CBS and Star Trek could possibly be with Alex Kurtzman and Bad Robot for the next six years at least if things go according to plan.
Whether you like or dislike Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout’s involvement in the Star Trek universe, they could be around for a bit longer; say at least six years? In television, plans can always change at a drop of a hat (GLOW and Stumptown being canceled being just two examples), so there’s no guarantee that Kurtzman and Star Trek will get six years more work from CBS. Something Kurtzman notes, that it’s not set in stone.
Meaning things can change.
If it doesn’t change, Kurtzman is telling fans that they have the next six years’ worth of potential content mapped out. Talking to the TV Top 5 podcast, Kurtzman went on to share that exact thought.
"Heather Kadin and Aaron Baiers, who work with me at Secret Hideout, we literally just got off a call before this with the network mapping out with us through 2027. When I say that, it’s not like it’s set in stone, it’s just “okay here’s a plan, here’s what we’re looking, here’s how the different shows are going to drop.” Consider the that it takes a year from start of production to airing, so you have to plan way way in advance to get these things done and you have to stay on top of the zeitgeist and make sure what you’re doing is relevant."
It needs to be reiterated, that this is not a statement of what will happen. Some headlines are misreporting that. They’re also stating that Discovery is getting more seasons, that’s not at all true, yet. What Kurtzman said is that there are more stories within the series of Discovery beyond a season three. Not that season four is happening.
"I’m going to say in all honesty there are years and years left on Discovery. I think that because, first of all, you know Star Trek, in general, has a long history of going seven seasons minimum, and we just jumped into the future, and in a way, it’s not that it’s a brand new show, but it’s a whole new set of variables with a whole new set of ideas and stories. I don’t think we limit ourselves to thinking, “Oh we’re capped at this place.” I’ll tell you that when the show starts to feel too stale to us, we’ll be rallying to stop it. But for now, it doesn’t feel like we are running into a shortage of stories."
It’s important to note what’s said and how it’s said. This isn’t a declaration that Discovery is getting seven seasons, only that the folks at Bad Robot could have seven seasons of ideas.
This also isn’t meant to claim that Discovery isn’t getting a fourth season. It’s merely an attempt to put out facts and not bad headlines.