Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry to produce new Star Trek series. He will join the creative team behind the upcoming CBS revival of the storied science fiction show.
Roddenberry is familiar to Trekkies as the son of Gene Roddenberry, the beloved creator of the original 1960’s Star Trek series. Some 20 years after the program’s cancellation, the late Roddenberry managed to make a sequel series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which went on to run even longer than the original and spawned three spin-off programs. It is this success that Rod Roddenberry and CBS hope to replicate with their own attempt at reviving the sci-fi franchise for television.
The production team appears optimistic about the project, with showrunner Bryan Fuller welcoming the addition of Roddenberry to it’s ranks as well as potential input he could give so that the show remains faithful to his father’s vision. CBS has yet to say whether or not the program will tie-in to the new Star Trek films directed by J.J. Abrams:
Roddenberry Entertainment, the production company Gene Roddenberry created in 1967, will also co-produce the new “Star Trek” television series alongside CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout and Living Dead Guy Productions.
The new series will launch with a special preview broadcast on the CBS television network in early 2017. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service. The new “Star Trek” series marks the first original series developed for CBS All Access.
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