Two weeks ago Paramount+ announced new seasons and release dates for all five of their current Star Trek series, outlining a regular stream of Trek shows on the streaming platform for the next two years. And today executives from Paramount+ say they are expecting even more Star Trek to come.
Trek hasn’t hit critical mass yet – Section 31 show news coming
Today Paramount+ executives held a presentation during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour where they announced renewals and some new programming for a number of original series, but they also talked about the importance of Star Trek to the streaming service.
Reports from TCA members attending the event quote the executives touting their “always on” Star Trek programming, as outlined in the announcement two weeks ago of multiple seasons ordered across five series. But that isn’t stopping Paramount+ from looking ahead. As reported by Variety:
“Yes, we are still in development on ‘Section 31,’ so there will be more news on that soon,” Nicole Clemens, president of original scripted series at Paramount Plus, told reporters during an executive session alongside chief programming officer Tanya Giles at the Television Critics Association’s press tour Tuesday. “And two, the question about ‘critical mass’ on ‘Star Trek,’ I think we have some fantastic offerings in our always on slate,” in reference to “Star Trek” shows lined up back-to-back on the Paramount Plus rollout schedule.
The Section 31 series led by Michelle Yeoh-led was announced two years ago. The Star Trek: Discovery spin-off was set up with character storylines from both seasons two and three, but has yet to move beyond the development stage. This latest comment appears to confirm the recent optimism expressed by executive producer Alex Kurtzman about the series.
Michelle Yeoh as Georgiou in season three of ‘Discovery’
Another show and curated Star Trek?
At a later panel focused on Strange New Worlds Alex Kurtzman briefly talked about the Section 31 show, but also hinted at yet another Trek series he is cooking up (via Variety):
Kurtzman said he and his team are working on “Section 31” and another show he’s remaining tight-lipped about.
And during the earlier executive panel there was an interesting comment from Nicole Clemens about “curated” Star Trek content:
Clemens added: “And I think you may see a few more very curated additions coming.”
[NOTE: The original article was updated with reporting from Variety swapping out live tweets from TCA attendees]
Keep up on the Star Trek Universe of Television.
Could curated refer to 4K refreshes of other movies and series a la the Motion Picture?
Oh please let this be a 4K widescreen Deep Space Nine at last…
From your keyboard to God’s viewscreen.
I’m thinking of specifically filling in gaps in their coverage of audience niches with new shows, rather than remasters.
I’ve been hoping for a revival of Short Treks or some made for streaming movies or mini-limited series.
You’re not going to get widescreen DS9 without losing content, it was shot in 4:3 and so it should remain
TOS and TNG are stuck at 2K there and none of the new shows are 4K there is no chance in Khan’s hell we will get DS9 in 4K. I’ll settle for 2k.
A high-def remaster of DS9 (and Voyager too, while they’re at it) would be most welcome, but I wouldn’t want them to mess with the aspect ratio.
More Trek direct-to-streaming movies would be amazing!! They do not have to be big budget affairs either, and can be set during any era of Star Trek’s canon.
I’d like to see something like Short Treks, but full length. Just call it Star Treks, make it an anthology of one off or 2-3 episodes max.
I’d like to see some limited series and straight to streaming feature length stuff as well.
They’re watching what Disney is doing with Marvel and Star Wars and they’re applying that to Trek. I’m happy with that.
Both of you are thinking about this the way I am.
Many of the legacy characters could carry a 15 minute, 45 minute or 90 minute outing without having to cast and create an entirely new show.
Sure enough, I’ve just seen a report that Goldsman has said to SFX magazine that he’d like to pitch a “Tales of the Federation” anthology series, that would bring back legacy characters for limited stories as the actors are available.
Yep I was going to mention this as well. It does sound like the Anthology idea is beyond just a ‘what if’ and it could be the other show they are developing.
If this happens, maybe some of us will get our fifth season of Enterprise after all. ;D
Captain Sulu USS Excelsior EP
Captain Worf USS Enterprise E EP (Featuring Levar Burton) post Picard being promoted
President Archer EP
Sisko returns from the Prophets ep
Chakotay launches the Protostar to the Delta quadrant EP (Live Action)
Just a few thoughts…
I agree fully! I honestly think this is the future of Star Trek films. I think there will still be a place in the theaters, but the focus will probably end up in direct to streaming as that platform just gets stronger and they can make them a lot cheaper in the process.
