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Star Trek is returning to the small screen in 2017.
Star Trek is returning to the small screen in 2017. Photograph: Paramount/Allstar
Star Trek is returning to the small screen in 2017. Photograph: Paramount/Allstar

Star Trek beaming back to the small screen for new series

This article is more than 8 years old

CBS has announced plans to resurrect the TV franchise just in time for the series’ 50th anniversary, to air on streaming service CBS All Access in 2017

Star Trek fans, set your phasers to stun: a new TV series is under way.

After two recent successful big screen outings directed by JJ Abrams, whose Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in December, CBS has announced plans to resurrect the franchise on the small screen, just in time for the series’ 50th anniversary.

On Monday, the network confirmed that a new Star Trek series is being developed and will debut in 2017. It will be the first new series of the franchise to air since Star Trek: Enterprise, which ended its run in 2005.

CBS will premiere the first episode in January 2017. All episodes will then be available to view in the US on CBS All Access, the network’s digital subscription video on demand and live-streaming service. This marks the first original series developed specifically for the online platform, which currently offers every episode of all previous Star Trek television series to stream.

CBS Studios International will distribute the series for TV and multiple platforms around the world.

“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 of 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.”

The new series has been executive produced by Star Trek film producer Alex Kurtzman; a search for a writer is currently under way. According to CBS, Kurtzman’s show “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”.

The original Star Trek series debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons. Four more live action series followed (a short-lived animated one ran from 1973-74), as well as a dozen feature films.

The 13th film in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond, co-written by Simon Pegg, is slated to open in the summer of 2016. CBS says the new television series will not connect in any way to the upcoming feature, directed by Justin Lin (who directed Fast Five).

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