Are you ready to boldly go once more? No, I’m not talking about the new Star Trek sequel hitting theaters this summer—I’m talking about that other new major piece of Star Trek fiction heading our way: CBS’ Star Trek TV series reboot. The network announced last year that, after years of outcry from fans to see Trek return to the small screen, it was finally moving forward with a new Star Trek TV series, albeit with a twist. The show’s first episode will air on CBS, but subsequent installments will only be available on CBS’ streaming service, CBS All Access.
But now we have a timetable regarding the new show, and it’s moving forward in a matter of months. Per CBS, filming on the new Star Trek TV series begins this fall in Canada:
Hannibal and Pushing Daisies creator/showrunner Bryan Fuller is executive producing the new Star Trek TV series, and Hannibal was based in Toronto, so the Canadian location for this new Trek series makes sense. Before turning his attention to spearheading his own shows like Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls, Fuller got his start as a writer on the Trek series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, so this isn’t the highly talented writer/producer’s first foray into this particular universe. Moreover, he’s brought along Nicholas Meyer, screenwriter of Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country, to serve as a consulting producer/writer on the Star Trek TV series reboot, so Fuller is certainly off to a strong start in bringing Trek back to longform storytelling.
It’s unclear how, exactly, Fuller will be splitting his focus as he’s also serving as showrunner on Starz’s upcoming American Gods, which just started production, but if Ryan Murphy can spearhead three different shows on two different networks, Fuller can pull this off.
We also don’t know when, precisely, the new Star Trek series will take place, but CBS Television Studios’ official logline is as follows:
“The 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.”
It’s a bit of a bummer that fans have to pay for CBS’ streaming service just to watch a new Star Trek series, which runs at $5.99 per month, but no doubt the lengthy wait and intense passion for this particular property will work in CBS’ favor. The show is poised to launch in early 2017, and with a filming date now set, we turn our attention to casting. Expect plenty of updates in the coming months.
