Five ‘Star Trek’ Shows Aren’t Yet Peak Trek, Says Paramount Plus Exec

Jennifer Maas
·2 min read
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Paramount Plus is currently the home of five different “Star Trek” Universe TV series — “Discovery,” “Picard,” “Strange New Worlds,” “Prodigy” and “Lower Decks” — but its programming chiefs don’t believe the streamer has hit that Peak Trek threshold yet, with its Michelle Yeoh-led “Section 31” in the works and potentially other projects.

“Yes, we are still in development on ‘Section 31,’ so there will be more news on that soon,” Nicole Clemens, president of original scripted series at Paramount Plus, told reporters during an executive session alongside chief programming officer Tanya Giles at the Television Critics Association’s press tour Tuesday. “And two, the question about ‘critical mass’ on ‘Star Trek,’ I think we have some fantastic offerings in our always on slate,” in reference to “Star Trek” shows lined up back-to-back on the Paramount Plus rollout schedule.

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Clemens added: “And I think you may see a few more very curated additions coming.”

Back in February, Paramount Plus’ “Star Trek” universe chief Alex Kurtzman and then-Paramount Plus exec Julie McNamara told Variety there are still “conversations” about a new “Star Trek” series around Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou and the mysterious “Section 31,” and there are other “Trek” shows in development that haven’t been previously announced. But they emphasized that the current five-series slate will likely not expand further until at least one of the shows runs its course.

On a Paramount Plus’ virtual TCA panel for “Strange New Worlds” later Tuesday, Kurtzman said, “We have to think several years out. So we’re thinking about, you know, knowing that we’re going to want new shows on the air two or three years from now we have to start putting those now. So there’s a bunch of things in development that are now starting to take shape and we’re super excited about it.”

Kurtzman said he and his team are working on “Section 31” and another show he’s remaining tight-lipped about.

During the “Star Trek Day” fan event in September 2021, however, Kurtzman said he was “very excited” about the prospect of a “Starfleet Academy” TV series — which has been in development as early as June 2018, when Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout signed a five-year deal with CBS Television Studios to expand the “Trek” TV franchise.

Outside of the “Star Trek” Universe details doled out during the Paramount Plus presentations, Clemens side-stepped a non-Trekkie, but significant question from a reporter asking about the possibility that fellow subscription ViacomCBS brand Showtime could become rolled into Paramount Plus as a “tab” on the streamer: “I think we’re looking at all our options and seeing how it all evolves, but that’s all I can tell you right now.”

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