On Monday, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will make his debut as a late night TV show host for the series StarTalk on the National Geographic Channel. The new show will not be your typical late night series with humorous skits or an opening monologue. Instead, it will focus on Tyson and his extensive knowledge of science.
For the past five years, StarTalk has been Tyson’s podcast and radio series where he usually interviewed his different co-hosts and discussed various scientific topics with them. The TV version will be very similar.
Actor George Takei will serve as the guest for the premiere episode and discuss working on the set of Star Trek as well as his childhood experiences living in a U.S. internment camp for the Japanese during World War II. For the remainder of the season, guests include former President Jimmy Carter, Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, astronaut Chris Hadfield, author Ariana Huffington, and All in the Family producer Norman Lear. Bill Nye the Science Guy will also have his own weekly segments on the show.
“We have fundamental elements you have all come to know in a talk show. We have popular culture. We have comedy. We have irreverent banter. We just don’t have a band,” Tyson told Variety. “The added feature is you’re going to learn something over that hour. If you don’t learn something, I’ve failed.”
StarTalk premieres Monday, April 20 and will air for ten weeks on Monday nights at 10pm CST. National Geographic has already ordered a second season for the show.
