CBS has been hosting Emmy For Your Consideration promotional events in Los Angeles, and the most recent one was focused on ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ Four of the show’s executive producers attended the event along with stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Mary Chieffo, Wilson Cruz, James Frain, and Anthony Rapp.
During the event, there was a screening of episode seven from the first season, ‘Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.’ A panel discussion was streamed live on Instagram and the discussion focused primarily on the first season.
A moderator focused on how Episode Seven featured ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ character Harry Mudd, and asked ‘Discovery’ executive producer Heather Kadin how the show balanced giving fans what they want with trying to create something new. Kadin replied:
“A big part of the show – and everyone in front of the camera and behind the camera, is such a combination of people who are obsessed ‘Trek’ fans to people who sort of liked it to people who barely knew it at all – so we talked, and still do, about the importance of it has to be true to fans, but it has to open the door to people who didn’t know it before. Especially since prior to now it has been a show and movies that appealed to an audience that has grown in age, and how do we bring in younger people who have not seen it before? And that has been what is so great about this show as a lot of us have kids who are of the age who can be watching it and exposed and brought into that tent. It has always come from a place of respecting and loving the canon of Trek, but how do we open it up to new people.”
Co-showrunner Aaron Harberts also spoke about ‘Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,’ explaining that the time loop aspect of the episode was financial, saying:
“In terms of the time loop, we were desperate to save money, I am not going to lie.”
Harberts went on to explain that even with standalone episodes, the showrunners try to give important characters longer story arcs to continue into the next season:
“But, when Gretchen [J. Berg] sit down and decide to do a time loop episode [“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”] we ask what do we get out of it and what are the bigger pieces that are going to contribute to this giant tapestry that Gretchen and I feel very responsible for weaving a universe. For Hugh and Stamets, that is learning more about their relationship, like the Kasseellian opera, which is something that starts there and gets threaded through all the way through season two. Little tiny things that make our characters feel alive, that continue to build on who they are and who they will become.”
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2 will stream on CBS All Access sometime in 2019.
