As the movie portion of the Star Trek franchise tries to figure out what to do next, its TV division could be toying with its most ambitious move yet. Is a Star Trek TV musical in the future? The future is where Star Trek tends to live, and while it has taken on many edgy angles, a musical one has been an elusive.
The person who could make that decision is the one who broached the possibility in the first place -- Alex Kurtzman. He is the one who has provided Star Trek fans updates on all of the projects happening in the TV universe. One of the more recent shows to emerge has been Star Trek: Short Treks. Asked about its future, Kurtzman provided hope for a musical iteration telling Gold Derby:
As a writer and as a storyteller, it's a real challenge to figure out how to have a beginning, a middle, and an end in a much more compressed period of time, and there's so many different forms that these shorts could take. I'd love to do a musical, for example. There’s so many other ways. I'd love to do one in black and white and figure out what that means. I can probably think of 50 different ways that we can tell stories, and 50 different crevices of the Star Trek universe to explore that may not be the right kinds of crevices for the larger shows. But I think we always think of the Short Treks as, these are the scenes that are just as important as what's going on in the main shows, but that you wouldn't actually have time for. These are the moments that you can drill down on. So I'd love to. I'd love nothing more.
A Star Trek musical is not the distant journey you may have thought, thanks to Star Trek: Short Treks. If it happens, Star Trek will join Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs (among other shows) in having musical installments despite not being TV musicals. Interestingly, the idea is getting discussed not too long after Data actor, Brent Spiner, posted a video showing off his grade-A vocal abilities.
Could a Star Trek: Short Treks musical be what draws Brent Spiner back to the franchise? He has said that he is not against returning, so that is good news. Whoever ends up doing it, Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman is thinking rather large for one of the franchise’s Emmy-nominated shows.
I have to say that musicals are not the first genre that comes to mind when it comes to Star Trek. However, there is a precedent for shows to push outside of their genre norms in order to embrace something very different. In a world where The Blacklist can do a partly animated finale, I say, why not?
Television is currently embracing an anything-goes round of ambition, and Trekkies may be into this idea. Star Trek: Short Treks could be just the outlet for such a daring attempt to get made in the franchise, because of the one-off nature of the stories. Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd was among those featured during the CBS All Access show’s first season, while Alita: Battle Angel’s Rosa Salazar appeared in the anthology series during its second.
It would be interesting to know who/if any stars Alex Kurtzman has in mind to sing their hearts out for a potential Star Trek musical. Enough is certainly going on in the Star Trek franchise to keep Kurtzman so preoccupied that he can't create his dream casting, though. The franchise is bustling, with new TV series frequently popping up.
Time will tell if and when a Star Trek musical enters the equation. For now, you can stream the first two seasons of Star Trek: Short Treks on CBS All Access. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Discovery is set to be one of this fall’s premieres. Season 3 is currently slated to premiere on Thursday, October 15, on CBS All Access at 3:01 a.m. ET.
