Bill Nye to Host Netflix Talk Show

Courtesy of Bill Nye

Netflix today announced that famed scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”) will be hosting a new talk show on the streaming service, which is set to launch in Spring 2017. The series will explore science and its impact on politics, society and pop culture.

Called Bill Nye Saves the World, the show will use each episode to tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispelling myths and refuting anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politician, religious leaders or businesspeople.

According to a statement from Nye in a Netflix release, some of the topics he will be addressing on the show include vaccinations, genetically modified foods and climate change.

“With the right science and good writing, we’ll do our best to enlighten and entertain our audience,” Nye also said. “And, perhaps we’ll change the world a little.”

In addition to talking about the issues, Nye is expected to bring in special guests, and conduct experiments and demonstrations in the new series.

Writer and standup comedian Mike Drucker will be the Head Comedy Writer on the show, with astronomer, author and award-winning science communicator Phil Plait (a.k.a. “The Bad Astronomer”) serving as Head Science Writer.

This is, of course, not Nye’s first foray into television. He first become famous in the 1990s for his Emmy-winning, syndicated show Bill Nye the Science Guy, which ran five seasons and introduced many young people (and probably more than a few older folks, too) to science and engineering.

“Since the start of the Science Guy show, I’ve been on a mission to change the world by getting people everywhere excited about the fundamental ideas in science,” Nye said.

It seems like that is a mission more important now than ever, given today’s climate in which facts — especially scientific facts — don’t seem to hold much sway among some, especially in the political arena. Whether Bill Nye Saves the World actually can change the world will be seen, but as always, it will be fun and informative to watch him try.

Bill Nye Saves the World debuts in Spring 2017 on Netflix.