"Live long and prosper."
Good news for Trekkie fans. A brand new Star Trek series will premiere in January 2017 featuring new characters, explore new worlds and new civilizations.
But the bad news is, the new series will be beamed exclusively via CBS All Access and will cost $5.99 a month. However, CBS Studios International said that CBS All Access will allow subscribers to access old and new shows on demand of stream what is being currently broadcast.
"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," said David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios in a statement. "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."
And to prep viewers of the upcoming new Star Trek, old episodes of the previous episodes of the can be viewed via the CBS All Access now, said AJC. A lot has changed with the franchise over its 50-year history, but switching to a streaming-only audience is possibly the biggest change yet.
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.
Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new Star Trek TV series. Kurtzman co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films Star Trek (2009) with Roberto Orci, and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. Both films were produced and directed by J.J. Abrams.
The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman's Secret Hideout. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Kurtzman is also an executive producer on the hit CBS television series Scorpion and Limitless, along with Kadin and Orci, and for Hawaii Five-0 with Orci.
Star Trek, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016, is one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. The original Star Trek spawned a dozen feature films and five successful television series. Almost half a century later, the Star Trek television series are licensed on a variety of different platforms in more than 190 countries, and the franchise still generates more than a billion social media impressions every month.
Born from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, the original Star Trek series debuted on Sept. 8, 1966 and aired for three seasons - a short run that belied the influence it would have for generations. The series also broke new ground in storytelling and cultural mores, providing a progressive look at topics including race relations, global politics and the environment.
"This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run Star Trek series has gone before - directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access," said Marc DeBevoise, Executive Vice President/General Manager - CBS Digital Media. "We've experienced terrific growth for CBS All Access, expanding the service across affiliates and devices in a very short time. We now have an incredible opportunity to accelerate this growth with the iconic Star Trek, and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series."
"Every day, an episode of the Star Trek franchise is seen in almost every country in the world," said Armando Nuñez, President, and CEO, CBS Global Distribution Group. "We can't wait to introduce Star Trek's next voyage on television to its vast global fan base."
