By Star Trek: Discovery head Brian Fuller was on a roll at the CBS All-Access panel at the TCA Press Tour dropping bombs about the show that Trek fans have been desperate to learn. The biggest one is that the show is set ten years before TOS and will deal with an important historical moment in Star Trek history that’s been discussed, but never elaborated on.
The show will run for 13 episodes (more will be ordered if it is successful) and function more like a Netflix show where each episode is chapter in a novel, building the story and perfect for binge watching. It will have a major focus on diversity (as all Trek does) including a black female lead character and a wealth of extra alien crew members. No one has been cast yet, but Fuller did confirm that the lead character will not be a Captain, but a Lieutenant Commander instead. This means the focus of the show will be off the bridge, which is something that Fuller said was played out after six shows and a plethora of movies. “Lower Decks” is one of my favorite episodes of The Next Generation so I am absolutely fine with this idea.
Other small details are that there will be a gay character, the plot should bridge the gap between Enterprise and TOS, and that the Romulan War will not be involved, but Black Ops Section 3 could be.
To conclude, Fuller offered up an interesting quote about the design of the ship and teased that we might be pulling into some interesting timeline changes. It’s both concerning and interesting at the same time.
“Since we are doing this series in 2016, and all the other series have been produced in a timeline that isn’t as sophisticated as we are now in terms of what we can do production-wise, we’re going to be reestablishing an entire look for the series. Not only for the series, but for what we want to accomplish for Star Trek beyond the series. So we have to start early on with a touch point where people can understand and have access into it, show them how we’re reimagining Star Trek and then hold their hand as we pull them hopefully into iterations a lot of different timelines beyond what we have seen.”