And I think it will also give them a chance to just be more creative with the movies. That’s what bothers me most about the movies, they always have to be these cookie cutter affairs where they have to follow known characters all the time and have so many explosions in them. And we know the last four films have been the tired villain wants to destroy the Federation trope. They all follow the same path over and over.
But ironically with less money and less stakes on the table we can see more innovative movies like we have with the shows. We can have new characters in new settings for a change. Maybe not have every film feel like it needs to be a Star Wars/Mission Impossible hybrid like the Kelvin movies felt and just have slower paced stories. Yes, they can have action and should, just not the biggest priority in every film either.
We can have movies that are actually character pieces too. Maybe a movie about Worf after the events of Nemesis. Or a spin off film with Una Chin-Riley after she leaves the Enterprise. Even a Lower Decks movie. Or a set of movies with a brand new crew on the Enterprise F in the 25th century. Movies can be for those ideas or characters they want to use but not in a full series either. It’s just an endless amount of possibilities.
Yeah, all of what y’all said. Trek is proving to be the tent pole. That’s great for us. There can be a lot more freedom with a multi motion media strategy. AND now that they have the LED screen tech they’re using less set building, less on location.
This could be great if done correctly and not over done.
In fact they shouldn’t be big budget. ViacomCBS needs to stop kidding themselves thinking that Star Trek is a franchise that can pull off Marvel or Star Wars money at the box office. And if it can’t do that, you shouldn’t spend as much money making a Trek movie as you would an MCU movie.
I’d not be suprised to see Section 31 start off as a series of streamed feature length offerings.
They could see if the reactions and ratings justified a full series that way.
Enough already with the space Hitler show. The character is not interesting and I can’t imagine that anyone is really excited for a series about a snarky ex-genocidal maniac. She’s good for a one-off guest appearance, but the character wore out its welcome on Discovery after maybe 3 appearances.
Well, I’d likely tune in. TNG has tried (with little luck) to portray some Starfleet types has mutinous heavies. Q certainly has the genocidal leanings, buffoonery aside. A feature or series dealing with the aspect of the Federation that has to get its hands dirty to maintain peace and freedom isn’t a non-starter for a lot of people.
Where?
Well that’s definitely your opinion.
With as busy as her and Latif are with other shows, you don’t even know how much Georgeau would be in the series.
If they are bringing back Latif then they also need to find a way to give Matt Berry a role, even just a cameo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVApbqF4sPM
Your imagination has its obvious limitations.
I’d really prefer a Georgiou show to a Pike show. A Section 31 show will be something new. SNW will probably be fun, but I doubt it will give us anything that we haven’t already seen in TOS, TAS, TNG and ENT.
Honestly I’d rather have a show set within Federation Intelligence rather than Section 31. The concept of Section 31 has always felt off to me. And then what they did with it on Discovery just made it absurd even for sci-fi.
My problem is that everything, EVERYTHING, they did with S31 on Discovery broke canon in so many ways I can’t even count. And the very existence of this show means continuing that policy and I don’t support it.
Discovery just doesn’t fit in the Trek lore in nearly every way. It works a little better if you think of it as a reboot. I know they say it isn’t but it just does. But even as a reboot there are major problems with it. Problems that have been discussed for years but have not been addressed by the powers that be.
I’ll watch anything Star Trek, but no, Section 31 is not what I would have chosen if Paramount had offered a choice.
Joseph, I am in complete agreement with your post. Well said!
Hi Joe,
I am really excited… I mean SO SO SO very excited to see S31 with my main lady Michelle!
I want to see Star Fleet’s black site secret ops teams…. I want to see them violate the rules The Fed holds dear so they can protect what The Fed holds dear, then see how they justify it … I want to see the corrupted intelligence officers going way too far in eschewing righteousness for evil… I want to see the Empress Yeoh fully take the red pill and advance / protect a governing philosophy and a diverse galaxy of people she once sought to eradicate…. I want to see the the political intrigues that S31 has to navigate within Federation politics, exposing good Admirals and B-admirals…. I want to see how this show will use the grey and murky areas, and the more dishonorable tactics as tools to reinforce with the viewer the more noble aspects of The Fed Charter and of Trek in general.
Also, it might be the only show that touches Temporal Cold War stories that uniquely link several series without using the Mirror U, or sisters that didn’t exist 7 years ago. I love the TCW narrative!
Thanks!
THIS THIS THIS!
