StarTalk (American talk show)
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]
| StarTalk | |
|---|---|
![]() | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Presented by | Neil deGrasse Tyson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 76 |
| Release | |
| Original network | National Geographic |
| Picture format | HDTV |
| Original release | April 20, 2015 – present |
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 date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Takei | April 20, 2015 | N/A | |
| Christopher Nolan | April 27, 2015 | 0.138[3] | |
| Dan Savage | May 4, 2015 | N/A | |
| Arianna Huffington | May 11, 2015 | 0.151[4] | |
| Richard Dawkins | May 18, 2015 | N/A | |
| Jimmy Carter | May 25, 2015 | N/A | |
| Chris Hadfield | June 1, 2015 | N/A | |
| Biz Stone | June 8, 2015 | N/A | |
| Charles Bolden | June 15, 2015 | N/A | |
| Norman Lear | June 22, 2015 | N/A |
Season 2 (2015–16)
| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Clinton | October 25, 2015 | 0.219[5] | |
| Larry Wilmore | November 1, 2015 | N/A | |
| Seth MacFarlane | November 8, 2015 | N/A | |
| Penn & Teller | November 15, 2015 | N/A | |
| Susan Sarandon | November 29, 2015 | N/A | |
| David Byrne | December 6, 2015 | N/A | |
| Bas Lansdorp (Mars One) | December 13, 2015 | 0.167[6] | |
| David Crosby | December 20, 2015 | 0.138[7] | |
| Brian Cox | December 27, 2015 | 0.180[8] | |
| Gina McCarthy | January 3, 2016 | 0.156[9] |
Season 3 (2016–17)
| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whoopi Goldberg | September 19, 2016 | N/A | |
| Mayim Bialik | September 26, 2016 | N/A | |
| Philippe Petit | October 3, 2016 | N/A | |
| Christopher Lloyd and Michelle Gomez | October 10, 2016 | N/A | |
| Brian Greene | October 17, 2016 | 0.117[10] | |
| Robert Kirkman | October 24, 2016 | N/A | |
| Jeremy Irons | November 7, 2016 | N/A | |
| Andy Weir | November 14, 2016 | 0.241[11] | |
| Ben Stiller | November 21, 2016 | N/A | |
| Buzz Aldrin | November 28, 2016 | N/A | |
| Terry Crews | December 5, 2016 | N/A | |
| Jay Leno | December 12, 2016 | N/A | |
| William Shatner | December 19, 2016 | 0.186[12] | |
| Ash Carter | December 26, 2016 | 0.209[13] | |
| Hope Solo | January 2, 2017 | N/A | |
| Jill Tarter | January 9, 2017 | N/A | |
| Kathryn D. Sullivan | January 16, 2017 | N/A | |
| Isaac Hempstead Wright | January 23, 2017 | N/A | |
| Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter | January 30, 2017 | N/A | |
| Bill Maher | February 6, 2017 | N/A |
Season 4 (2017–18)
| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lance Armstrong | October 1, 2017 | N/A | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | October 8, 2017 | N/A | |
| Jane Goodall | October 15, 2017 | N/A | |
| Katie Couric | October 22, 2017 | N/A | |
| Kevin Smith | October 29, 2017 | N/A | |
| Arati Prabhakar | November 5, 2017 | N/A | |
| Katy Perry | November 12, 2017 | N/A | |
| Sylvia Earle, Fabien Cousteau and Adrian Grenier | November 19, 2017 | N/A | |
| James Cameron | November 26, 2017 | N/A | |
| Nainoa Thompson | December 3, 2017 | N/A | |
| Salman Rushdie | December 10, 2017 | N/A | |
| Mae Jemison | December 17, 2017 | N/A | |
| Alan Alda | January 7, 2018 | N/A | |
| Stephen Colbert | January 14, 2018 | N/A | |
| Margot Lee Shetterly and Janelle Monáe | January 21, 2018 | N/A | |
| Sam Harris | January 28, 2018 | N/A | |
| Frank Oz | February 4, 2018 | N/A | |
| Kelly Slater | February 18, 2018 | N/A | |
| Scott Kelly | February 25, 2018 | N/A | |
| Stephen Hawking | March 4, 2018 | N/A |
Season 5 (2018–19)
| No. | Guests | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Bourdain | November 12, 2018 | N/A | |
| Joe Rogan | November 19, 2018 | N/A | |
| Simon Helberg and Bill Prady | November 26, 2018 | N/A | |
| United States Space Command | April 4, 2019 | N/A | |
| Al Gore | April 4, 2019 | N/A | |
| Jack Black | April 11, 2019 | N/A | |
| Dan Rather | April 11, 2019 | N/A | |
| George R.R. Martin | April 18, 2019 | N/A | |
| Anna Deavere Smith | April 18, 2019 | N/A | |
| Jeff Goldblum | April 25, 2019 | N/A | |
| James Marsden | April 26, 2019 | N/A | |
| Weird Al Yankovic | May 2, 2019 | N/A | |
| Patricia Cornwall | May 3, 2019 | N/A | |
| Darren Aronofsky | May 9, 2019 | N/A | |
| Bill Nye | May 10, 2019 | N/A | |
| Christiane Amanpour | May 16, 2019 | 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]
References
- Cofield, Calla. "'StarTalk,' NatGeo Channel's 1st Late-Night Science Talk Show, Debuts Tonight". space.com.
- Kevin Day, Patrick (18 March 2015). "Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals first guests, premiere date for 'StarTalk' show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 4.27.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 2015-05-01.
- Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 5.11.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- Metcalf, Mitch (27 October 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.25.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- Metcalf, Mitch (15 December 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.13.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015.
- Metcalf, Mitch (22 December 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.20.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
- Metcalf, Mitch (30 December 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.27.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016.
- Metcalf, Mitch (6 January 2016). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Update: 1.3.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016.
- Metcalf, Mitch (18 October 2016). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.17.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016.
- Metcalf, Mitch (15 November 2016). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.14.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016.
- Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.19.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 2016-12-21.
- Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.26.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on 2016-12-31.
- "NEW THIS WEEK (Apr 27): Australia's Next Top Model, StarTalk, Hart Of Dixie, #MayPac and more". The Green Room. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- "Nat Geo pulls Neil deGrasse Tyson's 'StarTalk' amid misconduct allegations". Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- "Neil deGrasse Tyson's show Is pulled". Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- "Neil deGrasse Tyson returning to Fox, Nat Geo following investigation". Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- Bradley, Laura (August 28, 2015). "Neil deGrasse Tyson Soothingly Explains the Science Behind The Martian". Retrieved September 1, 2015.

