Can a Pulitzer Prize win translate into a successful showrunning gig? That's what CBS All Access is banking on as the streaming wing of the broadcast network has set Michael Chabon ("The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay") to spearhead the Star Trek: Picard series. The move comes as a promotion of sorts for Chabon who has been a part of the show's creative team behind the scenes since it was announced.

Variety reported Chabon as showrunner for Star Trek: Picard, which aims to arrive on the streaming platform as part of a burgeoning new Star Trek TV universe. The new series sees Sir Patrick Stewart reprise his iconic role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in a story about the next chapter of his life. Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway also star.

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Here's what Chabon had to say about the news:

“‘Star Trek’ has been an important part of my way of thinking about the world, the future, human nature, storytelling and myself since I was ten years old. I come to work every day in a state of joy and awe at having been entrusted with the character and the world of Jean-Luc Picard, with this vibrant strand of the rich, intricate and complex tapestry that is ‘Trek.’”

Chabon, who also has writing credits on feature adaptations and original films like Wonder Boys, Spider-Man 2, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and John Carter, has a pair of potentially franchise-starting films in his future. Paramount--a studio that's quite familiar with the Star Trek franchise--had previously set Chabon as a writers room member for their Hasbro properties Visionaires: Knights of the Magical Light and M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. Could the small-screen but high-profile showrunner duties be a forerunner to a potential feature directorial debut on one of these toy-turned-movie gambles? Time will tell, but it's more likely that this move is related to Chabon's other CBS series, Unbelievable, which he co-created with Susannah Grant and Ayelet Waldman.

As for Star Trek: Picard, Stewart, Chabon, Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, James Duff, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers, with Aaron Baiers serving as co-executive producer and Kirsten Beyer as supervising producer; Hanelle Culpepper is at the helm to direct the first two episodes of the series.

For more on Star Trek: Picard, be sure to get caught up by checking out these recent, related write-ups:

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