M-Net warps Seth MacFarlane's new science fiction comedy-drama series, The Orville, for a 13 August star(t)date.

M-Net (DStv 101) has acquired the broadcasting rights to the new series The Orville created by Seth MacFarlane.

M-Net tells TVwithThinus that the science fiction comedy-drama series taking place in the 25th century, is preliminary set to start on M-Net on Monday 13 August at 17:00.

The timeslot of The Orville might likely still change to a later time due to the content and nature of the show.

The first season of The Orville have been well received, with the first season that continues to improve over the course of its 12 episodes and has been a much better show that the revived Star Trek: Discovery from CBS Access that's available on Netflix South Africa.

Seth MacFarlane that created The Orville, and who is a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, also stars in the show as Ed Mercer, who is the captain of The Orville, a ship of the Planetary Union.

His ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) becomes his first officer, with Penny Johnson Jerald as Doctor Claire Finn, the chief medical officer.

Lieutenant Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) is the helmsman and Ed's best friend, Lieutenant Commander Bortus (Peter Macon) is the second officer and an alien from a single-gender race, Lieutenant Alara Kitan (Halston Sage) is the super-strong, young security officer, and Lieutenant John LaMarr (J. Lee) is the navigator.

Isaac (Mark Jackson) is the android and science and engineering officer who is from a non-biological race who is onboard to study humans.

Most of The Orville stories are surprisingly good with viewers who won't be able to guess the outcome in some, although there are somewhat too many episodes dealing with the tension between religion and science.

South Africa's Charlize Theron makes her appearance as a villain in one episode during the first season with The Orville that has already been renewed for a second season.

The Orville is produced by Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Century Fox Television.

National Geographic renews Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson for a second season in 2019, entitled Cosmos: Possible Worlds.

National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 261) has renewed Cosmos for a second season that will be broadcast in 2019, entitled Cosmos: Possible Worlds.

The second season of the rebooted Carl Sagan series will retain the same creative team behind-the-scens as during the first season of Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, with Seth MacFarlane as executive producer, Ann Druyan as executive producer, writer and director and executive producers Brannon Braga and Jason Clark.

The renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will once again return as the presenter of the 13-episode second season that will again be broadcast worldwide on FOX in America and on National Geographic in the rest of the world.

Cosmos: Possible Worlds, produced by Cosmos Studios and Fuzzy Door Productions, will be accompanied with a simultaneous book release written by Ann Druyan with the same title.

"In the vastness of space and the immensity of time, the number of worlds to explore and stories to tell are virtually infinite," says National Geographic.

"The Cosmos television series transported a global audience to the farthest reaches and most deeply hidden recesses of the universe. In the course of those journeys, the series dramatized the lives of many of the forgotten searchers who contributed to the world’s understanding of who, when and where we are in the universe. Cosmos: Possible Worlds will venture to previously uncharted territories."

Eye-popping new documentary series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, coming to South African viewers in March on National Geographic Channel.

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Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is coming to South African viewers in March on National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) with Fox International Channels (FIC) which has added the new series to debut in South Africa and Africa at the same time as it will be shown internationally.

Seth MacFarlane, a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and the creator behind Family Guy and The Cleveland Show) is the executive producer of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

 The 13 part, remarkable and eye-popping new documentary series serves as a visually, scientific and special effects rich update of the 1970's landmark series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage - you can almost call it Cosmos: The Next Generation.

In Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, presenter and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson boards a futuristic, teardrop like spaceship with the ability to go anywhere in the universe and in time, and then takes viewers on a dazzling, dreamscape-like journey through time and space.

FIC Africa which has Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey for National Geographic Channel on MultiChoice's DStv platform has not yet made any announcement for it, but the breathtaking new documentary series will start in March for South Africa viewers extremely close to the American starting date of 9 March.

FIC and National Geographic Channel in fact will launch Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey on all 90 National Geographic Channels in 180 territories within a week of the show starting in the United States, with the 13 episodes which will roll out within a week or sooner around the globe.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will work like The Walking Dead on FOX which FIC rolls out globally as soon as possible following the American broadcasting date and with great success.

The vision of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey inspired us to create a launch across all of our National Geographic Channels and FOX channels that will reach an unprecedented 400 million homes outside the United States," says Liz Dolan, the chief marketing officer of FIC and National Geographic Channels International.

"We have done global launches across all of our Fox entertainment channels for shows like The Walking Dead. We have done global launches across all of our National Geographic Channels for shows like Brain Games."

"But we have never put the combined FIC power of our entertainment channels and our National Geographic Channels behind one show and premiered it day and date with the United States," says Liz Dolan.