CBSPrepare to return to the final frontier on the small screen: A new Star Trek series is in the works for CBS by CBS Television Studios, E! News has confirmed. The show will debut on CBS before moving to CBS All Access, the network's digital subscription streaming service.
Look for "new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations," in the new show set to debut in January 2017. According to a press release, the new TV show is not related to the upcoming movie Star Trek: Beyond.
Alex Kurtzman, known for his work on the recent Star Trek movies, will serve as executive producer on the series.
Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, got its start on TV with the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy series in the original series that ran from 1966-1969. Patrick Stewart headlined Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise following before new flicks starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto in the classic show roles hit the big screen. The third movie in that series, Star Trek: Beyond, is scheduled for a July 2016 release.
"There is no better time to give Star Trek fans a new series than on the heels of the original show's 50th anniversary celebration," David Stapf, president, CBS Television Studios, said in a statement. "Everyone here has great respect for this storied franchise, and we're excited to launch its next television chapter in the creative mind and skilled hands of Alex Kurtzman, someone who knows this world and its audience intimately."
"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," Marc DeBevoise, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Digital Media. "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."