Bryan Fuller Hired as Star Trek Showrunner, Series Exists Outside Existing Mythology

Was a new Star Trek television show not enough to get you to pay for CBS All Access? What if that TV show has Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller showrunning?

Back in November of last year I shared with you news of the new Star Trek TV show coming to CBS by way of their streaming service. Initial reaction from some fans, myself included, was this was an annoying deal. But it seems CBS has just sweetened the pot.

Variety reports that Fuller, also currently showrunner of the American Gods adaptation for Starz and developing Amazing Stories for NBC, will co-create the CBS series. They note, “A longtime fan of science fiction, Fuller began his career writing for Star Trek: Voyager (1997-2001) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1997).”

“Bringing Star Trek back to television means returning it to its roots, and for years those roots flourished under Bryan’s devoted care,” said executive producer Alex Kurtzman. “His encyclopedic knowledge of Trek canon is surpassed only by his love for Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic future, a vision that continues to guide us as we explore strange new worlds.”

From the previous report we know “The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. 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.” CBS All Access costs $5.99 per month.

It was unclear from the initial report where this series would lead but Variety says, “The creative plan is for the series to introduce new characters and civilizations, existing outside of the mythology charted by previous series and the current movie franchises.”

I didn’t expect for the series to coincide with the current movie canon but I did expect for it to connect with the previous TV shows. For his part, Fuller couldn’t be happier.

“My very first experience of Star Trek is my oldest brother turning off all the lights in the house and flying his model of a D7 Class Klingon Battle Cruiser through the darkened halls. Before seeing a frame of the television series, the Star Trek universe lit my imagination on fire,” he said. “It is without exaggeration a dream come true to be crafting a brand new iteration of Star Trek with fellow franchise alum Alex Kurtzman and boldly going where no Star Trek series has gone before.”

Fuller definitely has me more excited for this new project than I was before, even if I am wary about dumping previous mythology. But I’m certainly excited for him from one Trekker to another. And he has said some great things about diversity in the past so here’s hoping this Star Trek series really goes the extra mile and gives us tons of that.

LOOKS LIKE THIS GUY’S GOING TO BOLDLY GO WITH THE NEW #STARTREK pic.twitter.com/TuOFrBrGpH — Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) February 9, 2016

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