Trek's back! New Star Trek TV series to premiere in January 2017

New Star Trek TV series
Will it be the new alternate timeline?

So the most exciting TV news of the day is hands-down the news that a brand new Star Trek TV series is in the works.

It was originally broken by Hollywood Reporter, claiming that Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness producer, Alex Kurtzman, was helming the project and looking for a writer. Then CBS announced the official news that CBS Television Studios is creating the show for its on-demand platform and networks around the world.

So now we know that, come January 2017, we'll have a brand new Star Trek crew to love/hate.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise, so it's a bit of a shame the new show will miss that window, but the very fact it's coming back to the small screen makes our sci-fi lovin' hearts leap with joy.

Five year mission?

There's no real news though about who the characters are, or what their mission might be. Given the Hollywood Reporter piece stating Kurtzman is still looking for a writer, that's probably not that surprising.

The official line though is that the new series will feature new characters "seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilisations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966."

The most interesting part of this, though, is when the series will be set and what it's going to treat as canon.

With the 2009 Star Trek movie skewing off on a new alternate timeline will the TV series follow that, replacing the extensive canon created by the other shows? We're not sure if we can cope with a Star Trek series which could write Picard out of existence…

It is stated though the series is not related to the upcoming Star Trek Beyond film coming out next year, but given it's going to have different characters that doesn't preclude it from being part of the same timeline.

We can't wait to find out.