Among the most intriguingStar Trekreveals at San Diego Comic-Con was thatDear White Peoplewriter/directorJustin SimienandStar Trek: Lower Decks' actress andStarfleet AcademywriterTawny Newsomeare working on a new half-hour, live-actionTrekcomedy. Collider’sChristina Radishrecently sat down with Simien for his new docuseriesHollywood Blackand managed to get some fascinating new tidbits of information on the as-yet-unnamed series.
Simien talked about his early experiences withStar Trek, how it informed his best-known work, the 2014 filmDear White People, and itsspin-off TV seriesof the same name, as well as how he came to collaborate with Newsome on the new series. “Star Trekhas always been there for me. It might seem weird, but especially when you’re looking at the last season ofDear White People,Dear White Peopleis such an ode toStar Trek: The Next Generation,” Simien explained. He went on to reveal howTNGtaught him a lot about the formatting of a television series.
“My fandom as a kid wasX-MenandStar Trek,” said Simien. “You couldn’t tell me anything else was important in the world, butStar Treka little bit more because it’s live-action and I learned the earliest roots of how I might write something in that. And when I was going to makeDear White People, it was like, ‘Oh, I do have permission to have a central character, but then to go off on adventures with other characters. I do have permission to not play the plot, every single episode. I do have permission to make the audience encounter paradox and encounter really difficult truths that require lots of different opinions to come together’,” he explained. “It really taught me some of those fundamentals.”
Simien continued, explaining his long-standing relationship with the franchise and explained how he and Newsome developed the new show together.
“Of course, there’s a lot of references to Star Trek in Dear White People because Lionel, who is sometimes my surrogate, is a Trekker, and he is harassed or celebrated depending on who he’s around. So, it was already there. I’d done some fan podcasts because I was a huge fan ofDiscovery. There was a call that went out for who’s interested in maybe developing a Star Trek half-hour, and I came in with a pitch. And Tawny Newsome, who I was just getting to know then, also had some ideas. We just got together and got along like a house on fire and refined that pitch, and the Star Trek people really loved it. And so, now we’re developing it.”
Could the New Star Trek Sitcom Air on Network Television?
Simien also spoke about what would distinguish the first “sitcom” style Star Trek show from its predecessors, saying: “I think the goal of any new Trek should be, of course, to take the franchise in a slightly different direction because why else would you need a new show unless it was doing something a little different? But also, find maybe a new novel way to actually honor what Star Trek has always been.” Simien is a tried and trueStar Trekfan making him a perfect fit to bring a new series like this to life. He told Collider:
“I really am a Trekker. I have seen everything multiple times. To me, the task here is, yeah, how do I distill what I feel is the heart of Star Trek, which is people with all of these differences finding a way to advance, and to do so with love and integrity for each other, without breaking each other down. How could you not respond to that message? But how can I say that in a totally different way and honor all the little bells and whistles that make it feel like Star Trek, and be funny. That’s the other thing, Tawny and I really bonded over this. Some of our favorite episodes are the sitcom, workplace comedies in disguise episodes, particularlyDeep Space Nine, particularly mid to late TNG. That was our sweet spot of inspiration, with the tone of those more comic episodes. Without saying anything specific, that’s the sandbox we’re playing in.”
He went on to discuss his relationship with CBS and Paramount+ executives and withStar Trek’s streaming impresarioAlex Kurtzman. Simien also raised the possibility that the series might end up on network TV, a first since the cancelation ofEnterprisein 2005, outside ofDisvovery’s polite episode. He explained:
“Well, I don’t know exactly where the show will land. That hasn’t quite been figured out yet. But I don’t notice a difference. They’re all pretty interesting spaces to work in, at this time, in our industry’s evolution. I haven’t noticed a difference yet. All I’ve gotten from the CBS and the Paramount people so far, though, has been incredibly encouraging, shockingly encouraging. I’ll read an email over and over again to look for the other shoe dropping. They’ve been really into what we’ve been talking to them about. So far, so good. And Alex Kurtzman is also a big part of that, too. He’s a big papa. He loves to put together teams of just really good people who also happen to have talent. He’s a great protector of artistic vision. It’s been really great so far, I’ve gotta say. I can’t complain.”
As far as the timeline for the show’s production goes, Simien reveals that he and Newsome are currently planning out the pilot, and that everything will follow from there. Regarding filming and casting, he told Collider, “That’s the part that’s not up to me. I don’t know.” It sounds like its still early days for the new series, as Simien explained that all eyes are on another new series at the moment. “I know that right now, they’re in the throes ofStarfleet Academy, and Tawny isa writer on that show. And so, I’m assuming that probably has to happen before we can get going, but I really don’t know,” he explained. “We are still in early stages. We are still refining what a pilot might be. It’s maybe too soon to tell, but I’m hopeful that it’s not gonna be years from now. We’ll see.”
What Do We Know About Simien and Newsome’s New ‘Star Trek’ Show?
So far, we know little else about the series, which will be co-written by Newsome and Simien as a live-action, half-hour comedy — a first for theStar Trekfranchise. The venerable science fiction property only released its first-ever comedy-focused series in 2020 in the form of the animatedLower Decks, which will be ending withits fifth seasonthis fall. The logline for the series states that it will take place on a gleaming resort planet, where the staff members discover that their exploits are being broadcast to the entire quadrant as a form of futuristic reality TV.
The resort planet may be the vacation world Risa, which first appeared in theNext Generationepisode “Captain’s Holiday.” A series focusing on characters who are not part of theFederationor Starfleet would also be a first forStar Trek; the aforementionedDeep Space Ninedid have a number of characters who were not part of the Federation, including avaricious Ferengi bartender Quark and officious Changeling security director Odo, but the show was still led by its Starfleet characters.
OtherStar Trekreveals coming out of SDCC included newteasers for the streaming-originalSection 31movieand the fifth season ofLower Decks, a new clip from the third season ofStrange New Worlds, and the announcement of several actors joiningStarfleet Academy’s faculty, includingDiscovery’sTig NotaroandVoyager’sRobert Picardo.
Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome’s newStar Trekseries is still in development;no title, casting, or release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, you may stream most otherStar Trekshows on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
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