SCIENCE Renews Idiot Abroad

NEW YORK: A second season of Mentorn International’s An Idiot Abroad and the Ridley Scott project Prophets of Science Fiction are among SCIENCE’s lead properties for the 2011-2012 season.

“SCIENCE always has challenged viewers to look beyond the known and rethink their reality,” said Debbie Adler Myers, executive VP and general manager, in announcing the new programming slate. “We are the home for audacious imagination—and we’re not afraid to take risks that expand your mind. This is reflected in our 2011-12 Upfront lineup, which is the strongest in our network’s history.”

An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List, will see Karl Pilkington sent off on a brand-new set of adventures by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The show has been SCIENCE’s biggest-ever hit. “An Idiot Abroad was an absolute game-changer for SCIENCE," Adler Myers said. "It brought humor to our network, and our audience responded in a huge way. This new season will be even bigger—Karl’s bucket list will be full of some of the most hilarious and ridiculous situations ever captured on television. Ricky, Steve, Karl and their team at RiSK Productions are putting their demented minds to good use.”

The network has also renewed Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman for a third season that will debut late next year. Other renewed shows include Meteorite Men, How It’s Made and Mantracker.

For the first quarter of this year there’s the eight-part Prophets of Science Fiction, hosted by Ridley Scott and profiling the great minds of science fiction. Other new series are Agent of Invention, Will Wright Future Project and Weird Travel.