StarTalk
GenreTalk show
Presented byNeil deGrasse Tyson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes76
Original release
NetworkNational Geographic
ReleaseApril 20, 2015 (2015-04-20) –
May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)

StarTalk is an American television talk show hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson that airs weekly on National Geographic. StarTalk is a spin-off of the podcast of the same name, in which Tyson discusses scientific topics through one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. Space.com called it the "first-ever science-themed late-night talk show."[1] The series premiered on April 20, 2015.[2]

Format

The format of the show broadly follows the format of the podcast. This consists of a pre-taped discussion between Tyson and the guest of the week, which is shown in segments interspersed with the segments filmed in front of the live audience. Those segments consist of a discussion between Tyson, a specialist related to the guest's area of expertise, and a comedian (most commonly Chuck Nice or Eugene Mirman or Maeve Higgins). Near the end of the episode, a short taped segment of Bill Nye, giving his view of the episode's topic, is often aired.

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

No.Guest(s)Original air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1
George TakeiApril 20, 2015 (2015-04-20)N/A
2
Christopher NolanApril 27, 2015 (2015-04-27)0.138[3]
3
Dan SavageMay 4, 2015 (2015-05-04)N/A
4
Arianna HuffingtonMay 11, 2015 (2015-05-11)0.151[4]
5
Richard DawkinsMay 18, 2015 (2015-05-18)N/A
6
Jimmy CarterMay 25, 2015 (2015-05-25)N/A
7
Chris HadfieldJune 1, 2015 (2015-06-01)N/A
8
Biz StoneJune 8, 2015 (2015-06-08)N/A
9
Charles BoldenJune 15, 2015 (2015-06-15)N/A
10
Norman LearJune 22, 2015 (2015-06-22)N/A

Season 2 (2015–16)

No.GuestsOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11
Bill ClintonOctober 25, 2015 (2015-10-25)0.219[5]
12
Larry WilmoreNovember 1, 2015 (2015-11-01)N/A
13
Seth MacFarlaneNovember 8, 2015 (2015-11-08)N/A
14
Penn & TellerNovember 15, 2015 (2015-11-15)N/A
15
Susan SarandonNovember 29, 2015 (2015-11-29)N/A
16
David ByrneDecember 6, 2015 (2015-12-06)N/A
17
Bas Lansdorp (Mars One)December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13)0.167[6]
18
David CrosbyDecember 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)0.138[7]
19
Brian CoxDecember 27, 2015 (2015-12-27)0.180[8]
20
Gina McCarthyJanuary 3, 2016 (2016-01-03)0.156[9]

Season 3 (2016–17)

No.GuestsOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
21
Whoopi GoldbergSeptember 19, 2016 (2016-09-19)N/A
22
Mayim BialikSeptember 26, 2016 (2016-09-26)N/A
23
Philippe PetitOctober 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)N/A
24
Christopher Lloyd and Michelle GomezOctober 10, 2016 (2016-10-10)N/A
25
Brian GreeneOctober 17, 2016 (2016-10-17)0.117[10]
26
Robert KirkmanOctober 24, 2016 (2016-10-24)N/A
27
Jeremy IronsNovember 7, 2016 (2016-11-07)N/A
28
Andy WeirNovember 14, 2016 (2016-11-14)0.241[11]
29
Ben StillerNovember 21, 2016 (2016-11-21)N/A
30
Buzz AldrinNovember 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)N/A
31
Terry CrewsDecember 5, 2016 (2016-12-05)N/A
32
Jay LenoDecember 12, 2016 (2016-12-12)N/A
33
William ShatnerDecember 19, 2016 (2016-12-19)0.186[12]
34
Ash CarterDecember 26, 2016 (2016-12-26)0.209[13]
35
Hope SoloJanuary 2, 2017 (2017-01-02)N/A
36
Jill TarterJanuary 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)N/A
37
Kathryn D. SullivanJanuary 16, 2017 (2017-01-16)N/A
38
Isaac Hempstead WrightJanuary 23, 2017 (2017-01-23)N/A
39
Herbie Hancock and Wayne ShorterJanuary 30, 2017 (2017-01-30)N/A
40
Bill MaherFebruary 6, 2017 (2017-02-06)N/A

Season 4 (2017–18)

