Following Sagan's death in 1996, his widow Ann Druyan, the co-creator of the original Cosmos series along with Steven Soter, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sought to create a new version of the series, aimed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and not just to those interested in the sciences.
Poslije Saganove smrti 1996. godine njegova je udovica Ann Druyan, suautorica izvorne serije Kozmos zajedno sa Stevenom Soterom, producentom serije, i astrofizičarom Neilom deGrasseom Tysonom, pokušavala izraditi novu verziju serije s ciljem da privuče što širu publiku, a ne samo onu koju zanima znanost.