Star Trek: How the New TV Shows Will Be Connected

Star Trek’s television franchise is expanding. While these shows take place in the same shared [...]

Star Trek's television franchise is expanding. While these shows take place in the same shared Star Trek universe, the plan is to make sure they each provide a distinct, unique experience.

At the TCA Winter 2019 Press Tour, Star Trek television producer Alex Kurtzman explained how these new shows will be connected.

"They'll be connected, I would say, mostly peripherally," Kurtzman tells ComicBook.com. "It's incredibly important to all of us that each show is a unique prospect, that it doesn't feel like you're getting the same thing from each show. And so, each has to have its own identity. That means it's about certain things. The tone has to be unique and yet still be Star Trek. It has to visually look different from the other shows that we're planning on making."

Kurtzman also explained that he's worked with CBS All Access to make sure that these series are released at a steady but not overwhelming pace.

"We worked very closely with All Access to set out a grid so that you weren't feeling overwhelmed by 20,000 of them at once," he says. "It may sound like you're getting all of them at once because there's a lot in development right now, but you have to keep in mind it takes two years to build each one. And so, you have to look at the calendar in advance and say, 'All right, knowing that it takes eight months just to do visual effects for one episode alone, how much time are we gonna need to get on the air in time?'

"So hopefully, one series ends. You take a breath. Another one starts. That runs its course for a season. You take a breath, another one, and then you're getting a nice flow."

One example of this is the Star Trek: Discovery spinoff starring Michelle Yeoh. While the series hasn't been given the greenlight yet, and Discovery still hasn't been renewed just yet, Kurtzman says that he hopes the spinoff will premiere following Discovery's third season.

"Well, Erika [Lippoldt] and Bo [Yeon Kim] are writing it now, so we're breaking story now," Kurtzman says. "And they're amazing, and they're a big part of Discovery, so they're on our staff too. So they're doing double duty this year, and our hope is that we will have a script in the next couple months, and then as soon as Discovery Season Three is over we're rolling right into that show. That's my hope."

Are you excited about the new Star Trek shows in the works? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Additional reporting by Scott Huver.

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