The TV world is again obsessing on outer space.
On the non-fiction side, PBS has two series viewing the space race, from the early competition to the International Space Station (shown here) co-operation. There’s a new one at 9 p.m. Tuesdays and a splendid rerun at 9 p.m. Fridays.
And the fiction side? New seasons are starting for Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Thursdays, starting July 23) and Syfy’s “The Ark” (Wednesdays, starting July 29).
Then there are all the past shows — roughly 3.2 zillion of them — stockpiled on the streamers.
Why the interest? Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike in “Strange New Worlds,” sees this as human nature. “We are driven to see what’s over the horizon,” he told the Television Critics Association. “Or to walk away from the firelight, to see what’s in the darkness.”
Mount points to the fortunes spent by U.S. and Soviet space programs. By most logic, he said, that might be “a terrible idea. You’re gonna spend billions of dollars to send someone to walk on the moon? Why?”
But this goes beyond logic. The two PBS series ripple with optimism and idealism on both the American and Soviet sides.
The timing for this space surge may be logical. “When we look at the world around us today, there’s a tremendous amount of pain and suffering,” said Akiva Goldsman, the “Strange New Worlds” co-creator and co-showrunner. “And I think that was true when ‘Star Trek’ began.”
“Trek” debuted in 1969, a time of dissent involving Vietnam, civil rights, feminism and a deep distrust of the Soviets. The show’s key characters included a Black woman, a half-Vulcan and (starting in the second season) a Russian.
“Strange New Worlds” began in 2022, when Americans were being driven into opposite and angry camps. That’s not Captain Pike’s approach; Mount speaks of “turning the bridge into sort of a best-idea-wins kind of thing.”
The result, Goldsman said, “is a hopeful vision of the future …. We just have to choose it.” The surge includes:
PBS DOCUMENTARIES
— “American Experience: Chasing the Moon,” 9-11 p.m. Fridays, through Aug. 7. This compelling rerun traces the U.S.-Soviet race.
— “Once Upon a Time in Space,” 9-10 p.m. Tuesdays, through Aug. 4. The final two pieces of this new four-parter serve as almost a sequel to the Friday shows. Battered by years of competition, the U.S. and Russia link — first reluctantly on the Mir space shuttle, then on the International Space Station.
NEW SEASONS OF DRAMAS
— “The Ark,” 10 p.m. Wednesdays. Syfy, starting July 29. The first two seasons saw a space ship take people away from a troubled Earth; an accident left only the junior officers alive. Now, as a new colony develops, those young officers go on rescue missions. The first one is fierce.
— “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Thursdays, Paramount+, starting July 23. It’s the fourth season in a five-year run, set shortly before the original “Trek.” The new worlds are strange, indeed, and the stakes are high.
ALSO:
— The streaming services bulge with space shows, especially the “Star Trek” ones on Paramount+ and “Star Wars” ones on Disney+.
— And H&I (short for Heroes & Icons) has a marathon every night except Saturdays. The original “Star Trek” is 8 p.m. ET, followed by its spin-offs — “Next Generation,” 9; “Deep Space Nine,” 10; “Voyager,” 11; and “Enterprise,” midnight. This is available to about 70 percent of the country, via digital substations, some cable systems and Dish satellite.