DOES STEPHEN HAWKING KNOW THE MEANING OF LIFE? HIS "GRAND DESIGN" CONNECTS THE COSMIC DOTS ON DISCOVERY

World Premiere Specials Back to Back Saturday, June 9 at 8pm e/p and 9pm e/p on Discovery Channel

(Silver Spring, Md.) He has taken us to the ends of the universe - now, Professor Stephen Hawking tackles the most personal, yet cosmic of questions: Is there a meaning to our lives - in the world premiere special series STEPHEN HAWKING'S GRAND DESIGN Saturday, June 9 at 8pm and 9pm e/p.

Based on his acclaimed new book with science writer Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design, Professor Hawking draws on more than forty years of his own research and a recent series of observations and theoretical breakthroughs to reveal an original and controversial theory. He argues that scientific obsession with formulating a single new model may be misplaced, that by synthesizing existing theories we may discover the key to understanding the universe's deepest mysteries.

"We are honored to bring Professor Hawking's groundbreaking work to Discovery Channel. STEPHEN HAWKING'S GRAND DESIGN is a profound, beautiful and exciting story that will reveal the ultimate theory of physics, challenging the way you think about the cosmos forever," said Nancy Daniels, Discovery Channel Executive Vice President, Production and Development.

At 8pm Hawking looks at The Meaning of Life and what can the laws of physics tell us about who and what we humans really are? Do we have free will or are we just complex biological machines working to the laws of nature? From Descartes to the latest advances in quantum physics, Hawking explores this fascinating territory with his famous fearless zeal as he questions the very nature of reality itself. You will never look at yourself the same way again.

Following The Meaning of Life, Hawking tackles The Theory of Everything at 9pm posing the ultimate of ultimate questions: Why does the universe exist and why does it follow rules and laws? What's the point of the enormous, endless cosmos, and why is it so perfectly tuned so as to allow life to exist? From Newton's ground breaking discovery of gravity, through hidden extra dimensions to a muti-verse of billions more universes where anything and everything is possible.

STEPHEN HAWKING'S GRAND DESIGN is produced for Discovery Channel by Darlow Smithson. Ben Bowie is executive producer. For Discovery Channel, Susan Winslow is executive producer.