The first episode of Star Trek premiered 50 years ago, and the beloved sci-fi series is now scheduled to return to television next year in a new show on CBS — or more specifically, on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live-streaming service.
The network revealed the first teaser for the series earlier this week along with previews of several other new, upcoming programs, and the brief peek at Star Trek has already generated quite a bit of speculation. With a new movie (Star Trek Beyond) on the way later this year, many fans are wondering exactly how the upcoming series will fit into the framework of the Star Trek universe as it exists now.
At this point, CBS is keeping details about the new series under wraps, and there’s precious little that’s certain about the franchise’s return to the small screen. However, the teaser does promise “new crews,” “new villains,” “new heroes,” and “new worlds” — suggesting that we’ll see something that unfolds within the canon of the established Star Trek universe, but not directly tied to the events in the movies.
There’s also quite a bit of Star Trek history behind the cameras already, with Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller attached as the showrunner and co-creator of the series. Fuller got his start on television writing for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, and he’s joined by Nicholas Meyer, the writer and director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, who will serve as a writer and consulting producer on the new show.
Along with Fuller and Meyer in both producer and creative roles on the series, Alex Kurtzman (the co-writer of the 2009 Star Trek movie that rebooted the franchise) and Eugene Roddenberry (the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) will serve as executive producers on the show.
Nothing has been confirmed at this point about the plot, but rumors have suggested that the series will be an anthology project of some sort, akin to American Horror Story or Fargo, with each season set in a different point in the Star Trek timeline and featuring different characters and cast members. One particular, unofficial report indicates that the first season of the series will be set in the time between 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — the last film to feature the full cast of the original series — and the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
One thing CBS has made clear, however, is that the series won’t be a spinoff of the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, so anyone expecting it to connect with the movie franchise in the way that Marvel’s television series tie into Marvel’s cinematic universe will likely be disappointed.
Another element that’s been confirmed is the show’s strict ties to the CBS All Access streaming service. The series will premiere on the standard CBS television network in January 2017, but subsequent episodes will be available exclusively on CBS All Access, which requires a monthly subscription.
Fortunately, fans don’t have to wait until January for more Star Trek, as Star Trek Beyond hits theaters July 22, 2016.
