Star Trek Is Boldly Going Back to TV

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the beloved franchise, Star Trek will be returning to the small screen in 2017! Says David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios:

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. 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.

The new show will be the first original content produced for CBS’s cross-platform streaming service, CBS All Access, and will not be related at all to the next installment in the popular film reboot franchise, Star Trek Beyond, which comes out next year.

I’m of two minds on this news. On the one hand, I’m a massive Star Trek fan. I’ve seen every incarnation of the series – yes, even Enterprise – and I have very fond memories of watching Next Generation with my mom and crushing (ha!) on Wesley Crusher. I love the series for its intelligence and its tactful and compelling way of handling current real-life issues via futuristic metaphors. The original series dealt with taboo subjects like racism and sexism and managed to do so with both camp and candor.

On the other hand, the reboot films from J.J. Abrams have taken a lot of the soul out of the series. I enjoyed both Star Trek XI  and Into Darkness, and they were entertaining films, but they didn’t have a lot of the depth and social commentary that I’d come to expect from something called Star Trek. Kurtzman co-wrote both of those films, and I can only hope that he can rediscover a little bit of what helped make Star Trek such a popular and well-loved franchise in the first place.

From StarTrek.com:

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.

Not to mention that this new show will only be available to those who subscribe to CBS All Access, which is “a cross-platform streaming service that brings viewers thousands of episodes from CBS’s current and past seasons on demand, plus the ability to stream their local CBS Television station live for $5.99 per month”. Considering how much I already pay for cable, I don’t relish the idea of having to shell out an extra $6 a month to watch the additional content of a channel I already technically pay for – no matter how excited I am about said content. I’m a girl with limited disposable income, here, and I’m not kidding when I say my cable bill is ridiculous.

Still, the giant Sci-Fi nerd in me can’t help but giggle madly over the idea of a new chapter of a franchise that I love so much. I’m calling myself cautiously optimistic and will eagerly await any and all news of this upcoming series.

How do you guys feel about a new Star Trek series? What are you hoping they include in the new show? Would you be willing to subscribe to CBS All Access to see it? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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