While fans get ready for the upcoming release of Star Trek Beyond in theaters next month (RIP Anton Yelchin), They are also looking ahead, as any good Trekker does to the future, and the recently announced Star Trek TV series coming from CBS and showrunner Bryan Fuller. While most people know Fuller for shows like Pushing Daisies, Heroes, Hannibal, and Wonderfalls, he has a past with the franchise. He wrote two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and had a hand in over 20 episodes of Voyager.
Collider had a chance to chat with him about the new show, how m any episodes we could expect to see, the tone and more. Check out some of the highlights below:
What was it like being in the room and finding out you’re going to get the keys to the Lamborghini?
BRYAN FULLER: It’s interesting you say “Lamborghini” because we’re looking at a lot of race cars as inspiration for our starships. It’s wonderful. It’s surreal. I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be a Star Trek writer, so to be able to craft a new iteration of the show with new characters and a whole new adventure and whole new way of telling stories that you haven’t been able to tell on Star Trek is honorable and it’s a dream come true. It’s hard to articulate that.
Where are you in the writing process of the show?
FULLER: We’ve got the arc of the first season entirely written, or arced out, and we’ve got the first six episodes entirely broken.
Is it going to be 13 or 22 episodes?
FULLER: Thirteen.
I’m assuming this is going to be one story over thirteen episodes.
FULLER: Yes.
That’s a thing that excites me so much.
FULLER: Oh, good! Me too.
Because I’m imagining even CBS is saying “We need something that can stream 13 episodes”.
FULLER: And there are 762 episodes of Star Trek television, so over six episodes we have to tell stories differently than they’ve been told for fifty years
Star Trek has never filmed certain subject material because it was filmed at a time when showing a gay character or showing certain kinds of characters was frowned on. What I’m so looking forward to is to see you guys be so progressive and all-inclusive. Are you looking at it that way?
FULLER: Absolutely. I think the progressive audience that loves Star Trek will be happy that we’re continuing that tradition.
One of the things I love about TV is you can really go hardcore sci-fi because you’re not trying to hit four quadrants.
FULLER: Right, right. And because we’re CBS All Access, we’re not subject to network broadcast standards and practices. It will likely affect us more in terms of what we can do graphically, but Star Trek’s not necessarily a universe where I want to hear a lot of profanity, either.
What are they thinking about the show at the network?
FULLER: When I first sat down with them, it was “Do you have a plan of what you want to do?” And they said, “No,” and I said, “I have a plan,” and we started talking. And it was wonderful to be working with Alex Kurtzman, who I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and who’s such an elegant storyteller and crafting a story with him that ties in so many elements of Star Trek that I think people will be really excited about because you can look at the original series and pick out episodes we’re using the DNA of and using the spirit of what Star Trek offers, both in terms of high-concept science fiction storytelling and really wonderful metaphors for the human condition.