CBS’s flagship series, Star Trek: Discovery has been officially renewed for a third season and will promote writer Michelle Paradise to a showrunner.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Paradise will join Alex Kurtzman as a co-showrunner for the third season of the sci-fi show. Paradise previously served as a writer for the series for season two. She will be the third showrunner for Star Trek: Discovery. Bryan Fuller was the original showrunner. However, he was replaced by Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg before Discovery’s debut. Fuller would then replace Harberts and Berg in season two. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the duo were removed after ballooning costs for the season two premiere as well as reports of abuse that involved yelling expletives at the writers.
Kurtzman praised Paradise, “Michelle joined us midway through season two and energized the room with her ferocious knowledge of Trek.” He added, ” Her grasp of character and story detail, her drive and her focus have already become essential in ensuring the Trek legacy, and her fresh perspective always keeps us looking forward. I’m proud to say Michelle and I are officially running Star Trek: Discovery together.”
The announcement puts to rest rumors that the show would be cancelled at the end of season two. While the announcement for a third season was confirmed, no release date was made public.
Executive VP Originals at CBS All Access Julie McNamara described the success of Star Trek: Discovery, ““The massive success of Star Trek: Discovery‘s second- season launch exceeded our expectations in both driving subscriber growth and generating a phenomenal response from Star Trek fans.” She added, “With Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise at the helm, we look forward to continuing Star Trek: Discovery‘s journey, growing the Star Trek franchise on CBS All Access and bringing fans new Star Trek stories for many years to come.”
CBS announced the streaming platform, CBS All Access, had exceeded its subscriber goal two years early. They announced on February 14th, during their quarterly earnings call, that they reached 8 million subscribers. They subsequently announced a new goal of reaching 25 million subscribers by 2022. However, CNBC notes that their reported revenue was below expectations. It “reported revenue of $4.02 billion compared to $4.13 billion expected.”
CBS has announced a number of upcoming Star Trek projects including one focused on Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. They are also working on a Star Trek: Discovery spin-off starring Michelle Yeoh’s character. They are also working on an animated comedy Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan.
You can catch Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access in the United States and on Netflix around the world.