Everything we know about the new ‘Star Trek’ series
While the new James T. Kirk and his U.S.S. Enterprise crew continue their adventures in the rebooted “Star Trek†films, the franchise is preparing to boldly return to where fans first fell in love with the original series: television.
More than 700 “Star Trek†episodes have aired throughout five different series since the original debuted in September 1966, but the Bryan Fuller-helmed “Star Trek: Discovery†is the first new “Star Trek†television series since “Star Trek: Enterprise†ended its run in 2005.
The new show was first announced in November before Fuller was even attached to the project. While the first teaser for the series promised “new crews, new villains, new heroes, [and] new worlds,†not a lot of details about “Discovery†have actually been revealed.
Here is everything we know about “Star Trek: Discovery†so far.
The show is called “Star Trek: Discovery†and will cover the adventures of the crew aboard the U.S.S. Discovery. Fuller has explained that the name “Discovery†is an homage to the philosophy and spirit of the “Star Trek†series.
The series will feature a female lead. This lead character will not be the captain of the Discovery but instead be serving as the lieutenant commander aboard the ship and will be referred to as “Number One†(in honor of Majel Barrett’s character in the original pilot). Her name will be revealed some time before the end of the first season and she’ll likely be played by an actor with a “level of diversity.â€
The show will be set in the “Prime Universe,†which is the timeline and universe of all of the original “Star Trek†series. Since the “Star Trek†reboot films are taking place in the “Kelvin Universe,†the events of the show will not affect the film and vice versa.
“Discovery†is set 10 years before “Star Trek: The Original Series†and about a century after “Star Trek: Enterprise.â€
The first season will have 13 episodes. These episodes will play out as self-contained serialized installments of the larger story told over the entire season. Or, as Fuller explained, like chapters of a novel.
The series will feature a gay character. The show’s commitment to diversity extends to humans and aliens (both new and re-imagined existing species).
There will be robots.
The show will not tackle time travel (yet).
The plot will explore an event in Starfleet history mentioned in a previous “Star Trek†series unrelated to the special security organization Section 31. According to Fuller it’s an incident that has been talked about but not fully explored.
Amanda Grayson might appear in the show — eventually. While familiar faces are unlikely to appear in “Discovery†initially, Fuller did mention during the Television Critics Assn.’s press tour that they love Spock’s human mom.
All subsequent new episodes will be released weekly on CBS All Access, the network’s digital subscription service. CBS All Access is the only place that U.S. viewers will be able to watch the show.
Viewers outside the U.S. and Canada will be able to stream the episodes on Netflix. All the new episodes will be made available on Netflix in 188 countries within 24 hours of their U.S. premiere.
“Discovery†boasts an impressive “Star Trek†pedigree. Co-creator, co-showrunner and executive producer Fuller got his start as a writer for “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine†and “Star Trek: Voyager.†Co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman co-wrote the first two “Star Trek†reboot films. “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan†director Nicholas Meyer has been tapped as a consulting producer. Gene Roddenberry’s son Rod is also attached as an executive producer.
“Discovery†will debut in January on CBS.
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