The network's new slate, unveiled Thursday, also includes the "Whale Wars"-inspired "Rhino Wars," about battling rhino poachers, a show about military dogs, and a show about people planning for the coming zombie apocalypse.
Yes, really.
In other Discovery announcements, the company's upscale men's network, Velocity, plans "Road to LeMans," which follows "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey as he leads an auto racing team competing in the world's oldest automotive endurance race.
Science showed a promo for the Gervais show at its upfront presentation to advertisers Thursday, but it didn't provide any hints about the nature of the show. It consisted of Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington sitting in chairs, revealing nothing. "An Idiot Abroad," which finds Pilkington getting into misadventures around the world, has aired for two seasons on Science.
James Woods appeared live at the upfront and asked the question he knew many in the audience were asking - "What am I doing here?"
Noting that he had worked with such greats as Martin Scorsese, he explained that he had also attended MIT and still nurtured an interest in science. His new show for the network is called "This Changes Everything." It will examine fields including synthetic biology, predictive analytics, habitable planets, and nanotechnology. It will air in the first quarter of 2013.
The zombie show, "Surviving Zombies," is about three Missoula, Mont., men who operate a blade-making business, Zombie Tools, where they craft weapons that might one day save you from biters, walkers or whatever kids are calling them these days.