Discovery will start filming in Toronto next week. However — and this is the other significant development — the series is no longer going to premiere in May as previously announced. This is the second time the show’s debut date has changed. But while certain creative and production issues were a factor when Discovery was originally pushed from February to May, we’re hearing lately the drama is on track under new showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts.
This switch has a few reasons behind it, a key one is that recently cast star Sonequa Martin-Green is on AMC’s mega-hit The Walking Dead, which is airing its current season through April. There’s a concern about marketplace confusion if CBS were to ramp up promoting her as the star of a new sci-fi show while her horror hit is currently on the air. The other reason is there’s still a lot of careful deliberation continuing to go into making Discovery special, from the choice of directors, to set design, to the special effects. While May would have been a strong premiere month for the project since Discovery will launch on the CBS broadcast network before moving to the streaming service (May is a ratings surge month), given that Discovery will normally live on All-Access there’s no pressure to fill a specific time slot.
