Courtesy of CBS
'Star Trek: Discovery,' originally planned for a January rollout, will now air largely outside of the broadcast season.
CBS Access will boldly go where no streamer has gone before. It's just taking slightly longer to get there.
The over-the-top hub for the broadcast network, which will launch two original series of its own in 2017, announced Wednesday that its new spin on Star Trek will launch four months later than originally announced at the request of the creative team. Bryan Fuller's Star Trek: Discovery will now premiere in May. And, keeping plans for its first originals roll-out intact, the still-untitled Good Wife spinoff is bowing earlier than expected with a February premiere
“Bringing Star Trek back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood,” executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller said in a joint statement. “We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don’t result in compromised quality. Before heading into production, we evaluated these realities with our partners at CBS and they agreed: Star Trek deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of.”
The duo are no doubt aware of the franchise's rabid fanbase. Each morsel of news around the latest spin on the Star Trek series, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this September, has been aggressively devoured. Specific details, parsed out at Comic-Con and the recent TV critics press tour, have been slim — but the show will feature a female lead and a new aesthetic.
“The series template and episodic scripts that Alex and Bryan have delivered are incredibly vivid and compelling,” said CBS Television Studios president David Stapf. “They are building a new, very ambitious Star Trek world for television, and everyone involved supports their vision for the best timing to bring to life what we all love on the page.”
Star Trek fans with an affection for The Good Wife will likely be less bummed by this news knowing that the late drama's spinoff is only a few months away. After previously suggesting a spring arrival for the project, which sees Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo reprising their roles, it will bow in February.
Picking up one year after the events of the Good Wife finale, the Michelle and Robert King-produced drama will get a special linear premiere on the CBS network before moving to All Access exclusively. Other Good Wife actors will also be involved, though exactly who has yet to be announced. CBS also updated the Kings status on the project, noting that they will now serve as showrunners.
“We have an amazing inaugural slate of originals for CBS All Access and world-class creative teams behind each of our shows,” said Marc DeBevoise, president and COO of CBS Interactive, who'll launch an All Access-exclusive Big Brother later in September. “This line-up and release schedule will ensure we deliver the highest quality, premium series that are sure to appeal to both existing subscribers and new audiences alike, throughout the year.”
