Star Trek Legend William Shatner to Host Stars on Mars Reality Series on Fox

With a potential writers’ strike looming, Fox is launching a new, unscripted series starring Star Trek icon William Shatner. The series, Stars on Mars, will be a series that pits celebrities against one another in space-themed competitions, sending someone home every week until there’s one last “celebronaut” standing, according to Fox’s chief of unscripted programming. Shatner will play the role of “Mission Control,” serving as the overseer of the show in a kind of blend of his roles from Star Trek and Third Rock from the Sun. 

Per the official synopsis for the series, “During their stay, they will be faced with authentic conditions that simulate life on Mars, and they must use their brains and brawn – or maybe just their stellar social skills – to outlast the competition and claim the title of brightest star in the galaxy. The celebrities will compete in missions and will vote to eliminate one of their crewmates each week, sending them back to Earth. Cue the intergalactic alliances and rivalries. Stars on Mars will send these famous rookie space travelers where no one has gone before and reveal who has what it takes to survive life on Mars.”  

According to Variety, who first reported the series, “The show comes from Fremantle’s Eureka Productions. The idea centers on the celebrity contestants competing in the Mars-like surroundings until there is just one ‘celebronaut’ left standing. Shatner will deliver tasks to the celebs as ‘Mission Control.’”

You can check a teaser trailer for the series out below.

“The moment I heard the pitch for Stars on Mars, I knew a show this bold, this big and this outlandish simply belonged on Fox,” said Fox unscripted programming president Allison Wallach in a statement. “Watching celebrities take giant leaps out of their comfort zone and step into the unexpected will no doubt be truly transformational and comical. Throughout, we will learn a lot about these stars, and when you factor in William Shatner leading the charge from Mission Control, we have the makings of a show that’s ready for blast off.”

“Thanks to lower gravity on Mars, you’ll weigh 62% less,” Shatner joked. “Bad news: the air is unbreathable, so if you’re from LA, it’ll remind you of home.”

Stars on Mars premieres on Monday, June 5, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.