Alex Kurtzman Says He’s Proud Of Having Been Able “To Grow Star Trek Into Something It Had Never Been Before”
Spencer Baculi
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In case there was any doubt left in the minds of long time fans, current Star Trek head Alex Kurtzman has confirmed that one of his intentions in developing the franchise’s current slate of projects was “to grow Star Trek into something it had never been before.”
Source: Star Trek: Discovery | Season 4 Official Trailer | Paramount+, YouTube
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Kurtzman revealed this insight in honor of the January 18th announcement that nearly every currently in-production series in the ‘Star Trek Universe’ had been renewed for another respective season, including flagship series Star Trek: Discovery, the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, whose second season has been ordered months ahead of its May premiere.
“STAR TREK: DISCOVERY has been renewed for a fifth season. Season four of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY returns with new episodes on Thursday, Feb. 10,” read CBS’ official press release. “STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS has been renewed for a second season ahead of its season one debut, which will premiere on Thursday, May 5. Following the premiere, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays. STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS will return summer 2022 with a 10-episode-long third season. STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS has also been renewed for a 10-episode-long fourth season.”
Source: Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1 Episode 10 “No Small Parts” (2020), CBS All Access
While they did not receive renewal announcements, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Prodigy were confirmed to be currently developing their previously announced third and second-half-of-its-first seasons, respectively.
“Season two of STAR TREK: PICARD will premiere on Thursday, March 3. Following the premiere, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays. STAR TREK: PICARD is currently in production on a third season,” elaborated CBS.
“Season one of STAR TREK: PRODIGY returned on Thursday, Jan. 6 with episode six. The remaining four episodes of season one’s first half will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays, with episode 10 available to stream on Thursday, Feb. 3. The additional 10-episode-long second half of season one will be available on Paramount+ later in 2022,” ViacomCBS added.
Source: Meet The Cast Of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Paramount+ (2021)
Alongside this news, Kurtzman also released a statement wherein he excitedly told fans, “Four years ago, we made a promise to grow Star Trek into something it had never been before, and thanks to the incredibly hard work done by our many talented showrunners, writers, and directors, along with the extraordinary support of CBS Studios and Paramount+, we’re keeping our word.”
“Now our current shows are set up for the future as we work to build Trek’s’ next phase of programming for years to come,” he added.
Source: Star Trek: Discovery | Season 4 Official Trailer | Paramount+, YouTube
As noted above, even a cursory glance at the current state of the franchise’s media and public faces makes it readily apparent that Kurtzman has succeeded in transforming Star Trek into “something it had never been before.”
From the large-scale star ship battles more akin to something out of Star Wars than Star Trek seen in Discovery, to the placement of Jean-Luc Picard’s consciousness into a golem body that is more in-place with Dune, to the crude and lewd humor in Lower Decks, it’s never been more clear that the beloved sci-fi series has strayed further than ever from its curious and adventurous roots.
Source: Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 Episode 14 “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” (2019), Paramount Plus
Whether it can ever find its way home remains to be seen. At least for the foreseeable future, the outlook seems bleak.
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