'Star Trek' Animated Comedy Spinoff 'Lower Decks' Coming to CBS All Access From 'Rick and Morty' Writer

Dave Nemetz
Updated

Do you love Star Trek, but wish it could be a little more hilarious? Oh, and animated, too? Well, your wish is arriving at warp speed.

CBS All Access has handed a two-season series order to Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated comedy spinoff of the classic sci-fi franchise, TVLine has learned. The new series, developed by Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan, “will focus on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships,” according to the official description.

“Mike won our hearts with his first sentence: ‘I want to do a show about the people who put the yellow cartridge in the food replicator so a banana can come out the other end,'” executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who also serves as showrunner of Star Trek: Discovery, said in a statement. “His cat’s name is Riker. His son’s name is Sagan. The man is committed.”

“As a life-long Trekkie, it’s a surreal and wonderful dream come true to be a part of this new era of Star Trek,” McMahan added. “While Star Trek: Lower Decks is a half-hour, animated show at its core, it’s undeniably Trek — and I promise not to add an episode at the very end that reveals the whole thing took place in a training program.”

CBS All Access is also home to Star Trek: Discovery, returning for Season 2 in January (with Ethan Peck joining the cast as Spock), and the short-film offshoot Star Trek: Short Treks, which debuted earlier this month. Plus, Patrick Stewart has signed on to reprise his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in an untitled Trek series currently in the works for the streaming service.

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