I want to see the internal politics of the Federation and the planets part of it, to see what’s the price for upholding peace sometimes. And as you’ve said, using the grey areas and dishonorable tactics to reinforce the more noble aspects of Trek – but also blurring the line between good and bad tactics, it’s not always clear cut and obvious. It’s like the Kobayashi Maru, sometimes there’s no real way to win – sometimes it’s not possible for everyone to win while still sticking to the Federation’s rules and ideals.
Thanks Teale!
I really think there is good opportunity to deliver good stuff with this spinoff.
It just depends on how well the writers build a bullet proof narrative in which the “writers’ room prime directive” is plot and character development over action set pieces, “feelings”, and over-used or unearned plot twists.
A sci-fi show in the realm of unseen espionage and black-site counter intelligence needs to be about sci-fi, unseen espionage, counter intelligence, and the politicos & people groups impacted by them all.
Hope!
Thanks!
Yeah still don’t love Space Hilter leading a show, but if the Section 31 show does more than just watch her seek out new life and new civilization to plan coups on them every week, then who knows?
A lot of us think the show will be a time travel or multiverse story line. Maybe she teams up with the Carl/GoF and go to different time periods or other universes to fight crime (you know, I think I finally came up with the perfect Tarantino Star Trek idea lol).
But seriously if it’s a time based or multiverse premise, it could be a lot of fun. And I’m thinking it may even tie in to the Temporal cold war too. Hopefully whatever this ‘update’ is will be more than just ‘it’s really really going to happen this time” and actually give us some idea of what it’s about. It’s been in development for almost 3 years now.
And if nothing else, I really hope Tyler comes back! I really want to see him on this and Strange New Worlds. I would be more interested if the show was focused more on him.
Sounds almost like a Star Trek/Dr. Who mash up.
I just still can’t get past the fact that no one is supposed to be aware of Section 31 and according to Discovery EVERYONE knows about them and they have their own fleet. I just can’t get behind that, no matter what the plot of this series will be. This will be the first time in Trek history where the very existence of a Trek show defies canon.
At least when it appeared on DS9 and Enterprise it was more shadowy. For all we know it was just the one guy! Or maybe it was a handful. No one knew. Which sorta went with what it was supposed to be I think. Then Star Trek Discovery decided everyone knew about it, they had their own armada of ships with hyper advanced tech. It was quite a reach.
Also, the fact that an organization like the United Federation of Planets allows for a sneaky division like Section 31 that answers to NO ONE to even exist is also a gigantic stretch given what we know of the world they set up. Would have been MUCH better had it just been some sort of covert arm of Federation Intelligence.
That is one way they might be able to retcon it. Lose the independence of S31. Make them accountable SOMEWHERE… Link them to Fed Intel.
Over 100 years had passed when we first saw S31 on DS9. Can you tell me all the government intelligence agency’s that were around a century ago?
I won’t speak for others, but I am not excited for this show at all. It’s very existence defies canon.
While I am not thrilled with Section 31 even existing to me the worst part of this show is having Space Stalin be in it.
Say something original
So much for all the “Trek fan experts” across multiple internet sites with their uneducated “Space Hitler” negative takes who insisted that a Section 31 streaming show was not likely to happy. LOL — wrong again, Mensas! ;-)
A Section 31 series with the great Michelle Yeoh can’t some soon enough for this fan.
Let us know when they announce the official start of production (filming) for that show, then you can declare the reasonable naysayers (like me) that we were wrong. But not yet.
It has seemed rather obvious that they have been wanting to this for a long time, but are simply waiting for Yeoh’s schedule to support it. I think they probably have the first season story arc at least outlined in detail, plus pre-production drawings and other materials completed. I would not be shocked if the first three eps have been penned, some of the key casting done, and that they have a plan to fast-track S1 production set-up once Yeoh is ready.
It’s just a matter of time. It’s happening (my informed opinion).
If I were a betting man I would wager Yeoh’s schedule was what caused the delay.
Agreed
Covid caused the delay.
I think Michelle Yeoh is wonderful. And I don’t care about the whole “space Hitler” thing. My issue with S31 is simple. Section 31 is supposed to operate in the shadows. But according to DIS s2, they not only are known to everyone, they have their own fleet. How could Sisko, et all POSSIBLY not have known about them if this were the case? DIS S2 and by extension this entire series by it’s very existence defies canon in the worst ways. I can’t get on board with that.
Well if I must be forced to accept a lot of the really questionable fan service and comedy stuff in Lower Decks as canon, then accepting Section 31 doesn’t seem like all that much of a stretch.
