, especially after having endured Timothy Leary. While universities have a reputation of being liberal enclaves, you’ll find that the desires of the (usually) conservative university administration win out at tenure time.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is condescending, dismissive and arrogant. Hardly characteristics that would qualify him to “carry the torch”. His credibility takes a back seat to his ego. Where Sagan was full of wonder and awe, Tyson is full of himself.
The list of people more qualified to produce a real science show then McFarlane is longer by several factors then the list of people less qualified. Was Kirk Cameron not available? Was Brett Ratner too busy with the Oscars?
This is nothing but bandwagon jumping and self-aggrandizement.
*than
Then refers to time, than is making a comparison.
… right.
Racist much? These guys are just carrying on the torch of Carl. What would you rather have no one try to give a public shit about science? Or why don’t you go out and do it, big guy? Get a life.
How is this racist?
My age? Believe it or not, I’m actually a 23 year old college graduate as well. True, some of the information in Cosmos is a little dated but we stilil are, and always will be, made of star stuff. What makes you think this will be any different than any other of Neil’s largely unacknowledged tv shows? Because its on fox and the family guy guy has something to do with thid, you really think a whole generation of youth will suddenly be enticed and inspired by science? No, I’m afraid that they’ll be bored before the first commericial.
It isnt needed because Neil already has a show about science and the content is just the same. It’s the aesthetic of Carl’s subtle and solemn presentation that makes Cosmos so good. Why do you hat Morgan Freeman’s show? Aren’t you happy he’s bringing science into the mainstream? I give that show 100 x more credit becaue it is doing it’s own thing.
Brian Cox’s voice puts me to sleep.
Being a college graduate, you may need to spend some more time spell-checking and making sure you’re responding to the correct thread, because the one you responded to was not the one asking your age.
When pessimistically lamenting about the show being a mainstream re-creation of COSMOS, you said, “Because its on fox and the family guy guy has something to do with thid, you really think a whole generation of youth will suddenly be enticed and inspired by science?”
I don’t see anywhere on this page someone claiming that a whole generation will suddenly be inspired by science. If the ratings for McFarlane’s other stuff was that good, he’d have even more of the network’s schedule filled with his stuff.
You’re being a pessimist for pessimism’s sake and arguing against non-existent statements.
Don’t be a dick.
@Mark
“What makes you think this will be any different than any other of Neil’s largely unacknowledged tv shows?”
Neil deGrasse Tyson isn’t unacknowledged. I i’m living in Sweden and I watch his TV-show on PBS and his great and charismatic interviews on Planetary Radio.
One reason that “Brian Cox’s voice puts me to sleep” is that you, like most of the “ordinary Joe’s” outthere aren’t interested in science.
B.T.W Do you know that you could be the wealthiest man in the world if you catch all the gold in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter? This is the new “gold rush”.
My father is a well known theoretical physicist. I won’t mention here. But I have had the opportunity to meet many of the worlds premier physicists through him. Tyson is a very nice and dedicated scientists who could not be more excited about bringing a love for science to the masses. What you mistake for ego and grandstanding is actually his passion.
You’re right, the original Cosmos series is perfect… if all you’re interested in is science from 1980. A whole lot of amazing things have happened in our study of the Universe in the last 30 years. Maybe the reason this generation is so disinterested in science is because they haven’t had a really compelling presentation of the awesome nature of the Cosmos in their lifetime.
Will this show be it? It will be very, very hard to live up to the legacy of the original. But I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
maybe this generation isn’t compelled b/c they are a generation of idiots, buried in their phone texts and facebook accounts. maybe b/c they are allowed to be idiots and do wahtever they want.
I loved the original show, and i think some sort of reboot could be great. I hope that Seth takes this seriously and doesn’t do his usual thing. Family Guy is fine as Family Guy, but i don’t want that here.
In any event, I think it will fail miserably on Fox and will end up only airing on NatGeo after abotu 2 eps. Sad, but true.
And there are good Science shows on now – Into the Wormhole, The Universe w/ Michio Kaku, etc.
Isn’t every generation labeled a generation of idiots including yours? Every single generation mocks the generation underneath it. The generation coming up is proudly less religious and pro-science. Less superstitious and supportive of new ideas. btw…when you call someone an idiot it reflects on who you are versus the people you’re slamming. Believe they would love a new Cosmos.
Mark, why all the hostility towards bringing science and astronomy to network prime time? I hate to say it, but it seems that your age is showing in your comment. Please allow me to bring you some perspective from a 21-year-old recent college graduate who is extremely pleased by this announcement.
I have always been a science nut, and my favorite classes as an undergrad were always astronomy and astrobiology. I learned about the giants of the field: Newton, Hubble, Kepler, Galileo, Einstein, Copernicus, Hawking, and yes, even Carl Sagan. The thing is, I had never even heard of Sagan’s Cosmos until last year. Cosmos ran over 30 years ago, and it’s very likely that most other people my age haven’t heard of the show either, let alone seen it. It is for this reason that I am very happy to hear the announcement of a reboot. I am also very happy that Neil deGrasse Tyson will be hosting, as I believe he is the perfect man for the job. One of my biggest pet peeves is that Morgan Freeman, an actor not a scientist, is the face and voice of Through the Wormhole, one of the most popular science shows on TV right now. I am all for putting the smart guys in front of the camera, and Tyson certainly fits that bill.
