The original concept for the new Star Trek series was an American Horror Story-style anthology series. According to Alex Kurtzman, that’s still possible.
When Bryan Fuller was brought on to run the new Star Trek series in its seminal days, his original concept was an American Horror Story-style anthology series. This would have enabled the same cast to tell stories set in different times in the same universe. Imagine season one focusing on the Romulan War, season two dealing with the Cardassian occupation of Bajor (before the events of Deep Space Nine), and season three focusing on a post-Voyager universe.
That’s certainly enticing, but it’s not the route the creators of Star Trek: Discovery ended up taking. Rather than hop through the centuries with the same cast of actors, Discovery will tell an intricate story that spans throughout (at least) its first season.
Discovery executive producer Alex Kurtzman saw the appeal of the original idea, but at this point he can’t imagine discarding this story and moving on at the end of the season.
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"“It’s a cool idea, but at the same time, I’ve now fallen in love with the characters on this ship [Discovery],” Kurtzman said of the decision to reject the anthology format. “I like seeing them. I like being with them. And I wouldn’t necessarily want to throw them away at the end of the season for a new show."
However, he believes there is room for other Star Trek series in the future. Perhaps Nicholas Meyer’s rumored Khan origin story might be among them. Maybe even the anthology idea will return.
"“I would not want to limit our storytelling, especially given the topics that we’re bringing up this season. It’s not just one season’s worth of television. I think the idea might be that there are more Star Trek series [further down the line].”"
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If there are more Star Trek entries in the future, what era or story would you like to see them focus on?