Star Trek TV Head Reveals What He's Learned from 'Voyager,' 'Deep Space Nine'

Star Trek is going through a new period of expansion with Alex Kurtzman at the head, and he has a plan to keep the franchise fresh and exciting for fans.

The Star Trek franchise expanding rapidly. A new show spinning out of Star Trek: Discovery was announced just today. That shows joins a handful of others already in development, including Patrick Stewart's return as Jean-Luc Picard, the animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks, and a second animated series aimed more at younger viewers.

Kurtzman believes the key to success for all of these series is making sure they each offer something special that the others don't.

"I want to make sure that each show is a different and unique proposition," Kurtzman said on an episode of the Variety's TV Take podcast. "I think Deep Space Nine and Voyager got into a tricky spot where people were starting to feel they can't tell the difference between the shows, even though they were very different, but 'I can't tell the difference so why would I pick one over the other?' Our job is to make sure that it feels like a very different prospect from any other Trek show that exists. In the same way in the world of Marvel or in the world of Pixar, you have multiple stories coexisting although each one feels different while there is an assumption and an understanding of what the brand identity of what that thing is.

"Every time you got to a Marvel movie you kind of know what you are going to get, but one could be Ragnarok, one could be Black Panther and one could be Iron Man and all of those have a very different feel, but there is always a premium on the storytelling…And even though all their films are different, the one thing you can always expect when you go to a Pixar movie is that the story is going to be great. I want us all to elevate Trek to that place. So, when you go to watch a show, the expectation is we are going to have great storytelling. The kinds of stories are going to be different and the way they are told is going to be different, but I want to build Trek to where people assume that about it."

That's not the first time that Kurtzman has compared the expanding Star Trek television franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Considering that franchise's success, he seems to be looking in the right places for inspiration.

Are you excited about Star Trek's future? Let us know in the comments!

Star Trek: Discovery returns to CBS All Access on January 17th.