Star Trek canon ain’t what is used to be. A couple of years back this would have bothered me like it’s bothering you. Not anymore for me — the whole Trek canon thing has been watered down forever now. Time to just go with the flow and hope for modest consistency in the universe.
I get the disdain for Lower Decks canon. But it doesn’t go against canon at all. So if you don’t like it, just don’t watch it. It doesn’t undo any beloved past Trek you might have. Discovery, and by extension S31, DOES. That’s the difference.
I get what you are saying about canon not being what it used to be, but that is because of Kurtzman. Canon became an issue with Enterprise. But that show did a surprisingly good job of keeping with canon. They had eps with Romulans where they were never shown to humans on view screens for example. 2 parter’s like In a Mirror Darkly deeply respected canon. Kelvin Trek took place in an alternate universe, so nothing they did mattered.
It wasn’t till Discovery Season 1 and 2 that canon was truly abused to this level and the powers that be just threw their hands up and said, we don’t care.
On Lower Decks, I find the way the crew acts and behaves week to week, along with the constant insubordination and sarcasm, and consistent lack of consequences for crew bad actions, to be grossly inconsistent with the professional behavior and crew professionalism that every series-leading crew we have seen on any Star Trek series to date. It’s a much more concerning problem to me in that they have cheapened what we have always seen as the type of crews that Starfleet turns out, and the type of people in the future Federation that join Starfleet.
This is all much more concerning to me than some minor head-canon correction such as (Discovery) Section 31 was more known than we thought, that Berman (Enterprise) blatantly ignored Rodenberry’s already defined design for the first Starfleet Enterprise as show in TMP, that tens of millions of people did not die in the 1990’s due to a Eugenics War, (TNG) Scotty forgetting that he saw Kirk die, and that nearly every new version of the franchise reinvents the Klingons. This is all of minor annoyance to me versus a show in which most of the entire main crew are a collections of jackasses, insubordinates and sarcastic malcontents who consistently behave in an inexplicably bufoonish manner. This grossly violates the spirit of Star Trek canon at it’s core, which has always shown us future Starfleet crew of the best of the Federation, who we look to show us a positive future by their actions and behavior — so we can see that humans beings in this awesome future world are better and more mature than most humans in our world are today.
Did you not watch the end of Disco season 2? It was the beginning of S31 going dark. Star fleet delete everything about S31 from official records. Remember the winners get to write the history books.
This is why i don’t bother talking to internet trekkies. The majority to Trek fans never post online btw.
The ‘franchise’ floodgates have really opened now, with shows of various kinds being stamped with the ‘Star Trek’ brand and flung at the wall to see if anything sticks.
Fair enough, but I’m giving up with ‘imagining’ certain shows as occurring in ‘alternate universes’ to my favourites just to make better sense of everything. I’ve now accepted that some are just not to my taste whatsoever, and it’s easier to just ignore them altogether in future.
So my new ‘headcanon’ for the property will only include the stuff I really like, while I will totally exclude the ‘drek Trek’ that I don’t. Tastes will differ on that point, but I’m hopeful that the ‘Strange New Worlds’ show will appeal to me more than the rest of the latest offerings so far.
And as a fan of the ‘Star Wars’ concept too, the same goes for Disney’s ongoing offerings. I hope there won’t be too many duds along the way with that either.
Agreed. Lower Decks and Enterprise are not part of my head canon.
You can live in a universe and don’t like everything that happens in it. That’s why newspapers have sections. You can like just some shows and yet recognize they all are part of the same universe/timeline.
@ Salvador Nogueira – If others are happy to look on ALL the ‘Trek’-franchise shows as being part of the exact same universe/timeline despite the various awkward mismatches between them….then all power to them.
But even if I end up liking the forthcoming ‘Strange New Worlds’ enough to add it to my own ‘Trek’ roster of shows I’d rewatch, I’ll STILL be compartmentalizing it into an ‘alternate/mirror universe’ to the original TOS show’s ‘prime’ one.
It is easy to reconcile everything. Just think of all the shows as dramatized versions of a fully-cohesive universe. Sometimes the producers of the dramatized versions get some stuff wrong (and we’ve been glossing over this since TOS), but the universe itself is totally coherent. By the way, that idea is not mine. The suggestion that TOS was a dramatized version of future history is in Gene Roddenberry’s foreword for his novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Voilà, you can even have the Great Bird’s stamp of aproval on this one! :-)
Make it easy on everybody, just pretend every show is just being watched by someone in a holodeck and they are just coming up with their own ideas. Maybe it’s Riker just making up all these stories for his amusement. Problem solved. ;)
@ Salvador Nogueira – I reckon that certain ‘dramatized versions’ of this franchise are just TOO incompatible to reconcile it all into one ‘totally-cohisive universe’….which is a pity, as I know many liked the overall ‘continuity’ that this franchise once afforded.
