Something has been hanging over everyone’s head ever since the show was first announced: when exactly is the new “Star Trek: Discovery” series going to premiere? It’s no surprise that this question is being asked. The production of the first “Star Trek” TV series in over a decade has been plagued with a lot of delays. Not even the recent release of a trailer last month could put to rest any worries about when the long overdue show would start on Cbs All Access. Just as it seems that one more month will pass without word, a ray of light has been shone on the big question.
Official word now has it that “Star Trek: Discovery” will begin in three months from now.
Twice delayed start
The countdown can finally begin for Trekkies everywhere as CBS announced that the long-awaited “Star Trek: Discovery” will premiere on their network this coming September, the traditional starting month of all TV “Trek”. However, only the first episode will air on free TV. The rest of the series’ first season will be available only on CBS’ subscription-only All Access on-demand video service. So anybody who wants to see more will have to pay up a $5.99 monthly subscription to watch more of the latest “Star Trek” show.
Only 15 episodes will comprise the inaugural season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” and it will be divided into two halves called “chapters.” The first chapter is made up of the first eight episodes.
These will be released two episodes at a time on CBS All Access, every Sunday from September to November. The series will then take a hiatus common to many seasonal TV series' today. The remaining seven episodes will be released in the same manner starting in January 2018. “Discovery” starts on CBS 50 years after the premiere on NBC of the original 1966 series that starred William Shatner and the late Leonard Nimoy.
Another prequel show
To say that Trekkies have been waiting for this show for a long time is an understatement. A number of them have not been entirely satisfied with the prequel series “Star Trek: Enterprise” from 2001, and hope that this new prequel, taking place only one decade before the start of the Original Series, will feel a little bit more familiar in setting than the distant beginning of “Enterprise”.
Another element of “Star Trek: Discovery” that has fans curious is the fact that the main character, First Officer Michael Burnham (Sosqueda Martin-Green, “The Walking Dead”), is not the titular starship’s captain.
“Star Trek: Discovery” also stars Michelle Yeoh, Terry Serpico, James Frain, Doug Jones, Jason Isaacs, Rekha Sharma and Kenneth Mitchell. It will premiere its first episode on CBS September 24, before becoming exclusively available on CBS All Access.
