Star Trek is proving that it really can “live long and prosper”.
After a bevy of remakes in film and television, a brand new TV series is in the works — Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
CBS All Access in the US is behind the new show and has given a series order starring Anson Mount (Crossroads — yes, the one with Britney Spears), Rebecca Romijn (The Librarians) and Ethan Peck (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels).
The series will follow Captain Christopher Pike (Mount), Science Officer Spock (Peck), and Number One (Romijn) in the decade before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
These particular characters were first introduced in a previous CBS series Star Trek: Discovery and according to Julie McNamara, executive vice president and head of programming at CBS All Access in a statement, “fans fell in love” with the cast.
“This new series will be a perfect complement to the franchise, bringing a whole new perspective and series of adventures to Star Trek.”
For co-creator and executive producer Akiva Goldsman, the series is “a dream come true”.
“I have imagined myself on the bridge of the Enterprise since the early 1970s. I’m honoured to be a part of this continuing journey along with Alex, Henry and the fine folks at CBS,” he said.
In an interview with Variety, Goldsman also said that they are going to “harken back some classical ‘Trek’ values to be optimistic and more episodic.”
“Obviously, we will take advantage of the serialized nature of character and story building. But I think our plots will be more closed-ended than you’ve seen in either Discovery or Picard.”
During the same interview, actor Peck said he was excited to bring a new version of the franchise to life, especially now.
“I believe so much in what we’re doing,” he told the outlet. “I don’t think that there’s ever been a better time for Star Trek, because of its ideology. It’s all about coming together and using the ways that we’re different from one another for the advantage of people as a whole.”
Strange New Worlds spins off from Season 2 of Discovery with no air date announced yet.