I also don’t agree with a lot of what ‘The Great Bird Of The Galaxy’ claimed to be, by the way.
More great news coming almost everyday. Glad more shows and stories are on the pipeline. With new producers for Section 31, I have a hunch this show will be a big hit.
Have said before, I just hope MU Georgiou get a chance to visit different eras. Very exciting. This will be a great way to bring legacy characters from all previous shows.
Took a rough start with Discovery. But every season and new show is improving greatly.
This steady stream (pun intended!) of A+ content will finally wash away the problematic Treks of yore. Thank goodness.
I think “curated” means like what they’re doing with ST: TMP 4k edition. The Wrath Of Khan turns 40 this year so there’s probably a 4k version of that coming as well and The Search For Spock turns 40 as well in 2 years, etc etc. So I think that’s what they mean by “curated” because these versions of these movies will only be seen on Paramount+. We can buy them when they’re available, of course, but as far as streaming goes, these new versions of the TOS movies will only be on Paramount+, like certain paintings only being in certain museums.
Paintings are “curated” when they’re in museums, they are presented with expert and professional knowledge to the public when they are on display. The same will probably be done with the TOS movies that are being remastered in 4k. I believe the way “curated” is being used in this sense is that ViacomCBS has an archivist and he’s remastering the older Star Trek material and they may even have new introductions from the remaining cast members from TOS to include with these new versions of these movies. They could be remastering DS9 and VOY finally but I think their first priority goes to the movies that are turning 40 or have turned 40 years old, like TMP and TWOK etc etc.
But this, in my opinion, is what the executive meant when she mentioned “curated” 🖖.
There’s already a 4K version of I-IV. Just not the director’s cut of I.
Did not know that. Thanks 👍😌. I don’t have the 4k movies. Only Blu Ray. I still think “curated” pertains to the TOS films somehow though, especially with TWOK’s 40th anniversary this year. We’ll find out eventually, right 🖖?
For sure! Like others, I’m hoping against hope that this refers to DS9 and Voyager. But you are probably closer to correct.
I wish it was DS9 or VOY. Those old tapes aren’t gonna last forever. I watched a video on YouTube about why those two shows haven’t been converted yet. And the answer that was given is because it would cost ViacomCBS millions to remaster both those shows because they’re still on, like, VHS tapes.
Maybe if us Trekkies got together and campaigned for their transfers, like the Trekkies of the previous generation did when TOS needed to be saved, if we all called ViacomCBS and asked them, politely, why are they waiting so long to remaster those two shows, then maybe it might get the ball going in the right direction, huh? I mean they’re bringing back episodic Star Trek with STW and the Enterprise and Captain Pike and crew because the fans wanted it. So, maybe if we call them up and ask them about remastering DS9 and VOY, maybe they just might do it. But ALL of the Trekkies that are out there would have to call them.
ViacomCBS has to see that there is a demand out there for remastering those two shows otherwise they just won’t do it. Live long and prosper, Bryant Burnette 🖖.
Same!
My idea is, Paramount could subsidize it via specialized upcharged subscriptions to Paramount +. I’d pay twice what I pay for an annual ad-free scubscription if I knew half of that was going toward these remasters. I bet a lot of people would. It might take a while to do it that way, but any progress is better than no progress.
I agree 👍🖖.
Hi my friend. Hope all is well with you. Take care!
Hello, friend. All is well, thank you. Take care of yourself, stay safe, and live long and prosper 🖖.
The era prior to TNG and after UC is missing…needs a gap fill!
And continuation of post Picard era would be good.
I’ve been Jonesing for a post TUC show for decades now.
I really want to see the outcome of the Camp Khitomer stuff. Trek canon always made this vague. Who was responsible for the Federation/Klingon alliance? Was it Spock/Kurzon at Khitomer or was it the Enterprise C’s actions like 60 years later? Canon is very vague on this and a post TUC show could solve this.
It’s almost as if…wait for it…a great power that appears to be on the track to reform might backslide. Who’d a-thunk it?
