New Star Trek TV Series Officially Announced for 2017
Ever since J.J. Abrams successfully revitalized the Star Trek brand back in 2009 with his big screen reboot, there has been rampant speculation that a new TV series might be in the works as well. As it turns out, with so many other TV revivals happening right now, it seems that CBS is finally ready to pull the trigger on a new Star Trek show. Today they have officially announced that Star Trek will be returning to TV in January 2017, but there is a catch: although the first episode will debut on CBS, all future episodes will go straight to their new paid subscription streaming service, CBS All Access. Marc DeBevoise, executive VP and GM at CBS Digital Media, had this to say:
“This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run Star Trek series has gone before — directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access… We’ve experienced terrific growth for CBS All Access, expanding the service across affiliates and devices in a very short time. We now have an incredible opportunity to accelerate this growth with the iconic Star Trek, and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series.”
So in other words they are taking advantage of hardcore Trek fans who will clearly have no choice but to pay the subscription fee. Details on the new show are still scarce but it 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 does not seem to be directly connected to the feature film franchise, but it will be executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin (Scorpion, Sleepy Hollow). Are you looking forward to a new Star Trek TV series?