https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...-viacom-comedy-central-mtv-paramount-pictures Wasn't sure what forum to post this in (assuming it hasn't been posted already). Trek is going to be under one roof again. Things don't have to be 25% different any longer!
I'm definitely not up on industry politics and business...what exactly do people think this means for Star Trek?
With the TV half and movie half of the franchise reunited they can now work together under one roof. Granted they haven't been completely separate. The Spock/Romulan events of Trek '09 are informing Picard for example. By far the biggest thing is that now that CBS All Access is going to be infused with the Paramount/Viacom library they can finally take their streaming service worldwide. Which means that Star Trek (a franchise that's mostly popular here in the States and doesn't do that well in the international box office) can now be given a big push overseas just as the franchise is beginning to expand. Basically there's now a real possibility that Discovery/Picard/Lower Decks/TarantinoTrek can do for Star Trek what NuWho/Torchwood/The Sarah Jane Adventures did for Doctor Who: Take a franchise that's popular in its home country but niche/culty worldwide and turn it into a mainstream international hit. Knock on wood, we're about to get a fuck ton of Star Trek for years to come.
More cohesion between Trek's movie and TV divisions most likely, and a greater chance for crossovers between them. But otherwise, not really a whole lot, IMO. From a behind-the-scenes perspective, it's probably more of a big deal that the two houses have gotten their act back together.
As OCD Geek said, the likely result is that CBS All Access will be (after a rename/rebrand) expanded to include the Viacom/Paramount back catalog - likely with little to no increase in price. From a Trek perspective, this is a great thing. CBS All Access was such a minor player in terms of total studio value compared to the other big players already on the scene (like Netflix) and the ones soon to enter (like Disney) that it was almost foreordained it was going to lose the streaming wars - either folding up or being bought by another studio. Now it has a fighting chance - particularly if they go after Sony Pictures and Discovery Communications, which is what the executives are indicating.
I wonder if CBS All Access will become like Vue or Youtube TV and get the viacom networks on there. That will really help sell the Nick Star Trek show to people who cut the cord and can't find Nickolodeon anywhere. Also, with Trek reuniting under one roof there might be more freedoms as to what can be shown, maybe even a Discovery/Kelvin crossover or something (Unlikely but just as an example). Maybe we might even get a Kelvin universe TV series.
Star Trek: The New Animated Series gets the honor of being an official Nicktoon rather than just a third-party acquisition.
Paramount has their own streaming app they develop content for; Paramount Television, or the Paramount Network, whatever it's called. I wonder if it would be folded into CBS All Access or vice-versa. Or hell, do both platforms merge to become something totally new? I also wonder how this effects future Star Trek film development. Not that it would happen, but, theoretically, this would mean that Paramount could develop a Star Trek film focused on Pike and utilize Anson Mount as the lead.
Trek could become an MCU as far having cohesion between its film and TV properties. Of course, it did that back in the 90s, but, they're now in a position to do that again.
It won’t. The look of Discovery’s production design has everything to do with appealing to a younger audience streaming content in this era. However, there are those that believe that these new designs were mandated by some need to legally differentiate them from what came before. That theory is untrue (that’s NOT how this business works), and is mostly perpetuated by people unable or unwilling to accept that new productions may look different simply because they are made by new people for new fans. -End-Of-Line John
And that’s NOT a “Thing” either. LOL CBS owns the franchise. Outright. There’s never been a requirement for ANYTHING to be or look 25% different ever. That’s not how licensing works and I work for a company with a license for Star Trek products. I swear on the memory of every dollar Gene ever collected from Star Trek, that is nothing more than a stupid conspiracy theory (and a dumb one at that). John
If you're not being sarcastic here, than no. This won't change anything, because they weren't changed because of anything connected to this.
Unlike in the past, I don't really see a reason for any Trek film to exist in this climate of media. Back then the TOS and TNG films were essentially reunion specials with theatrical movie budgets. That was part of the allure of seeing a Trek film, revisiting old characters you used to watch on TV. The Kelvin films were made because that was all Viacom could do as they could no longer produce a TV series. Now that the TV division is back under one roof, there's little reason to do a movie at all. Television has drastically changed since the 90s. Even if a future Trek show becomes the biggest thing for the franchise on the level of pop culture icons like TOS and TNG, what reason would there be to do a movie today? TV productions are much more cinematic compared to old days, so the leap from TV to film wouldn't be as grand. The only possible future I could see at this point is if Tarantino revives the Kelvin films with his project, but that's a big maybe. Even if Trek doesn't revive on film, I won't be too upset. Trek ultimately belongs on television. That's the medium it was created in and thrives best.