''Breakthrough'' is a scientific documentary television series on National Geographic Channel that premiered on November 1, 2015. It is produced by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

and

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

. 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 Lig ...

, actors

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

and Angela Bassett, screenwriter

Akiva Goldsman Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes '' The Client''; '' Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' ...

and director Shane Carruth. In July 2016, the series was renewed for a second season, with

Ana Lily Amirpour Ana Lily Amirpour ( fa, آنا لیلی امیرپور) is a British-born American film director, screenwriter, producer and actress. She is best known for her feature film debut '' A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night'', self-described as "the firs ...

, David Lowery, Shane Carruth, 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 pandemics,

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

, 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 who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

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, 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-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub