Star Trek Picard has the execs at CBS all giddy with excitement as the Star Trek universe continues to grow with rumors of two new shows.
Star Trek: Picard is still a bit off from premiering but apparently CBS has high hopes for that series. Such high hopes that they’re already working on four new Star Trek series. Two of which are known about. There’s the in development Section 31 series, which will center around Michelle Yeoh’s character Philippa Georgiou, as well as the long-in-development Star Trek animated comedy.
Now, according to series runner Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin, there appear to be two more live-action shows in the works. What those shows are is anyone’s guess at the moment. The series will more than likely feature the same big-budget, super-polished special effects more akin to Star Wars, than past Star Trek series, which could prove to be a problem.
The big budgets are certainly not ideal for a series so steeped in stage-play acting, and the wiggle room for a profit is certainly non-existent with the streaming service. The merger with CBS and Viacom will more than likely put more emphasis on the streaming service than ever before, meaning that even if the service doesn’t hit X-amount of subscribers in X-amount of time, the network may not pull the plug on these heavily edited and super-expensive Trek shows.
Certainly, the success of the four shows will determine what, and even if these two new live-action shows get put in production. Much like Disney did with Star Wars, bloating the release slate only amplifies the need for each series to be a hit, and for each episode to live up to the hype of its predecessors. When you have such little time to breathe in between projects, fans carry over sentiments. So if one series ends disappointingly, the next might be with the same dower mood.
If it’s a success, same idea.
As Trek fans, everyone should pull for good products. The more quality Star Trek projects there are, the more unique and interesting stories there are to tell. That’s important in building back the fanbase that has kinda been forgotten about over the last decade and a half.