Fox has confirmed the long-discussed reboot of Carl Sagan’s landmark documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage starring none other than famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
According to the LA Times, the network made their announcement on Monday at their upfront presentation. The series will start with 13 episodes, set to air sometime in 2014. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is attached as a producer.
Sagan’s original Cosmos series is one of the most beloved and popular documentary series in the history of television. Broadcast on PBS in 1980, Cosmos was the most watched series in the public television history until Ken Burns’ The Civil War series overtook that title.
We’ve known that something like this was in the works, as reports of a Cosmos reboot starring Tyson was reported back in 2011. No additional details emerged at that time, and nearly a year later Tyson confirmed on Twitter that we could expect the new Cosmos series to launch in Spring of 2014.
The new show’s host, Neil deGrasse Tyson, is easily the most renowned astrophysicist around. He currently directs the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and has hosted a PBS show before – NOVA ScienceNow from 2006 to 2011. Tyson is also host to the popular StarTalk Radio Show. He’s also a frequent contributor to the alternative nightly show circuit, including The Daily Show, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Oh, and he’s quite popular on the internet.
Earlier this week we learned that Fox is also bringing back the popular action series 24 – but at this point it’s a one-time thing and it will only run 12 more episodes.
[Image via]