There’s a new ‘Star Trek’ coming, but not quite to TV
A brand new Star Trek series is in the works, and it’s set a course for streaming. Good thing that new iOS update included a Vulcan Salute emoji.
Fifty years after the first Star Trek — the one with William Shatner as Captain Kirk — the series is getting a reboot, or revival, or reimagining, or whatever we’re calling it now. But, we won’t be able to watch this one on TV. Instead, we’ll have to beam in transmissions from CBS’s digital platform, CBS All Access.
Here are the details, and these are important. According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Alex Kurtzman is in the captain’s chair for this brand new outing, and he’s already very familiar with the world of Star Trek, having served as a producer on both recent Star Trek films (the ones where Chris Pine plays Captain Kirk). CBS, the network that originally aired Star Trek back in the ’60s, has ordered this new show straight to series — so it’s flying in as fast as it can.
But, and this is the big BUT about this, the first episode of new Star Trek will air on CBS. Following that, all other episodes will air on CBS All Access, which is like Netflix but only for CBS shows — you know, in case you want to binge every single episode of every single CSI.
“There is no better time to give Star Trek fans a new series than on the heels of the original show’s 50th anniversary celebration,” said David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios explained in a statement on Star Trek‘s official website. “Everyone here has great respect for this storied franchise, and we’re excited to launch its next television chapter in the creative mind and skilled hands of Alex Kurtzman, someone who knows this world and its audience intimately.”
From the sound of it, these new Star Trek adventures will not follow the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Instead, “brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.” But, “the new television series is not related to the upcoming feature film Star Trek Beyond which is scheduled to be distributed by Paramount Pictures in summer 2016.” Let’s not completely rule out a special guest appearance from Pine just yet, OK?
This is also not the first time Star Trek has rebooted itself. The OG Star Trek only ran for three seasons from 1966-1969. From 1987-1994, there was Star Trek: The Next Generation (The one with Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard). Following that, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1993-1999; Star Trek: Voyager from 1995-2001 (and this is the one with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway); and lastly Star Trek: Enterprise from 2001-2005. So bringing Star Trek back is not a new thing. It’s just a new thing for us because this will be the first series on the air in over a decade.
The show is in production right now, with an anticipated arrival date of early 2017. That gives the world plenty of time to watch the HUNDREDS of Star Trek episodes currently on CBS All Access to prepare for this new frontier. So go ahead and get your application for Starfleet Academy ready. And whatever you do, don’t put on a red shirt.
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[Image via CBS]
