‘The End Is Nye’: Bill Nye Shares How He Stays Hopeful Amid Climate Crisis

Bill Nye in The End Is Nye
Q&A
Peacock

“Most buildings don’t contain a pool of lava, miniature nuclear explosions, or a five-headed storm monster,” says scientist and TV host Bill Nye of The End Is Nye with a wink.

He’s talking about the fictional Disaster Institute, his base for this six-episode series airing over as many days (and streaming on Peacock). From there, he enters the Disaster Simulator, endures an epic global cataclysm and uses science to show how to prevent these events from ending the world. Think Poseidon Adventure meets Cosmos.

Here, Nye shares more about his brand new series, executive produced by Seth MacFarlane.

Tonight’s episode features four Category 5 hurricanes and one Category 6 making landfall simultaneously worldwide. How real was the scene where you hang onto a lamppost for dear life?

Bill Nye: They had these enormous fans and “rain bars,” perforated pipes filled with pressurized water. It would knock you right over if you let go! There was a stunt guy who was more than happy to jump onto the windshield of the car.

What was your favorite location?

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park in Nebraska. Three-toed horses, rhinos, and animals that no longer run around North America were buried [in volcanic ash]. [It features] in the second show, when the super volcano in Yellowstone National Park goes off, killing people and burying the heartland so you can’t grow food.

How do you stay hopeful?

“There’s nothing we can do about it” is not acceptable to me. In World War II, everybody, including my parents, got involved in resolving that conflict as soon as they could. This was a global disaster — they resolved it in five years. Quit the hand-wringing! Let’s get started!

The End Is Nye, Series Premiere, Thursday, August 25, 10/9c, Peacock