In the same week that Star Trek: Discovery is launching Season 2, CBS All Access is confirming its plans to further expand the Star Trek franchise. The streaming service sounds like a broken record at this point, considering how many new Star Trek projects have gone into development, but this direct spinoff of Discovery is particularly noteworthy, with Michelle Yeoh's Mirror Philippa Georgiou officially getting a standalone series.
Rumors of this in-development project first surfaced in November, months after CBS All Access released an additional Star Trek: Discovery scene that showed the Terran Mirror Georgiou accepting a position with Starfleet's Section 31 division. The new series will tell the next chapter of Mirror Georgiou's story, and it will feature a "Black Ops" theme.
No release date has been secured for the exciting spinoff, but we do know that Yeoh's Georgiou is confirmed to return in Season 2 of Discovery. As such, we may not see her solo adventures until Season 2 is wrapped up.
No title exists for the drama just yet, but "Star Trek: Black Ops" feels about as fitting of a name as any, based on what is known about Section 31. The organization's general motto is to protect the interests of the Federation, even if doing so means compromising traditional Federation ethics and methods. Section 31's existence is often a secret known only to a few outside its own ranks, and their operatives answer to no one.
Basically, Section 31 is the perfect outfit for Mirror Georgiou, whose reign as Emperor of the Terran Empire showed she is fine with crossing moral boundaries that Starfleet wouldn't officially touch with a ten-foot pole. Georgiou can probably care less about maintaining Galactic peace, but her cooperation with Section 31 got her away from a bar in Klingon, and back into a role where she can do more than just "serve drinks."
As mentioned, Michelle Yeoh is confirmed to reprise her role as Mirror Georgiou in Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery. Of course, she's officially known in Starfleet as Phillipa Georgiou, in a move that helped exonerate Michael Burnham for her role in the former Captain's death. It's more likely than not that Georgiou's appearance on Discovery will give audiences a taste of what's to come in her own series, so interested parties should keep a watchful eye on her actions in particular.
Here's how Michelle Yeoh reacted to the news.
I'm so excited to continue telling these rich 'Star Trek' stories. Being a part of this universe and this character specifically has been such a joy for me to play. I can't wait to see where it all goes -- certainly I believe it will go 'where no WOMAN has ever gone before!'
The untitled Section 31 spinoff is just the latest in a long line of announced Star Trek projectss, all of which sound exciting. Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou spinoff joins the Jean Luc Picard sequel series, an animated comedy developed by the head writer of Rick and Morty, and a handful of rumored projects that are supposedly being developed in secret. In short, it's a great time to be a Star Trek fan, even if the film franchise isn't doing so hot.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery premieres on CBS All Access on Thursday, January 17, at 8:30 p.m. ET. For a look at all the television coming out in the first half of 2019, whether it be a returning favorite or something entirely new, visit our midseason premiere guide.
