Following a successful debut season, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is getting a spinoff! This is the first official announcement to come following the news of ‘Discovery’ executive producer Alex Kurtzman‘s overall deal with CBS – one that specifically charges him with expanding the network’s ‘Star Trek’ offerings. And though it’s not the rumored Captain Picard series that many of us are hoping for, it’s interesting nonetheless.
Dubbed ‘Short Treks’, the new series is more of a supplement to ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ than a full-fledged series of its own. Each of the series’ planned four episodes will air monthly beginning this fall, as part of an effort to keep ‘Star Trek’ in the public consciousness in the lead up to 2019 and the return of ‘Discovery’.
Kurtzman, who is also acting as showrunner for the second season of the parent series following the surprise exits of both Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, described ‘Short Treks’ as follows:
“Each episode will deliver closed-ended stories while revealing clues about what’s to come in future ‘Star Trek: Discovery episodes. They’ll also introduce audiences to new characters who may inhabit the larger world of ‘Star Trek’.”
Call it an anthology series of sorts. So just what sort of stories and characters can we expect to see? Well luckily, we’ve also been given rough outlines of each episode of the four short-form anthologies, which the Hollywood Reporter summed up thusly:
“Rainn Wilson will return to reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a short he will direct. Aldis Hodge will star in another installment as Craft, a man who finds himself the only human aboard a deserted ship. Additional episodes will explore Saru’s backstory as the first Kelpian to join Starfleet and Tilly’s journey aboard the USS Discovery and her friendship with an unlikely partner.”
No word yet on whether or not ‘Short Treks’ will expand beyond the four planned episodes, but if it does, what sort of ground would you like to see it cover? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the second season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and other upcoming ‘Star Trek’ projects as it becomes available.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will feature returning stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Mary Wiseman, and Anthony Rapp alongside newcomers Anson Mount and Tig Notaro. Though no premiere date for the second season has been announced yet, we know that it will begin airing on CBS All Access in January 2019.
