It’s official: writer-producer Alex Kurtzman is spearheading an all-new Star Trek TV series over at CBS, with plans now in place for the legendary franchise to return to the small screen in January of 2017.
Going boldly where no Star Trek series has gone before, the network’s coup means that Kurtzman’s modern reboot will air via CBS All Access, the company’s digital distribution system that is currently available for $5.99 per month. Indeed, today’s announcement marks the first original series to be recruited for the streaming service, though it’s worth noting that it won’t have any affiliation to Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond feature film.
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. 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.
While Kurtzman is locked in place as executive producer, it’s unclear whether he will be joined by Roberto Orci, who helped pen both Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness for J.J. Abrams and Paramount, though the TV project is still very much in the nascent stages of development.
Debuting via a preview pilot episode on CBS in 2017, it’s understood that the network’s rejuvenated property will then be distributed “concurrently for television and multiple platforms” worldwide. Owing a significant debt to Paramount’s blockbuster cinematic franchise, the Star Trek TV reboot is now a go, and it’s rather fitting that Kurtzman’s new take will embrace the modern technology of digital distribution when it lands in January, 2017.