Star Trek is one of the most beloved TV franchises of all time, and fans have already gotten five live action series full of adventures into the final frontier that is outer space. A new series has been in the works for a while, but Star Trek: Discovery has had its premiere date pushed back several times already. It was originally slated to debut in January 2017, then was bumped to May 2017, then pushed back to an indeterminate date. Now, CBS chief Les Moonves has come out and revealed when we can finally expect Discovery to hit the airwaves, saying this:
Sometime late summer, early fall we're looking at probably right now. It's important to get it right, and Star Trek is the family jewels. We're not going to rush it in. There's a lot of post production. But I'm very confident based on what I've seen so far.
Well, it's not an exact date or time, but I'll take "late summer" or "early fall" over nothing at all, and it's easy to understand why Les Moonves erred on the side of caution during his chat at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (via Deadline). After disappointing Star Trek fans twice already by pushing back release dates, he probably doesn't want to give another precise month when there are still so many variables in play. Late summer/early fall means that Star Trek: Discovery will probably debut sometime between the end of August and the middle of October. The window of time gives Moonves and CBS some wiggle room in case they run into any big problems in production.
I'm sure many fans would rather have the Star Trek series sooner than late summer or early fall, but it sounds like CBS is going slow for all the right reasons. Star Trek: Discovery will be the first new Star Trek TV show since Enterprise went off the air back in 2005, and the pressure is on for Discovery to live up to the Star Trek legacy while still going in a brand new direction. CBS wants to get the show right from the very beginning, and getting it right evidently takes time.
Besides, Les Moonves' tease of "a lot of post production" means that CBS isn't skimping on the special effects for Star Trek: Discovery. Given that the series is heading to CBS All Access rather than CBS in primetime, there was always the chance that Discovery wouldn't get enough of a budget to really do any decent special effects. All signs now point to a well-constructed show with a solid special effects, and I know I'm willing to wait an extra few months if it means the best show that can possibly be produced.
Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule for a look at all the great shows you can watch during the wait for Star Trek: Discovery to make it to the small screen with its new cast of characters later this year.
