The team behind the 1999 Star Trek-themed comedy Free Enterprise have developed a TV series prequel to the movie and are looking to the fans to help fund the pilot. The Kickstarter campaign debuted today with more info on the show set to be announced this Friday at Comic-Con. See below for the first details on this exciting new project.

Free Enterprise TV Pilot Kickstarter

Today a Kickstarter campaign debuted for a new TV series based on the cult film Free Enterprise, the 1999 Star Trek-themed comedy that tells the tale of two geeky adults seeking advice from their childhood sci-fi hero, William Shatner. The new TV pilot project, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of its namesake, has brought along the original team from Free Enterprise, including writer/producer Mark A. Altman and director/writer Robert Meyer Burnett but features an all-new cast of characters and a band of nerd-celebrities that our heroes will encounter in their travels. Say the show runners, “the Free Enterprise-based TV series will have you loving long and partying like it’s 1999.”



‘Free Enterprise: The TV Series’ Kickstarter promo with scenes 1999 "Free Enterprise" movie

Free Enterprise: The Television Series (working title) will be a prequel to the story from the 1999 film Free Enterprise. As such, there will be new actors in the roles of main characters Mark and Robert along with a new cast of characters. William Shatner isn’t currently written into the pilot but Altman paraphrases a certain Vulcan when saying "there are always possibilities" regarding his involvement in the project going forward.

The TV pilot’s Kickstarter campaign launched today and has until Wednesday, August 20th (that’s just 28 days away!) to solicit their goal of $225,000. The goal is to produce a pilot and shop it around to various outlets to get a series picked up as a sort of "Entourage for geeks." If they can raise more funds, then the project’s stretch goal would be to produce multiple episodes for TV broadcast and future DVD release, plus to afford to bring in bigger stars, more locations and more visual effects. If they meet their goal, shooting would start this fall. Even if all that doesn’t work out the pilot would be made available on DVD, streaming and digital download.

“We are so excited about the opportunity to revisit this universe we first created 15 years ago, says series producer Mark A. Altman. “We’re looking forward to spreading the word about this campaign during San Diego Comic-Con and at the Las Vegas Creation Star Trek event the following week as well and show fans how they can be a part of bringing this project to life.”



The heroes of the 1999 Free Enterprise film get advice from their hero, the Shat himself

Backers are enticed to donate with some pretty sweet rewards, ranging from T-shirts to autographed posters to a chance to appear in the TV pilot itself. According to the show runners, some truly special additions to the backer rewards will be announced later this week, so be sure to check back!

Joining the Free Enterprise: The TV Series team will be Emmy Award-winning comedy director (and Free Enterprise fan) David Rogers, who has worked on Seinfeld, The Office, and is currently a producer and director on Fox’s critically acclaimed The Mindy Project. Adds series producer David E. Williams, “For over a decade, fans have demanded a sequel to Free Enterprise. This is your chance to see the Free Enterprise universe return to screens… and only you can make it so!”



Free Enterprise TV Pilot director David Rogers on the set of The Office

More Details At Comic-Con and Star Trek Las Vegas Con

Supporting roles and actors to fill them will be announced soon. More details about the story, characters, and even new Kickstarter rewards will be announced at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con alongside the debut of the TV series’ teaser trailer.

The filmmakers will be making appearances at the GEEK Magazine booth at Comic-Con (Booth #4437) and also participating in a 15th anniversary “Free Enterprise” reunion panel, moderated by Access Hollywood chief film critic, Scott Mantz. The panel will take place on Friday, July 25th at 3:30 PM in Room 24ABC with a screening of the 1999 film in the Marina Ballroom at 8:15 PM that night.

What about Free Enterprise 2?

Some fans may remember reports of a sequel film to the original Free Enterprise. According to Altman the TV series prequel and the sequel movie (working title "Free Enterprise: The Wrath of Shatner") are unrelated and can co-exist. In fact, the team believe that getting the TV show going will increase the chances of the feature film getting made as well. They are still hoping to get that movie (which would include a substantial role for William Shatner) made by 2016 – in time for the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek.



