By Janelle Dang
opinion editor
On Aug. 31, Netflix revealed that “Bill Nye Saves the World” will begin airing in spring 2017.
The show will represent Bill Nye’s return to television after a 19-year hiatus following the release of the final episode of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” in 1998.
Nye is an award-winning scientist and educator, as well as the chief executive officer of The Planetary Society. He has published several books and appeared on other programs throughout his career.
The goal of Nye’s new show is to connect science, politics, society, and pop culture in episodes that compel and educate viewers.
It will target an adult-based audience, whereas his previous show was primarily intended for children. Not only will the format of “Bill Nye Saves the World” mimic that of late night talk shows, but the show’s content will also include modern topics such as vaccinations, genetically modified foods, and climate change, in contrast to more primitive subjects like amphibians and the eye, which were covered in the children’s program.
Each episode will either disprove scientific myths or challenge claims made by politicians, businessmen, and religious leaders who are against the validity of scientific findings and theories.
“I feel [that] we have a real problem of anti-science right now,” Nye told CBS News. “If [there are] […] voters and taxpayers who don’t believe in science, we’re gonna fall behind as a society.”
He aims to reconstruct people’s perspectives of science and theory through the new series.
According to Netflix, “In Bill’s unfiltered style, he will […]conduct experiments [and] ultimately let the facts lead the argument.”
In addition, Nye will include guests on the show to enhance episodes and captivate his audience.
“With the right science and good writing, we’ll do our best to enlighten and entertain our audience. And, perhaps we’ll change the world a little,” stated Nye in Netflix’s announcement article.
Bunim/Murray Productions will be producing “Bill Nye Saves the World” in collaboration with Executive Producer Michael Naidus and head writers Mike Drucker and Phil Plait.
The popularity of his previous show suggests promising reactions from the public to the 2017 program. “Bill Nye the Science Guy” began on a Seattle radio station in 1986 and later became a full-fledged television show that aired for five seasons on PBS and won 18 Emmy Awards over the course of its production.
Nye has a Twitter fan base of 3.47 million followers. “Can’t wait!” he tweeted on the day of Netflix’s announcement, confirming the news of his upcoming show.
