New 'Star Trek' TV Series Warps Into Action in 2017

"Star Trek" is coming back to TV in 2017 via CBS Television Studios. Here, the original Starship Enterprise model hangs in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. (Image credit: National Air and Space Museum)

Set phasers to thrilled. It's official, "Star Trek" is coming back to TV in 2017.

The folks at CBS Television Studios announced today (Nov. 2) that a new "Star Trek" series will launch in January 2017, with the premiere episode airing on CBS's television network. The rest of the episodes to the as-yet unnamed series will air first on CBS All Access, the studio's digital streaming arm. It will be the first new Trek TV series in 12 years, following the 2005 cancellation of "Star Trek: Enterprise."

"The brand-new 'Star Trek' will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966," CBS representatives wrote in today's announcement (opens in new tab).

Alex Kurtzman, a co-writer and producer on the Trek reboot films "Star Trek" (2009) and "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), will serve as executive producer of the new TV series alongside Heather Kadin. The series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman's company Secret Hideout, according to the announcement. [Related: Why We Love "Star Trek"]

"There is no better time to give Star Trek fans a new series than on the heels of the original show's 50th anniversary celebration," said CBS Television Studios President David Stapf said in the announcement. "Everyone here has great respect for this storied franchise, and we're excited to launch its next television chapter in the creative mind and skilled hands of Alex Kurtzman, someone who knows this world and its audience intimately."

Despite following "Star Trek Beyond," the new TV series will not be related to the upcoming movie, which will be distributed by Paramount Pictures next summer.

First-run episodes of the new Trek series will be available exclusively on CBS All Access, a digital streaming service that requires a $5.99 per month membership. It will be CBS's first series developed specifically for the digital platform, according to CBS. The platform is currently streaming complete runs of all five Trek TV series to date.

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Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award (opens in new tab) for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast (opens in new tab) with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network (opens in new tab). To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab).