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Star Trek: Discovery’s Pike & Spock Spinoff Series Officially Happening
CBS has officially signed off on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a new TV show starring Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. Star Trek has proved a hit for CBS All Access, with consistent reports of record subscribers and downloads. The flagship show has been Star Trek: Discovery, initially set years before the adventures of Captain Kirk.
Star Trek: Discovery season 2 saw the crew of the USS Discovery partner with some legendary figures from Star Trek history. Mount played Captain Pike, Kirk's predecessor on the bridge of the Enterprise; Peck portrayed a younger version of Spock; and Romjin played Number One, a character seen in the original Star Trek pilot in 1965. All three were praised for their performances, and there's been sustained demand from the fanbase for a new spinoff starring them.
It seems CBS has decided to give Star Trek fans exactly what they wanted. CBS All Access has ordered a new series called Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It will chart the adventures of the USS Enterprise a decade before Kirk took command, starring Mount, Peck, and Romjin as the main bridge crew. "Fans fell in love with Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck’s portrayals of these iconic characters when they were first introduced on Star Trek: Discovery last season," said Julie McNamara, executive vice president and head of programming at CBS All Access. "This new series will be a perfect complement to the franchise, bringing a whole new perspective and series of adventures to Star Trek."
The title, of course, is lifted straight from the classic series' introduction. Akiva Goldsman will serve as executive producer alongside Henry Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. Goldman was already written the series premiere, working with Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. "When we said we heard the fans’ outpouring of love for Pike, Number One and Spock when they boarded Star Trek: Discovery last season, we meant it," Kurtzman observed in an official statement. "These iconic characters have a deep history in Star Trek canon, yet so much of their stories have yet to be told. With Akiva and Henry at the helm, the Enterprise, its crew and its fans are in for an extraordinary journey to new frontiers in the Star Trek universe."
As exciting as this show may be, the writers will have to tread carefully. After all, the show stars a younger Spock, so the series will have to ensure the character arc leads effectively into his role in the classic series. Meanwhile, whatever strange new worlds the Enterprise finds, they will need to be seamlessly integrated into the canon. The first season of Star Trek: Discovery was heavily criticized for introducing new technology that seemed anachronous when compared to the original series, and season 2 had to go to great lengths to fix that problem, literally stripping advanced holo-technology from the Enterprise. It's going to be fascinating to see how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fits into the lore.
