Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman and Julie McNamara recently talked to The Hollywood Reporter and opened up on the possibility of more Star Trek coming to Paramount+ in the coming years. At current, Star Trek has five shows that are active by the end of 2021. Those shows are Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and eventually Prodigy.
Despite the fact that the Star Trek universe will go into 2022 with all of those shows being in production or actively airing, it’s hard to imagine that ViacomCBS would be so gung-ho with doing even more Star Trek properties, yet, that’s exactly what Kurtzman and McNamara told THR’s, Lesley Goldberg.
Not only are there more shows in the works, but many of them will continue to be different and cater to different audiences. While Star Trek’s boom period of the ’90s featured the shows relatively being similar, the Kurtzman era of Star Trek is anything but that.
McNamara went on to explain the mindset they have in creating new shows in the canon.
"We are in discussions about the next phase of the Trek universe beyond those five shows that Alex has built. We are invested in growing the universe of Star Trek. That said, it’s important to make sure that we are curating these properly. …There are multiple things in the hopper right now that represent that next phase but we don’t want to expand it too much, too fast to where anyone is ever saying, “It’s just another Trek show.” We don’t want that."
Kurtzman went on to talk about how each show needs to be different, something they’ve done very well in attempting. Even if not every fan loves the execution.
"Despite all appearances, we’re not interested in being in the quantity business. I don’t think that serves the Star Trek universe. We are interested in being in the quality business. It takes upwards of two years from inception to postproduction. Yes, we’ve thought beyond the five [shows]. Yes, we’re having conversations about what happens beyond the five. But we have to make sure we’re staying true to the way we’ve built the first five."
The desire to have a show for someone but not everyone is admirable, but it’s not a guaranteed idea to work. Star Trek did not help CBS All Access reach any sort of success, and while the Star Trek brand carries much viability still, it’s hard to say for how much longer. The CW went from doing animated side-shows about C-tier characters like Vixen to needing Superman himself on the network just to get people interested in their Arrowverse again.
Eventually, fans grow tired of things. Star Trek can only be Paramount+’s anchor for so long before it needs to be replaced. A process that will hasten faster with shows that Star Trek fans aren’t interested in. Strange New Worlds hopes to course-correct things, with promises of it being more akin to classic Trek. Yet, if it fails, fans won’t forget.