''Breakthrough'' is a scientific documentary television series on

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

that premiered on November 1, 2015. It is produced by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

and

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated for four Acad ...

. All of the episodes are directed by guest directors such as ''Friday Night Lights'' creator

Peter Berg Peter Berg (born March 11, 1964) is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), the action comedy '' The Rundown'' (2003), the sports drama '' Friday Night ...

, actors

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( ; born June6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. After studying a ...

and

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Angela Bassett, various accolades, including a Primetime ...

, screenwriter

Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...

and director

Shane Carruth Shane Carruth (born 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, composer, and actor. He is the writer, director, and co-star of the prize-winning science-fiction film ''Primer'' (2004), which was his debut feature. His second film, '' Upstream ...

. In July 2016, the series was renewed for a second season, with

Ana Lily Amirpour Ana Lily Amirpour (;, is an American filmmaker of Iranian descent. She is best known for her feature film debut '' A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night'', promoted as "the first Iranian vampire western," which made its debut at the Sundance Film Fes ...

, David Lowery,

, Shalini Kantayya, Emmett Malloy, Brendan Malloy and A.G. Rojas serving as directors. The series covers the history of current scientific "breakthroughs" in science, including aviation, fighting

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

, and aging. A new PBS series, ''Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World'', hosted by

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

began airing in 2019 with six episodes, covering "The Telescope", "The Airplane", "The Robot", "The Smartphone", "The Rocket", and "The Car". Another similar series,

Scientific American Frontiers ''Scientific American Frontiers'' was an American science television program aired by PBS from 1990 to 2005. The show was a companion program to the ''Scientific American'' magazine, and primarily covered new technology and discoveries in science ...

, had previously aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

from 1990 to 2005.

References

External links

''Breakthrough'' – official website
* 2015 American television series debuts Documentary television series about technology National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Television series by Imagine Entertainment {{US-documentary-tv-prog-stub