Neil deGrasse Tyson's good-natured, fun take on science and the wonders of the universe has made him into a nerd icon in recent years, and last year he wowed us all as the host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, the followup to the original Cosmos miniseries that was hosted by one of Tyson's heroes, Carl Sagan. Fans of Cosmos have been hoping for a second season of the series, and while we don't know if that'll happen yet, we do now know that Tyson's heading back to TV.

Yesterday at the Television Critics Association press tour the National Geographic Channel announced that Tyson will host a weekly late-night TV series called Star Talk. The show will debut this April, and will tape before a live studio audience at New York City's Hayden Planetarium (where Tyson is the director).

“Cosmos allowed us to share the awesome power of the universe with a global audience in ways that we never thought possible,” Tyson said. “To be able to continue to spread wonder and excitement through Star Talk, which is a true passion project for me, is beyond exciting. And National Geographic Channel is the perfect home as we continue to explore the universe.”

Star Talk the TV series will be an expansion of sorts of Tyson's Star Talk podcast, which merges science, comedy and pop culture through interviews with everyone from John Oliver to Buzz Aldrin. Tyson hasn't finalized the complete format of the TV series, but did say that he plans to include a one-minute rant each week, in the vein of Andy Rooney's famous 60 Minutes segments, from fellow science icon Bill Nye. For National Geographic, the series is an opportunity not only to build on Tyson's existing popularity, but to add something unique to their network that's also in keeping with their educational programming.

"We continue to bolster our programming with series and event specials that are brand definitional, and Star Talk is the perfect opportunity to offer our audience an edgy, late-night alternative with the credibility and authenticity that are the hallmarks of our network," National Geographic Channel CEO Courteney Monroe said.

So, this spring, get ready to stay up late with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

(Via THR)