It’s currently being reported by the website Birth Movies Death that Bryan Fuller’s new Star Trek TV series will be an anthology program, with each season featuring a new cast and taking place in a new setting; it’s also being indicated that the first of these seasons, which will air in 2017, will be taking place prior to The Next Generation, but after The Undiscovered Country.

The report in question can be read here, and it’s got a few more details about the whole prospect. Although at this stage everything remains speculation, you can understand what would attract producers to this model; for example, it means that higher profile stars can be attracted to the project, because of the reduced time commitments. (Just look at True Detective, which has pioneered this anthology format; each year a new set of Hollywood movie stars star in this TV show.)

In any case, of course, I don’t really know much about the veracity of these details - but I’ve definitely got a few ideas for this series to explore… along with some pretty punny titles!

1). The Next Next Generation

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It’s something we’ve seen examined in the expanded universe, and briefly hinted at in JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek movie, but never onscreen - just what, exactly, happened following the events of Deep Space Nine?

We know, of course, that the galaxy was in a very changed state; Cardassia was being forced to rebuild, the Dominion had been beaten back, Bajor was on the verge of joining the Federation, etc. JJ Abrams’ movie established that Romulus was destroyed by a supernova in 2387, leaving one of the galaxy’s major political powers in an irrevocably changed position.

Beyond that, though, we know nothing - and there’s endless potential because of it. The stage is set; all we would need is for the story to begin.

2). Game of Qo’nos

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Something that always comes up when fans are discussing a new Star Trek show is one that’s focussed entirely on an alien race - most typically, it’s the Klingons that are suggested. (Though it’d be futile to resist a Borg show!)

Normally, of course, this wouldn’t quite be feasible; the high costs of makeup and so forth each episode to convincingly create a cast of Klingon regulars would normally be too high an expense for a long running series. But as a single season of an anthology program, the idea begins to look a little more possible…

The benefit of such a program is pretty clear; it’d be a unique opportunity to really delve into the culture of one of science fiction’s most famous alien races, with potential for some excellent, almost Shakespearean drama - after all, you’ve never truly experienced Shakespeare until you’ve read him in the original Klingon!

3). Fear The Walking Borg

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Of course, the Klingons aren’t the only iconic alien race that Star Trek has produced - right up there alongside them are the Borg, who are (for my money at least) certainly the scariest adversaries any intrepid Captain ever faced.

Voyager, in its years on the air, established that the Borg had a formidable presence in the Delta Quadrant - why not a season set there? It wouldn’t need much, if any, connection to the larger federation; we can see a group of ragtag refugees, fleeing from the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen.