CBS has given the green light to "Mission Control," a TV pilot written by author of The Martian, Andy Weir. The show is described as a "NASA-themed drama" that "revolves around the next generation of NASA astronauts and scientists who juggle their personal and professional lives during a critical mission with no margin for error."
Science fiction has had a home in mass media ever since CBS was a radio station in 20's and 30's (the station inadvertently stirred a panic when it aired Orson Welles' radio adaptation of The War of The Worlds in 1938.) The network currently owns the rights to "Star Trek" and is making the new series "Star Trek: Discovery" that's now slated to come out this may.
Weir's The Martian, originally self-published, trades mostly in what is called "hard" sci-fi: science is involved, fiction is involved, but both take place with an eye towards scientific accuracy. While the movie industry's relationship with scientific accuracy has been well-documented, the same attention is rarely given to television. While it's too soon to say what "Mission Control" will look like, Weir's involvement suggests it could raise the bar on how science is portrayed on TV.
He's coming to the show with TV veteran Charles Eglee, most recently known for "Dexter" and "The Walking Dead." Eglee has sci-fi roots of his own: with James Cameron, he co-created the cult cyberpunk series "Dark Angel" in 2000, which we called the 46th best sci-fi show of all-time.
Source: Deadline via The Verge
David Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He's previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He's based out of Brooklyn.