Sure, that might be the case. But the friendship between Kurzon and the TOS Klingons would seem to suggest otherwise. Regardless, it STILL isn’t explained in canon, it still is a hole in the story, and it would still be fun to explore.
The truth of the matter is that Yesterday’s Enterprise was made before Star Trek VI or DS9 and they didn’t take one another into account. But thanks for the unnecessary sarcasm regardless…
I guess you could argue the Khitomer Accords did thaw the relationship out and put the two on the path to better ties, but the relationship still stayed stayed frail until the events of the Enterprise C which finally made them into real allies.
The irony is it’s really not that far from real history. The U.S. and Russia officially ended the cold war once the Soviet Union fell the same year TUC premiered and created a closer relationship (people may forget now but Russia and America became much closer after 911). But yet thirty years later look where we still are with them?
But I agree, that would be interesting to see how that relationship grew between Khitomer and Enterprise C.
I totally agree with you. That could really be the case and it would make complete sense. But what I would want to know is what would have happened with the relationship between Kurzon and the TOS Klingons during the increasing tensions during the Enterprise C era? Were they still talking? Did they take a break? Did they talk in secret? What about Spock? He was alive this whole time and an ambassador. We’ve heard all this talk about Kurzon’s role in the Klingon treaty but Spock did it first. Why in DS9 does Kurzon get all the credit and Spock none? And what about Kirk? The greatest Captain in Starfleet history saved the Khitomer accords and he gets no mention at all? I’d like to see an explanation for this. There are so many unanswered questions and I know I am being sensitive here but the comment from “The River Temarc” was ignorant.
If I had my wish, the next show would take place post-TUC or post-Picard in the 25th century. I’m open to either although I would prefer the 25th century show if I had to only choose one.
Section 31 is the worst idea anyone associated with Trek ever had. Zero interest in seeing it get an entire series. Worse than that, actually; negative interest.
Well, I’m not the one to tell you you are wrong.
Agreed. This is the first time in history an entire Star Trek series as a concept defies Star Trek Canon. It might as well be called, “Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Doesn’t Count”
Funny how you guys hated DS9 when it first came out.
I really hope that Khan focused limited series developed by Nicholas Meyer is the one they’re keep under the wraps. Would be amazing.
When is that supposed to be set? I think a Ceti Alpha V show would be kind of boring, since it would basically just be about a bunch of augments and Marla dying and Khan getting more and more pissed off at Kirk. A show set in the 90s showing Khan’s rise to power during the eugenics wars could be pretty awesome though.
Agreed. A Khan series sounds interesting, but with what we know of what his future is expected to be post TWoK, it sounds boring.
I tend to agree that following Khan on Ceti Alpha has no real payoff. Khan was already a pretty arrogant and angry guy in Space Seed. It only grew worse losing Marla and taming an inhospitable world. Honestly not much to see there.
I been joking for awhile now that we’ll probably get a dozen Star Trek shows in the next 20 years. But I’m starting to think maybe it’s not much of a joke anymore. We’re already at six shows now (if you count Short Treks) and they still have two more planned, one which will probably be out once Picard or Discovery ends. Or who knows, maybe they will just have six shows running in a few years time.
Obviously this is all great news. Even I’m not a huge fan of the Section 31 show idea, I’m still very curious of what they will do with it and hopefully it will be great. None of this is bad news people. End of the day even if you hate that show or any other, you got like 4-5 other shows to watch lol. We never had it this good!
And now they are hinting at other Trek stuff coming down the pike outside the shows. A few of us have been suggesting they may start making smaller Trek films just for the site in time. That would be amazing too! They could do a set of one off films with both old and new characters. I would love a Enterprise film showing the events of the Romulan war but yes I’m getting ahead of myself I know.
It’s a great time to be a fan! More than ever!
Sure. If “more is always better” are the words you live by.
But as I said you DON’T have to like every show. You don’t have to like most of them lol. But at least now you have more options.
I mean if you hated the Kelvin movies, how great of a time was that lol. You would wait years just to bitch over a 2 hour movie…and then wait another few years to do it all over again. Fans who hated those movies just relied on their reruns again. And fans who loved them still relied on the old shows because it was 6 hours of content in seven years! Ugh
You know I’m not in love with either Discovery or Picard right now (but don’t hate them) but am loving PRO and LDS. Having those two shows on alone gives me something to truly look forward to. And in time I can still love the others (and DIS has improved for me every season). And we have another new show this year to try out to see if we will love or hate it. That’s where I’m coming from. In this case, the point is there is (hopefully) something for everyone if not everything for everyone. As a fan you now have real options out there.
