Star Trek: Short Treks

After the initial success of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, CBS set about expanding their ‘Star Trek’ slate under the stewardship of Alex Kurtzman. But despite the fanfare that surrounded (and continues to surround) not only ‘Discovery’ but subsequent ‘Trek’ announcements, there was something surprisingly low-key about the first phase of that expansion. While the ‘Short Treks’ were certainly fun and compelling, they were also very clearly produced on a budget, mostly using standing sets and mostly featuring established characters. If that feels like a production that’s testing the waters, well, it turns out there’s a reason for that.

Speaking with ComicBook.com at the TCA press tour, Kurtzman described the first season of ‘Short Treks’ (consisting of the four installments that aired prior to the start of the second season of ‘Discovery’) in exactly those terms, saying that it was “a test,” and that the powers that be “wanted to see if they worked.” And work they did.

What does that mean for the future? Well, the first and most obvious answer to that question is that it means there will be more ‘Short Treks’. But it also means that when they do come they’ll be more ambitious. For example, the next batch of ‘Short Treks’ – there will be two of them this time – will air in the spring, after ‘Discovery’ wraps up its second season. Both of those installments will be animated, each in its own style and each by a different director (one will be helmed by noted composer Michael Giacchino and the other by executive producer and frequent ‘Discovery’ director Olatunde Osunsanmi).

But what about the future more generally? While noting that “‘Discovery’ has been the foundation,” Kurtzman made clear that he’d like to “expand beyond” the flagship series with future installments of ‘Short Treks’:

“And so, the idea that we can apply those to all of our shows. Maybe we’ll do one before Picard. maybe we’ll do one before Section 31. Maybe we’ll do one before the animated, just so that we can start getting audiences talking and thinking about what we’re doing, and setting up mysteries. That’s the other really fun thing about those is we get to set up these mysteries that play out over the course of the season.”

Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more ‘Star Trek’ news – including the latest on the second season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and other upcoming shows and movies – as it becomes available!.