This past weekend brought the news we’d all been waiting for – industry legend Patrick Stewart is all set to reprise as Jean-Luc Picard for the first time since 2002, when The Next Generation was nearing its end.
But a new era of Star Trek awaits, and Stewart’s on-screen hero has been thrust into the center of a new story from Alex Kurtzman, co-creator/executive producer of the ongoing Discovery series at CBS. Little is known about what he has planned for Picard’s next steps, but if one thing’s for certain, it’s that the network is showing no signs of slowing down and intends on bringing us as much Trek content as we can handle.
Or at least, it certainly seems that way, as we’re now hearing that in addition to everything else they’ve got on their plate, CBS is also discussing putting some Star Trek: Discovery spinoffs into development. Specifically, shows for Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou, “the former ruler of the Terran Empire in the Mirror universe who ended up coming to the prime timeline and joining Section 31,” and Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd, “the cosmic con artist and scoundrel who’s also oddly lovable.”
Speaking with Deadline, here’s what EVP of Original Content Julie McNamara had to say:
“We’ve really talked about virtually all of the characters who popped in Discovery as potential spin-off shows. It’s obviously very much driven by our conversations with Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout and the other creators involved. I wouldn’t say at this point that we are actively pursuing a Michelle Yeoh series but it has been discussed.”
As for Mudd, she said:
“He definitely falls in that category of it could be interesting to build around this character. But, I will say, it hasn’t progressed any further than that.
Meanwhile, CBS TV Studios President David Stapf added:
“I think what you are asking is are we incubating things potentially, and the answer is yes and no. There’s not a grand design of ‘lets plant a Rainn idea and see how that does.’ It’s more Secret Hideout and the rest of the Trek brain trust coming to us and saying, ‘we think this would be really cool, story-wise, character-wise.’”
So, it seems like nothing’s set in stone just yet, but CBS is clearly looking to expand the universe and spinoffs of Star Trek: Discovery almost seem like a no-brainer at this point, given how well it’s been received by critics and audiences alike. Not to mention that Mudd, in particular, could definitely hold his own show. Wouldn’t you say?