Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien developing new live-action Trek series

[StarTrek1701]

I just want Trek to return to regular TV programming with 22ep/season, weekly episodes.
After the season's over they can head to Netflix for binging.
No more Paramount+ for the love of Trek!

 

[fireproof78]

22 episodes are not coming back.

Until streaming collapses completely I don't see the on ait broadcast style returning.

 

[Firebird]

Thank Netflix for destabilizing the film industry to the point where the 22-episode season model is no longer financially viable.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Most of those 22 episodes are empty-calorie fillers anyway. Give me a tight plot anytime over bullshit clip shows.

Now, cut down the time to maybe 9 months between seasons? That would be a marked improvement.

 

[Danja]

So 22-26 episode seasons is really a terrestrial broadcast thing. CBS got a lot of flack from some fans for going the streaming route instead of staying on broadcast television, but I think they ended up making the smarter move. Viewing habits have dramatically changed since 2017 that streaming has now overtaken terrestrial television. Viewers of antenna/cable new skew very old and far outside the target demo that corporations look for.

The future for terrestrial or even cable broadcasting is not bright.

NBC/Comcast is shedding networks:

It’s Official! Comcast To Spin Off Cable Networks, Sees New Standalone Company A “Partner And Acquirer” Of Media Assets

Comcast has formally unveiled plans to spin out most of its linear cable networks (except Bravo) to shareholders in a separate company, a move that President Mike Cavanagh said puts all of NBCUniversal “on a new growth trajectory.”

deadline.com

I wouldn't want Trek to rely on Netflix. They are the most cancel-happy joint going.

I read a comment on Twitter that said there should be a band called "Cancelled After Two Seasons on Netflix".

 

[MakeshiftPython]

One thing that has struck me about 2020s terrestrial television is just how cheap it all now looks compared to what network shows used to look like in the 2000s. You can be certain that a Trek series on a network like CBS would not look anywhere near as good as ENTERPRISE. And forget about quality writers, because most of them have been going straight to cable networks and streamers because that’s where they have more leeway to write something interesting, and maybe even get better pay.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I just want Trek to return to regular TV programming with 22ep/season, weekly episodes.
After the season's over they can head to Netflix for binging.
No more Paramount+ for the love of Trek!

That's never happening, due to the way TV works now. And from what I understand, actors are very happy not to be worked into the ground anymore. The 90s aren't coming back.

 

[The Wormhole]

I just want Trek to return to regular TV programming with 22ep/season, weekly episodes.

That's not happening, especially if what you mean by "regular TV" is the network. A space show is not sustainable on the networks anymore, just look at The Orville, which struggled to get a dozen episodes out for two seasons each. There's a reason modern network programming sticks to cop and medical dramas with the odd firefighter show thrown in for good measure. And even those aren't necessarily guaranteed to get twenty episodes a season these days either.

The only viable non-streaming alternative for Star Trek would be a cable channel, and even then you'd be damn lucky to get more than ten episodes a seasons. Hell, given many modern cable shows, you'd be damn lucky to even get ten episodes a season.

Now, cut down the time to maybe 9 months between seasons? That would be a marked improvement.

To be fair, it does seem the modern Trek shows do try to get the next season of a particular show out within a year or less of the previous one ending. Unfortunately, the last five years have seen the entertainment industry rocked with setbacks such as a global pandemic and two union strikes which has caused all manner of delays and resulted in less than smooth operations.

 

[137th Gebirg]

True. There are reasons - some would argue good reasons - why these things have happened.

I just hope they don't try to make this the "new normal", now that we're allegedly used to waiting so long for new seasons.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

If those strikes hadn’t happened we probably would have already seen SNW’s third season by now.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Yep, most likely, among many other things.

 

[Daedalus]

Tawny Newsome Gives An Update On Her Live-Action Star Trek Comedy Series

The 'Lower Decks' star is developing a new Trek comedy with Justin Simien.

trekmovie.com

“All I can share with you is that we keep writing it, and we keep turning things in, and they keep saying, ‘Please keep writing.’ So as long as they allow us to do that and they don’t say, ‘Stop. Close your computers and go home,’ we’ll continue making it. And yeah, as long as they don’t tell me, ‘Please shut your laptop and throw it in the sea,’ I will keep working on it. It’s been such a joy. I love Justin Simien with all my heart. I can’t wait to hopefully keep doing it.”

More on the pitch, inspired by the lighter side of DS9.

“[The] comedy pitch for Star Trek really kind of grew out of our organic love for those bottle episodes, particularly on DS9, where no adventure would happen, it was mostly like a character drama/comedy.”

 

[Dukhat]

Tawny can write all she wants, but if CBS/Paramount doesn't greenlight it, it's not happening.

Not trying to sound pessimistic, just realistic.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I kind of got the impression that her project was in some kind of quasi-semi-approved gray area of development purgatory. Not completely green lit but not thrown out in the bit-bucket either, with some rudimentary interest being shown by executives. This is probably the state of all new projects until P+ and greater Paramount's fate is decided by the ever-impending purchase. Nobody's going to commit to a damn thing until that dust has settled.

 

[Daedalus]

Kind of like greenlit for a green light. Just keep writing some scenes and the color might change...

 

[The Wormhole]

If those strikes hadn’t happened we probably would have already seen SNW’s third season by now.

Yep. The season was originally scheduled to begin filming May 2023, which, IIRC is roughly the same time of year in 2022 and 2021 the other two seasons began filming. So without the strikes, we should most definitely have gotten season 3 this past spring or summer.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

A Star Trek sitcom? Why? I ask this as someone who enjoys a good sitcom.

 

[Nerys Myk]

A Star Trek sitcom? Why? I ask this as someone who enjoys a good sitcom.

Lower Decks is a sitcom, so Treks already been there.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

They want to avoid making every Star Trek about people boldly going, as familiarity breeds contempt and aiming at the same exact audience for each series limits the number of subscribers they're pulling in.

Also it's been a trend for a while for shows to be designed or reworked to fit an existing IP, so 'Space Resort' has a much lower chance of being put into production than 'Star Trek: Space Resort' or 'Harry Potter: Space Resort' does etc. We've had a DC comics sitcom, a Marvel comics sitcom, they made (and then buried) a Star Wars animated comedy... there hasn't been a lot of success, but they keep trying.

Oh, plus, it's generally cheaper than other genres. Unless they make the main character a tall green photorealistic CGI woman.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Lower Decks is a sitcom, so Treks already been there.

No... it's a cartoon.

They want to avoid making every Star Trek about people boldly going

But... that's the whole point of the show.

as familiarity breeds contempt and aiming at the same exact audience for each series limits the number of subscribers they're pulling in.

I don't object to a sitcom set in outer space in the future. I do object to a "Star Trek" sitcom. It's just dumb.

Also it's been a trend for a while for shows to be designed or reworked to fit an existing IP, so 'Space Resort' has a much lower chance of being put into production than 'Star Trek: Space Resort' or 'Harry Potter: Space Resort' does etc.

I understand the business POV, but I still think it's dumb.

We've had a DC comics sitcom, a Marvel comics sitcom, they made (and then buried)

What were they?

a Star Wars animated comedy... there hasn't been a lot of success, but they keep trying.

The Clone Wars?

Oh, plus, it's generally cheaper than other genres. Unless they make the main character a tall green photorealistic CGI woman.

Cheaper is why I won't be watching it, and cheap shot at the Hulk show, but well deserved and bullseye.