National Geographic Channel used their Television Critics Association press tour slot to announced that their Brian Grazer-produced hybrid docudrama series “Mars” has been given a second season pickup.

The first season of the series, told from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033, combined scripted drama and special effects with documentary sequences. The show pulled in 36 million viewers globally last fall and became the most DVR’ed series in network history.

NatGeo also announced they’re developing the Scott Rudin-produced miniseries “How to Survive a Plague” based on David France’s nonfiction recount of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Source: Variety