One of Canada’s most iconic shows will get a new host after David Suzuki announced over the weekend that he will be stepping down as the face of CBC’s The Nature of Things.
Suzuki is stepping down after 43 years hosting TV’s longest-running science series, with its final episodes set to air in the spring of 2023.
Suzuki says it was important for the series to have a new, fresh perspective.
“I was fortunate to be endowed with good health which enabled me to remain the host of the series long after my ‘best before date’,” said the 86-year-old.
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CBC
“Aging is a natural biological process that creates opportunity for fresher, more imaginative input from younger people, and I’ve warned for years that to prevent the continuation of The Nature of Things, we have to prepare for the transition when I leave. That moment is now.”
CBC has not announced who will take Suzuki’s place, only that that decision will be announced in the coming weeks.
The 62nd season, and Suzuki’s final season, will begin on January 6.
The Vancouver resident has not said how he plans to spend his retirement or whether he will step away from his other endeavors and activism work.
Suzuki made headlines last year and drew heavy criticism for his comments that pipelines would be blown up if leaders did not fight climate change.
Suzuki told CHEK News at an Extinction Rebellion protest in 2021 that “there are going to be pipelines blowing up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
“We are in deep deep doo-doo. And they have been telling us, the leading experts, for more than 40 years,” he continued.
Among those calling out the threats of violence was BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, who said it was “not helpful at all.”
Suzuki, through the David Suzuki Foundation, later apologized in an online statement.
“The comments I made were poorly chosen and I should not have said them. Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong and will not lead us to a much-needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologise,” he said.