No.GuestsOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
41
Lance ArmstrongOctober 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)N/A
42
Kareem Abdul-JabbarOctober 8, 2017 (2017-10-08)N/A
43
Jane GoodallOctober 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)N/A
44
Katie CouricOctober 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)N/A
45
Kevin SmithOctober 29, 2017 (2017-10-29)N/A
46
Arati PrabhakarNovember 5, 2017 (2017-11-05)N/A
47
Katy PerryNovember 12, 2017 (2017-11-12)N/A
48
Sylvia Earle, Fabien Cousteau and Adrian GrenierNovember 19, 2017 (2017-11-19)N/A
49
James CameronNovember 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)N/A
50
Nainoa ThompsonDecember 3, 2017 (2017-12-03)N/A
51
Salman RushdieDecember 10, 2017 (2017-12-10)N/A
52
Mae JemisonDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)N/A
53
Alan AldaJanuary 7, 2018 (2018-01-07)N/A
54
Stephen ColbertJanuary 14, 2018 (2018-01-14)N/A
55
Margot Lee Shetterly and Janelle MonáeJanuary 21, 2018 (2018-01-21)N/A
56
Sam HarrisJanuary 28, 2018 (2018-01-28)N/A
57
Frank OzFebruary 4, 2018 (2018-02-04)N/A
58
Kelly SlaterFebruary 18, 2018 (2018-02-18)N/A
59
Scott KellyFebruary 25, 2018 (2018-02-25)N/A
60
Stephen HawkingMarch 4, 2018 (2018-03-04)N/A

Season 5 (2018–19)

No.GuestsOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
61
Anthony BourdainNovember 12, 2018 (2018-11-12)N/A
62
Joe RoganNovember 19, 2018 (2018-11-19)N/A
63
Simon Helberg and Bill PradyNovember 26, 2018 (2018-11-26)N/A
64
United States Space CommandApril 4, 2019 (2019-04-04)N/A
65
Al GoreApril 4, 2019 (2019-04-04)N/A
66
Jack BlackApril 11, 2019 (2019-04-11)N/A
67
Dan RatherApril 11, 2019 (2019-04-11)N/A
68
George R.R. MartinApril 18, 2019 (2019-04-18)N/A
69
Anna Deavere SmithApril 18, 2019 (2019-04-18)N/A
70
Jeff GoldblumApril 25, 2019 (2019-04-25)N/A
71
James MarsdenApril 26, 2019 (2019-04-26)N/A
72
Weird Al YankovicMay 2, 2019 (2019-05-02)N/A
73
Patricia CornwallMay 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)N/A
74
Darren AronofskyMay 9, 2019 (2019-05-09)N/A
75
Bill NyeMay 10, 2019 (2019-05-10)N/A
76
Christiane AmanpourMay 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)N/A

Broadcast

In Australia, the series premiered on National Geographic Channel on April 27, 2015.[14]

From November 2018 to March 2019, season 5 was put on hiatus because of ongoing investigations involving the host.[15][16] At the conclusion of the investigations, the networks began airing new episodes in April 2019.[17]

In popular culture

On August 27, 2015, 20th Century Fox released a viral video advertisement for the movie The Martian, taking the form of a special episode of StarTalk, with Tyson discussing the fictional Ares 3 mission from the film.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cofield, Calla (April 20, 2015). "'StarTalk,' NatGeo Channel's 1st Late-Night Science Talk Show, Debuts Tonight". space.com.
  2. ^ Kevin Day, Patrick (March 18, 2015). "Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals first guests, premiere date for 'StarTalk' show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  3. ^ Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 4.27.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 5.11.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  5. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 27, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.25.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  6. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 15, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.13.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 22, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.20.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 30, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.27.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016.
  9. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 6, 2016). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 1.3.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 18, 2016). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.17.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 15, 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.14.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.19.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016.
  13. ^ Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.26.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016.
  14. ^ "NEW THIS WEEK (Apr 27): Australia's Next Top Model, StarTalk, Hart Of Dixie, #MayPac and more". The Green Room. April 23, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  15. ^ "Nat Geo pulls Neil deGrasse Tyson's 'StarTalk' amid misconduct allegations". January 3, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  16. ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (January 3, 2019). "Neil deGrasse Tyson's show Is pulled". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  17. ^ "Neil deGrasse Tyson returning to Fox, Nat Geo following investigation". The Hollywood Reporter. March 15, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Bradley, Laura (August 28, 2015). "Neil deGrasse Tyson Soothingly Explains the Science Behind The Martian". Retrieved September 1, 2015.

External links

National Geographic original programming
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Current late night shows in the United States
Categories