And fans have to get over this bizarre mindset you have to love or watch it all. That’s the point, you don’t!
I also been reading a few of the old Discovery threads lately when that show was announced and boy that’s a lot of fun to hear all the crazy speculations and hope for the show at the time. But the biggest issue then was the fact people were upset they would have to invest in a new streaming show to watch it. Man, soooo much anger lol.
But I think everyone has to admit now, putting Star Trek on a streaming site turned out the best thing for it. I don’t care what anyone would say, but it’s no way we would be having the ridiculous amount of shows or content we would have if they ended up putting a show on CBS or Showtime. Even if Discovery was a huge hit on CBS, we may have gotten another show like Picard in time, but it’s no way we would have five shows on and this quick amount of time. I personally don’t think Discovery would’ve lasted long on a network at all frankly. Maybe 3-4 years but just my opinion. But on streaming, these shows can thrive in so many ways. When you’re renewing seasons before their next season even starts proves how well they are doing on Paramount+, regardless if you think they suck or not.
And the main issue used to be people didn’t want to pay just to watch one show. Be thankful we did because now we are paying for five of them. ;D
Great comment Tiger2 regarding Discovery and streaming!
While so many were upset with CBSAA, it has proven to be the right call – now here we are 4 years later with 5 shows and more on the way. You are absolutely right, this would not have happened if Discovery was a network show. Heck, let’s face facts – with the incredibly shakey start,
Discovery would have only lasted a half season.
As for streaming in general, the writing was on the wall about 8-10 years ago that streaming was going to be the future of television. While living in the US I cut the cord to premium Comcast cable tv back in 2015 and supplemented basic cable with CBS, Netflix, Hulu, NHL TV and other streaming services. Now that I am back in Toronto, Bell Media continues to offer Star Trek on cable, but I am sure that will end sooner or later. When it does, I will be more than prepared to switch over to streaming!
The biggest difference with Discovery being on a huge network like CBS vs a tiny streaming platform as All Access started out as is that if it landed on CBS, it would still just be another show on that network. Still one with a lot of hype and fanfare going into it, but once the newness and curiosity wore off (and my guess pretty quickly) it would’ve had to carry large ratings to justify keeping it on every year.
But with All Access, it was the entire face of that site just like Voyager was when UPN debut. CBS doesn’t need help getting people to watch their network outside of maybe a different demographic. But DIS bought AA an actual hook to get people to even care about it. Because I doubt any of us would’ve been watching it without it. I can tell you for a fact I wouldn’t have. I barely watch CBS shows as it is for free, I’m certainly not going to pay for them lol.
But this was definitely the right call. I don’t think I gave Discovery enough credit frankly. Even now I’m still on the fence on how successful it was when it started, but I never questioned it was a hit. Clearly it was. But that’s the thing about streaming, you don’t have to get millions of people to watch to even be considered a huge hit.
I read somewhere the other day for all the huge fan fare the Star Wars and Marvel shows are getting on Disney+, only 1-2 million people on average watch the episodes in the first three days of airing in America. To this day, WandaVision is still the most watched original show on Disney+ and only 1.6 million watched it the first three days of its premiere. But apparently that’s big in the streaming world. Mandalorian and Boba Fett probably around the same or even lower. Abroad is probably a much bigger picture of course and where they really shine.
These Star Trek shows probably gets between 1-2 million viewers tops as well. MAYBE higher since P+ doesn’t have the same level of big shows and movies Disney+ does but I’m guessing 1 million is probably the average. But as Disney+ is showing, if you can greenlight these Marvel and SW shows for a few million eyeballs then Star Trek is probably in amazing shape for Paramount+. No way it would survive on a network with those numbers though.
I know right? NO ONE complains when the Mandalorian or Bobba Fett are on Disney+. But you dare to do the same with Star Trek and people flip the F out. They seem to forget that ViacomCBS is a corporation looking to grow and make money. They aren’t their mommies.
It was so strange how night and day both fandoms acted. When Star Trek fans heard a new show was coming to a streaming site, they treated it like it was a funeral. When Star Wars fans heard they were getting a new Star Wars show on a streaming site, you would think they hit the lottery.
But I can also admit, it’s a big difference to subscribing to a site named Disney+ versus a site called CBS All Access lol. I mean those are two very different levels of content. And it’s still a kick in the teeth Disney+ was CHEAPER too with the ad-free option.
