Space, in the “Star Trek” universe, may be an alluring and infinite frontier, but time is a much rarer and more vexing commodity.

On this planet, swaths of time pass between installments of the “Star Trek” film franchise, and 12 years have elapsed since the last “Star Trek” television series ended. These projects have covered vast stretches of continuity — whole centuries of future history and countless days in characters’ lives — while their one- and two-hour time limits imposed tight storytelling constraints.

These are among the challenges that will be taken on by a new series, “Star Trek: Discovery,” whose first episode will be shown Sunday, Sept. 24, on CBS. Further episodes will be released on the network’s streaming service, CBS All Access.

Set a decade before the adventures of Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew of the original “Star Trek,” the new series embraces the narrative traditions of the serialized TV age. Its central story line plays out over a 15-episode season, and its characters can be morally ambiguous and untrustworthy to viewers as well as to one another.