New Star Trek series in the works and surprise developments on other ST shows

There have been a lot of updates about the Star Trek franchise lately, with several exciting developments around an unexpected new series, as well as news about Section 31, a project we thought was shelved until now.

With the new mammoth deal signed between CBS Studios/Paramount + and Alex Kurtzman, he and his production company, Secret Hideout, are prolifically at work, expanding the vast universe that comprises Star Trek.

Kurtzman extended his exclusive TV deal with CBS to 2026, which currently encompasses five Star Trek series under Secret Hideout’s umbrella, including Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds. Discovery season 3 is slated to premiere later this year, with Picard season 2 and the new series Strange New Worlds both coming in 2022.

“Alex’s vision and leadership of the Star Trek franchise and his ability to create artistic and commercial series across all platforms put him in a special class of creative talent,” said George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS, George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS said in a statement. “His substantial accomplishments at CBS and the spirit of collaboration we enjoy with his team are greatly valued and we are excited to build on his already impressive slate far into the future.”

Riding on the back of Paramount’s critically acclaimed and hugely successful Star Trek: Lower Decks—whose second season is set to debut in just a week—and alongside the launch of another animated show aimed at a younger audience, Star Trek: Prodigy, it looks like we’ll now be getting a third series along the same vein, centered around the infamous Starfleet Academy.

Although rumored since 2018, the Starfleet Academy series wasn’t really on anyone’s radar and the mention of it in a recent New York Times article has caught many fans by surprise. Seeing the overwhelmingly positive response to Lower Decks, is it any wonder that Kurtzman and company want to expand the Trek universe with more animated content?

“I think we’re just getting started,” Alex Kurtzman said in the New York Times piece. “There’s just so much more to be had.”

With Kurtzman’s brief comment about Starfleet Academy being “aimed at a younger audience,” many have already speculated that we could be looking at a third Trek animated series to be developed by Secret Hideout. Lower Deck is hilarious, and Prodigy looks to be in capable hands with Vice Admiral Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) hologram and a motley crew of aliens. So why not further mine that well for fascinating content from Starfleet Academy?

Secret Hideout is showing no signs of slowing down and another juicy morsel to come out of the NYT article was also a surprise mention of Section 31, the series slated to follow the rogue defense organization first introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the antics of Emperor Philippa Georgiou, played by the awesomely divine Michelle Yeoh. Of all the series in development, this one is the most exciting for us. The more Georgiou we can get, the better!

Previously rumored to be shelved for now, it’s very exciting to see Section 31 back in conversation, with Kurtzman admitting that “Secret Hideout is in development on a Star Trek project based on Section 31, with Michelle Yeoh attached to star,” according to Geekspin.com.

When can we expect Star Trek: Section 31? That’s where it gets tricky.

Kurtzman and Paramount + chief of programming Julie McNamara indicated in an earlier interview this year that ideally, they would like to start a new Star Trek series as another one ends.

So that means perhaps Star Trek: Discovery will need to wrap up completely before Section 31 would hit TV screens. Or another series, such as Star Trek: Picard, which is slated for another three years.

The premiere of the fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery was announced to air sometime later this year.

Star Trek: Picard’s second season will pick up with an intriguing time jump, airing in 2022. And the highly anticipated Star Trek: Strange New Worlds—which just wrapped up filming last month (hurrah!)—will follow the adventures of Captain Pike (Anson Mount), young Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) coming our way in 2022 as well. Prodigy is expected to air sometime in the fall of this year.

That’s a lot of Trek to sink your teeth into, and for that we’re extremely grateful. Now how about that series pitched on Commander Worf?