CBS All Access is all in on Star Trek shows, and with William Shatner still around Hollywood, it's a question whether or not he'll be included in some of the shows. While that's up in the air, Shatner confirmed he wouldn't do a Captain Kirk continuation like Patrick Stewart is doing with Picard. Shatner explained that, even if a writing team were to work out how to resurrect Kirk post-Star Trek Generations, he wouldn't sign on.
That word, ‘resurrect.’ That’s a key word. Resurrect. You’d have to resurrect me, Shatner, in order to do the daily [laughs] -- I don't know what Patrick [Stewart] is doing doing that. Doing a series is debilitating for a young guy, for a 25-year-old, which I was doing when I was 25 years old. It’s a physical wrecker, it’s a mental wrecker, and it’s a homewrecker ‘cause you’re working 14, 18 hours a day. And in the last series I did, Boston Legal, I had, in rush hour, a two-hour commute. So add that. So no, I would not be interested in doing a series, per se, but I will be on the air in something this year in something I can’t tell you about right now, but you’ll hear about it soon, and maybe on two and maybe even three shows that’ll be on for 10, 12, 14 episodes.
William Shatner doesn't have it in him for another television series centered around Captain Kirk, unless of course replicators have been modified to work with living tissue. Until then, he's brushing off any talk of him doing anything long-term with the character in the Star Trek franchise. Considering the experience was so rough on him when he was a younger man, who can blame him?
While William Shatner told Comicbook.com he's not interested in doing a series, Star Trek fans shouldn't get discouraged that one of the franchise's most-celebrated Captains is quietly fading away. Shatner teased he has some television appearances on the horizon, although did not share specifics. Could one of them be Star Trek related?
It's possible, provided the commitments aren't all that time-consuming. Shatner has been consistent on that point over the years, to the point he's even stated he'd return to Star Trek as a red shirt just so he could die quickly and move on. Basically, if there's a Star Trek series looking to incorporate the legendary actor, find a way to get him on and off set as quickly as possible to increase the chances of him saying yes.
The Picard series is still in development, but Star Trek season is still in effect with new episodes of Star Trek: Discovery airing Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS All Access. For a look at what else is happening in television in the coming weeks, head on over to our midseason premiere guide.
