It is being reported that a second Star trek animated series in currently in the works, this one kid-friendly and might not air on CBS All Access.
Bring up the subject of Star Trek: The Animated Series to any group of older Trek fans and you will no doubt get some smiles and fond memories. The series ran for two seasons in the early 1970s and has always been considered the unofficial “fourth” season of Star Trek.
Those good feelings are no doubt why Alex Kurtzman, who is leading the charge into this new era of all things Star Trek, decided to embrace animation once again. It was announced last October that the first animated Trek series in over 40 years would be Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Lower Decks would be a comedy of all things and would be developed by Rick and Morty‘s Mike McMahan. The CBS All Access series is going to focus on the support crew members who are assigned to one of Starfleet’s least important ships. And hilarity ensues.
But those who thought that Lower Decks was the end of Star Trek’s return to the world animation thought wrong.
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In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter Kurtzman revealed that there is a second animated series in the early stages of development. This second series would be kid-focused in what is obviously an attempt to draw a younger demographic into the world of Star Trek. To that end, Kurtzman also revealed that this new series may air somewhere other than CBS All Access.
"“There’s other animated things that we’re building that are an entirely different perspective and an entirely different tone [from Lower Decks]. What’s exciting about it is not only looking at each animated series as what’s the different tone, but what’s the different technology we can apply to these things so that visually they’re entirely different?”"
As for further details, your guess is as good as ours. Kurtzman didn’t drop so much as a hint as to the story, cast or where in the vast Trek timeline the series will be set.
Kurtzman also talked about his approach to expanding the Trek Universe on television.
"“Our goal is to not only expand the definition of Star Trek and what has qualified as traditional Star Trek, but also to tell stories that are both self-contained in a very short period of time that also connect to the larger picture of what we’re doing, not only in Discovery but in the world building of Trek in general, and you get to tell these very intimate, emotional stories that are side stories to characters. So you get the benefit of the experience in and of itself but then when you watch Discovery you’ll see that these were all setting up things in the world of season two.”"
A Star Trek series aimed squarely at kids is an idea that is long overdue. Unfortunately Trek always has had a bit of an image problem and can be seen as stodgy and something just watched by older people. The 2009 Star Trek reboot helped that image a bit but a kid-friendly series could do wonders to open that fanbase even further.
As more information concerning this second Star Trek animated series is released, you’ll be able to read all about it right here on Redshirts Always Die.