After his first trip with his parents to the Hayden Planetarium in New York, 5-year-old Mitchell Cannold was captivated. The magic of space and science that caught his attention that day fueled the UCLA alumnus’ excitement through his coverage of the Apollo flights during his first job at NBC News. His passion later carried him through his work in the film and television business, the wonders of the planetarium remaining in the back of his mind.
At Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, Cannold will be one in the running for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series as an executive producer of the hit Fox show “Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey.”
The scientific documentary series is presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and is the next chapter to the renowned 1980 series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” which was presented by renowned scientist Carl Sagan.
Like the original, Cannold’s show presents the stories of physicists and scientific concepts through a relatable and humanizing way of storytelling combined with vivid graphics and imagery.
A native New Yorker, Cannold attended UCLA starting in 1967 and switched between theater, film and television and communication studies, but Cannold said he owes much of the skills he applied later on in his career to his leadership positions on campus.
Cannold not only served as chairman of the UCLA Communications Board, but also as director of KLA, the campus radio station. One of his fondest memories, Cannold said, was commentating on the home basketball games for KLA during the years of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John Wooden.
“The irony, of course, was at that point, (the station) only carried a current to the dorms, and nobody was listening because everybody was at Pauley. But I didn’t really care, because I was at center court for all the games,” Cannold said.
Cannold said his greatest interest was journalism, and when he graduated, he had offers to work at ABC Sports and NBC News. He started off with a job for CNBC News, covering the historic Apollo flights of the 1970s, among other stories. He said he then became more interested in the movie business and decided to move back to Los Angeles, producing many films including “Dirty Dancing” and “Little Monsters.”
A panel featuring some of the talent that put together “Cosmos” (from left to right): executive producer Mitchell Cannold, director Brannon Braga, host Neil deGrasse Tyson, executive producer Seth MacFarlane and director Ann Druyan. (Courtesy of Frank Micelotta)
Finding his way back to New York to work for Sony Corporation, Cannold continued to pursue his interest in space and science and sought out the talent and expertise of Sagan. He said he considered Sagan one of the most important scientists of his generation and wanted him to do a project in the IMAX technology that Cannold was spearheading.
After Sagan’s death in 1996, Cannold said he and Sagan’s wife Ann Druyan stayed close friends and collaborators. When Druyan considered creating a new “Cosmos,” she invited Cannold to partner with her, and the two began to develop the new series seven years ago.
“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, also a science fanatic, jumped in on the project and brought the “Cosmos” concept to the chairman of Fox. Cannold said the show is now airing in 180 countries. He said he thinks the success of “Cosmos” could be attributed to the emotional storytelling by presenter Tyson and writers Druyan and Steven Soter.
“Unfortunately, most of science education and science filmmaking is pretty straightforward and can be fact-rich and emotion-poor,” Cannold said. “It is evocative of the magic and the wonder of how science has come into light on the future.”
Just as he said he believes in the heartfelt narrative of his show, Cannold said he is proud of the communal experience between family members that “Cosmos” has created for a new generation of viewers.
“What we’ve heard over and over again is that kids ask their parents to watch the show with them and vice versa,” Cannold said. “That’s thrilling for us because it fosters a family conversation and a greater understanding of the sciences.”
Cannold and the “Cosmos” team are heading into the Primetime Emmy Awards with 12 nominations, but Cannold said the nominations themselves are beyond gratifying.
“(The satisfaction) is not in the award itself. The real satisfaction is that the series is making a difference,” Cannold said. “The Emmy Awards are a reflection that the world has this huge appetite for the wonder of space, the magic of science and the lessons we’ve learned … and that’s really thrilling.”