In addition to this, it is also important to think of the discoveries and breakthroughs that have occurred over the last 30 years that will be featured on MacFarlane and Tyson’s version Cosmos. We’ve had the mapping of Venus, we’ve penetrated Titan’s thick atmosphere, discovered oceans under Europa’s ice sheets, learned much from the space shuttle program and the ISS, and and made numerous strides in physics, astrophysics, and astronomy. This is why a new Cosmos show would be so welcome, and for it to be on a major network – during prime time no less – is an amazing accomplishment that will hopefully inspire a new generation of scientists to think critically about the universe and our place in it.
Wow that was a lot longer than I expected it to be haha.
I’m 23. How does my age show?
You do get that Tyson was heavily influenced by Sagan, right? That this is as much an honor for him to carry on in Sagan’s footsteps as it is to educate the masses?
Was he really? I had no idea
Sagan met with Tyson personally when he was getting into college and showed him around campus. Someone sent Sagan Tyson’s application, and Sagan got in touch with him. There’s a great clip on youtube where Tyson talks about it. Tyson now feels strongly about always taking time for students who contact him.
I can’t think of any better person than Tyson to host the new Cosmos.
Some of you are just completely missing the point. Science is constantly changing. The body of knowledge upon which Sagan wrote his Cosmos has evolved. Science does that. Sagan himself would very likely find it absurd and bordering on religiously dogmatic for anybody to defend a talking point from his original show as if there was some kind of infallibility about it. Frequently Sagan would refer to the progression of knowledge as it passed down through the centuries until it arrived in 1980. He openly begged the question…and what will we know tomorrow? Tyson will make a perfect 2013 Cosmos spokesperson.
Finally. Something worthy.
This sounds like a great idea and Tyson is the perfect choice as host. Just wonder how close this new Cosmos will be to PBS’s NOVA. NOVA does deal with other non-space themes, so maybe there is room for both.
Good for Macfarlane to use his network muscle to make this happen. Just hope that 1) there is no “Seth”-style animation; and 2) MacFarlane characters must not do cross-overs to this show.
If it takes Stewie popping in every now and again to help out Tyson, I’m all for it. Sounds fun and fitting in a FOX primetime slot.
Actually, considering McFarlene’s clout with the three big shows right now, I don’t think it will be easily canned.
I can’t wait to see Tyson puking for a solid half-minute onscreen when he figures out the Big Bang was bisexual. Or maybe it’ll be a hour-long fart joke.
But then on NOVA he tried to give a vocabulary test to a dog. He and Dave Pogue dumb science so far down it’s religion, sometimes the only difference between them and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader is the format.
Kudos to MacFarlane, it will prove a very important project
Nova is some of the best stuff on tv. I loved Carl Sagan’s Cosmos but it is a bit out of date science wise. I think Carl’s wife is a better judge than you to decide who carries Carl’s legacy into the new millennium than you. I also wonder why you had to call Niel fat. Attacks like that are common if you can not support your opinions with facts, I thank Carl would agree with that.
MacFarlane is seriously over-reaching here. He should accept he’s just the “Family Guy guy” and stop having delusions of grandeur.
McFarlane will make sure the Big Bang has a fart noise
i hope the entire show is about this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BrDlrytgm8
This is the first television show I’ve seen in a long, long time that actually SHOULD be made. As in, it is imperative it gets made and seen.
Seth MacFarlane? WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT
So by doing Cosmos and The Flintstones, he’ll be producing documentaries for the atheists and the creationists at the same time?
You took my line! ROFLMAO.
Love the idea — this is gonna be awesome. I remember being a kid and when this was on, it was an event. My family still has the companion book that went to the series. Anyway, really cool project, Seth. Thanks for using your producing powers for good instead of evil. Looking forward to “Ted” and new “Family Guys”.
Ap kon ho.
We are putting Seth Mcfarlane in charge of this?
I have my doubts on the series’ viability based upon that.
What, will it be animated and include cultural references jokes?
Bit more negativity here than I expected! Just ask yourself, How would Carl Sagan feel about this? Not that I knew the man.. but I think he would be excited the word was getting out in what we hope to be an educationally awe inspiring space odyssey . Period. We will see though, it might be terrible lol.. I don’t have much faith in Fox, but I do in Mr. Tyson.
We’ll see.
@Mark–Actually there is a huge need for this. With the America era of manned space flight effectively over and with public interest in space exploration at an all time low, I would say there there is a bigger need than ever for shows like this. The more the better. And why all the hate for Dr. Tyson? Its not his fault he is over-exposed. Just as you mentioned, the only other option would have been Dr. (Time Is Like A River) Kaku. Of course Dr. Tyson is no Carl Sagan; no one ever will be. It is an unfair and pointless comparison.
Mr. MacFarlaine, you have some VERY large boots to fill. You’d better do Carl proud! The airing of Cosmos was a pivotal event in my life. It sparked an interest in both science AND classical music (odd, huh?) It remains at the top of scientific television programming even 30-some years later.
Don’t screw it up!
Is that Peter Brady? Glad to see he’s back on TV. I miss The Brady Bunch.
Peter: Remember that time I caused Earth’s second moon to crash into the first moon?
Cut to: Moons colliding in space over Earth.
Cut to Peter: Boy, I’ll never do that again.
Might be good. Still, there’s something really nice about the original Cosmos: those old school effects leave more room for the imagination and sense of wonder to roll around in, something CGI rarely does.