The new "Star Trek: Discovery" TV series will be coming next year, but it will not be told in the point of view of the captain. This time, events will unfold as seen by the crew, particularly that of the lieutenant commander. Moreover, the show will center on a female lead and will also feature a gay character.
"We've seen six series from the captain's point of view; to see a character from a different perspective on the starship - one who has a different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context," said writer-producer Bryan Fuller during the Television Critics Association press tour, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly.
He also confirmed that there will be a gay character in the upcoming series. He said that while working on "Star Trek: Voyager," he received a lot of hate mail when a rumor surfaced about a character being gay. He decided that, should he have a chance to work on his own "Star Trek" series, he'd definitely include a gay person.
The Hollywood Reporter also reported that the new series will have around seven lead characters.
The upcoming series is believed to have a serialized storyline since Fuller said that it would be like a 13-episode novel. It will center on a yet-unnamed female lead character who needs to learn to understand herself before being able to understand alien life. The event, he said, has not been seen before but was referenced somewhere in the history of Star Trek, close but not the Romulan War.
According to EW, "Discovery" will take place around 10 years before Captain Kirk embarks on his five-year mission, in the Prime Universe that follows the original timeline and not the reboot movies. The first season, the director said, will establish the new characters, and familiar ones might be presented in the second season.
Trekkies can expect robots and more aliens, but some hardcore fans may become upset at some changes that will be made.
"Star Trek: Discovery" will be aired in January 2017 on CBS All Access Network. According to EW, it will first premiere on CBS before being switched to the online streaming service.