Well I totally admit that you are going to get a lot more content on Disney+ than you are Paramount+. I mean the MCU alone guarantees that. But that’s just the nature of the beast. You can’t control the fact that ViacomCBS and not Disney or Netflix own Star Trek. Like, stop complaining already. it is what it is.
You’re talking to someone who has never cancelled their membership to AA/P+ because I wanted access to Star Trek any time. Now it’s much easier to justify keeping it all year.
So for me, I think it really paid off. And I also remember people being envy of people abroad because they could get Discovery on Netflix and probably assumed any future show would land there too. That didn’t quite work out so well. ;)
Well, we’ve been paying for premium cable for at least as long just to get Trek and other science fiction on what’s now the CTV Sci-fi Channel.
We would be able to get it unbundled now, but the á la carte fee for a premium cable channel isn’t much different than the base cost for a streaming service.
I want to see a black ops Trek show. I would love a Seal Team meets Star Trek series. Looking forward to Michelle Yeoh! I love watching her.
Kurtzman has been far from perfect, but after a rocky first half season of Discovery, IMO he has done a pretty good job! There have been some misteps, but overall CBS and now P+, have done some good things with the five current shows.
Based on this alone, I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with RE Section 31. If you asked me 3 years ago, I would have had major major doubts, but IMO Kurtzman has earned more than a little slack. Besides I really like Michelle Yeoh (I was particularly unhappy how Captain Georgiou was killed off in episode2), so I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with! More cautious optimism for sure!
He’s not the best by far. But he is orders of magnitude better than JJ Abrams. And unlike the latter, he seems to honestly listen to the fans.
Yep, we get it, quantity before quality
+1
I’m not a fan of the idea of S31. I hate Discovery and I think Picard S1 was bad. But Lower Decks and esp Prodigy are good. So there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
That is really starting to look like their plan. “Let’s make as many different shows as possible. ONE of them has got to be good, right?”
Seems like the character has moved on and could wind up anywhere at this point. Why stuck on the Section 31 story?
That’s what she became on Discovery and just sticking to it. And honestly what else would she be doing? Former despot genocidal emperors from a parallel universe probably don’t have many normal opportunities in the prime universe. Would’ve loved to seen her partner up with Gul Dukat though. ;)
I imagine in the MU Gul Dukat is an honorable guy. Seems reasonable to think he wouldn’t want anything to do with Georgeau.
I’d like to see her pairing up with Garek in the Prime universe. Although a lot of the show would probably involve the two of them trading innuendo.
I was talking Prime universe Gul Dukat after he got mean again. ;)
And at least in the 24th century MU, Cardassians were still bastards who helped enslaved Terrans with the Bajorans and Klingons. But Dukat could’ve been with the resistance I guess.
Would be curious to know what they were like in the MU 23rd century.
Oh please please please be true. I would buy the F out of that!
Misplaced.
There is just so much freaking Star Trek coming our way, it’s insane. Even right now, when you just add up the stuff we know coming this year along with all the shows already renewed for future seasons, if everything goes as planned, you know how many episodes that will be?
107 episodes!
That’s coming just in the next two years. It really feels like the 90s again but bigger since those shows still took tons of breaks and didn’t air all year. These shows are guaranteed to give us a new episode every week for at least several years.
I’m so happy the days of waiting years between Kelvin movies are long dead. We wanted Trek on the small screen (and the prime universe) again and we are really getting it. An episode on literally every week and more shows are coming on top of what we have now is bonkers. And while technically there will be both more Marvel and (in time) Star Wars shows, Star Trek will still out pace those because their episode counts are lower.
I’ll be watching every one of them with bells on!
This is amazing news!
I’m super super excited for this show and to see more of Georgiou!
Many Trekkies I know are actually super excited for the S31 show, and I’m honestly really excited to see different aspect of the Federation – I honestly feel like this could be a bit like DS9, and as Sisko said: “It’s easy to be a saint in paradise.”
If they are going forward with the Section 31 show then I would like it to be set around the same time period as Picard. Maybe have Bashir leading it. It would be interesting to see an older and less idealistic Bashir deciding that there was a need for an organisation like Section 31 and how that conflicted with his morality.
I love the idea of an anthology show….Star Trek Federation….Then we can have:
STF: Section 31
STF: Lorca
STF: Excelsior
STF: Khan
STF: 1701-B
Each could be 5-10 episodes
Curated? Let’s not over sell things here shall we? Let’s apply that to existing products before getting ahead of anything.
Can’t wait for S31.