Set your phasers to fantastic. The Star Trek sci-fi franchise began life as a television series in 1966, but we've been without a small-screen version since "Star Trek: Enterprise" went off the air in 2005.
CBS Television Studios announced Monday it will bring the Trek universe full of intelligent aliens, starships and strange new worlds back to weekly life with a new series in 2017.
Information on the series first leaked out in scanty fashion through entertainment news sources, including Deadline and Hollywood Reporter. Producer Alex Kurtzman is known for his work on the rebooted Star Trek movies. He is now developing the television series. The Hollywood Reporter reports that a search for a writer is currently under way.
The show is scheduled to debut in 2017, so it will just miss the 2016 celebrations of the franchise's 50th anniversary. It will air with a premiere episode on CBS and then become available on CBS All Access, a US on-demand streaming-video platform that costs $5.99 per month. It will also be distributed through television and other platforms worldwide. (Disclosure: CNET is owned by CBS.)
Details are extremely scarce at the moment. "The brand-new 'Star Trek' will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966," CBS said.
The next feature film, "Star Trek Beyond," is scheduled to come out in summer 2016. The television series is "not related" to the movie.
As a long-time Star Trek fan, this news gets me giddy. The reboot films are enjoyable, but I have missed the opportunity to follow along with characters on a week-to-week basis. Here's hoping at least one character with pointy ears appears in the regular cast.