Alex Kurtzman to oversee expansion of Star Trek franchise at CBS
Alex Kurtzman has signed a five year deal with CBS Television Studios to expand the Star Trek franchise for television.
Despite the recent trouble at Star Trek: Discovery that saw the departure of showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg and of executive producer Akiva Goldsman, CBS is putting its faith in the Star Trek franchise and investing in executive producer and new Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman.
According to Variety, the studio has signed Kurtzman to a five-year deal to supervise the expansion of the Star Trek franchise, which is rumored to include two limited series, a series set at Starfleet Academy, and an animated series.
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One of the miniseries is said to focus on Khan Noonien Singh, the main antagonist in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek Into Darkness. The Starfleet series is rumored to be in development from creators Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, who serve as co-showrunners for Marvel’s Runaways.
The details of the rest of the projects are being kept quiet, but it is exciting that so many new Star Trek related projects are in development or being planned within the next five years.
Kurtzman is a great choice to organize these productions, especially as one of the only reliable members of the original Star Trek: Discovery production team.
There’s no doubt that he’s been able to effectively blend the styles of new Star Trek with classic Star Trek, and with the right production team behind him, these projects could herald a new golden age for Star Trek.
I said in my last article that based on the creative troubles experienced by Star Trek: Discovery that I could only foresee the series lasting up to season three. I am more than happy to be proven wrong, especially regarding the foresight and creative vision of CBS Television Studios.
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While I do have my reservations about the relative superficiality of Kurtzman’s Star Trek, I have been a big fan of his other projects in the past. After all, this is the same man who was a writer/producer for my beloved Fringe.
I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.