With the Star Trek TV franchise in the process of expanding, it's an incredibly exciting time to be a Star Trek fan. In addition to a third season of Star Trek: Discovery, we've also got Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Short Treks, a Section 31 series, and several animated series to look forward to. While speaking on Deadline's Crew Call podcast, Star Trek honcho Alex Kurtzman discussed his plan for building the next generation of the franchise and appealing to a whole new fan base.
I went to CBS and I said, “I think you have a universe here that is very under-utilized, and a fan base that I think is hungry for a lot more.” And I walked them through the plan of what I saw for the next five to ten years of ‘Trek.’ Part of it was, kind of, premised on the idea that it was going to take time. What I said was, “Don’t expect us to put the first thing out, and suddenly, you know, you’re have 100 million new fans. That’s not gonna happen.” ‘Trek’ has been around for too long for that to happen — but but what we do have is new generations, and what I can tell you is that ‘Trek,’ in general, finds people when they’re about between nine and twelve.
"It’s never reached younger than that; it’s never tried to, and to me that’s a hugely missed opportunity, especially because what you’re really trying to do is influence hearts and minds with really positive messages — messages about who we can be as a species and as people and what our future is," Kurtzman continued. "So why not start young, you know? And not for a cynical reason. Not because you know, hey, let some more toys, but because if you really want ‘Star Trek’ to reach people, then you’ve got to start young." To that end, one of the upcoming projects which will cater to a younger audience is an animated series series from Kevin and Dan Hageman (Trollhunters) which will air on Nickelodeon. "That’s a show that’s for kids, younger. Full CG animation. It’s going to be incredibly cinematic. We just started seeing [storyboards] this week," said Kurtzman. "It looks like, wow. It’s on par with Love, Death, and Robots in terms of beauty and lighting and cinema, so it’s a a really different feel, and Nickelodeon has been wildly supportive and I think very excited to bring a new energy to TV, you know, in animation."
As for the live-action shows, Star Trek: Picard is still in the middle of shooting in Los Angeles, and the third season of Star Trek: Discovery will likely kick off production in the next month or two. The team are currently scripting episode 5 of Discovery's third season, with Kurtzman adding that they're further along in development at this point than they were with season two. The Section 31 series, set to be led by Michelle Yeoh, will begin shooting just as soon as production wraps on Discovery and Erika Lippoldt and Bo Yeon Kim are currently breaking the story. Given how enthusiastic fans were about Anson Mount's performance as Captain Christopher Pike in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, Kurtzman was also asked about the possibility of a Star Trek: Pike series starring Mount as Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. "I would be remiss in saying you’re going to see Spock again on Discovery because we’ve obviously jumped so far into the future that it wouldn’t make sense," Kurtzman said. "But the the idea of bringing Ethan [Peck] back, and Anson [Mount] and Rebecca [Romijn] and the Enterprise, I mean, we loved it so much, and to find a way to do that is definitely something we’re thinking about."
It's been some time since Star Trek's TV heyday in the '90s, when we saw Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek; Voyager overlapping, so it's certainly exciting to see the franchise return for a new generation. Fingers crossed.