Looks like Netflix is interested in making a New Star Trek Show

Discussion in 'Future of Trek' started by The Overlord, Jun 20, 2014.

  1. urbandefault

    urbandefault Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2013
    Location:
    Sickbay, dammit.
    Like I said, he doesn't have to. The money put into remastering was just to sell to the guaranteed repeat customers, and probably a fraction of the cost of a new series.

    Moonves is a savvy businessman. If there was a bigger fortune to be made, he'd be all over it regardless of what he thinks of Trek as a franchise. As it is, maintaining the status quo is fine with him. Watch what he does if revenues from Trek start to drop.
     
  2. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    Which is the appeal of Netflix. Moonves doesn't have to put Star Trek on CBS. He just has to accept Netflix's money and let Netflix worry about monetizing the viewers. As long as Netflix is willing to pay Moonves more than it costs to produce the show he's fine.

    The issue until now has been CBS generally doesn't produce for other networks and Moonves doesn't think Star Trek can generate enough viewers on CBS. But if CBS will now produce for Netflix/Amazon and Netflix/Amazon thinks it can generate enough subscriptions to pay for the show, then there may be a financial model that works for everyone.
     
  3. Serveaux

    Serveaux Fleet Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2013
    Location:
    Among the sellers.
    The nicer thing about this world is that opinions are trumped by facts. :cool:
     
  4. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    I just don't see CBS willing to share (much less give up) ownership/licensing rights of a Trek TV series to anyone else. If one could convince Netflix/Amazon (or whoever) to pay many millions for something they will never own or be able to license...
     
  5. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    Look at what Netflix did for Arrested Development and The Killing. They're only paying to distribute the new episodes. Lilyhammer only aired on Netflix in the US, but was produced by someone else. Orange is the New Black was produced by Lionsgate. Even House of Cards has separate production companies. And beyond all that, you have the Disney/Marvel deal with Netflix. If Disney can work out a licensing deal with Netflix for original Marvel shows then I'm sure CBS can work out something for Star Trek.
     
  6. 137th Gebirg

    137th Gebirg Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2000
    Location:
    Go Lick The World!
    Sure they can. They just have to want to do that.
     
  7. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    If they could, they would have done so already.
     
  8. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Location:
    St. Paul, MN
    In a way, there's already a door opened by having every series and most of the movies on Netflix.

    The biggest hangup to a deal would probably be budgets vs. revenue, as a Star Trek series would cost a lot more than any of the current Netflix shows.
     
  9. timtonruben359

    timtonruben359 Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2012
    I'd love to see a new Star Trek show in any format however, money wise I think we'd see a DS9 and VOY HD remaster before a new show.
     
  10. Jonny

    Jonny Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2010
    Location:
    Liverpool Merseyside uk
    Personally, I don't have Netflix so I hope this doesn't happen for that reason.
     
  11. Red Omega

    Red Omega Lieutenant

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2014
    If Marvel can do a deal with Netflix, so can CBS. Not using Netflix/Amazon/Hulu would be ridiculous.
     
  12. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    That works under the assumption that Netflix or another streaming service think that Trek will drive subscriptions. It also works under the assumption that CBS and another production company could come to terms economically acceptable to both parties.
     
  13. urbandefault

    urbandefault Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2013
    Location:
    Sickbay, dammit.
    Doesn't CBS own Showtime?

    If ol' Mr. Mooney wanted to put Trek on TV he could keep all the money in-house instead of letting Netflix have a cut.

    But then we come back around to the starting point: Les Moonves says he isn't interested.
     
  14. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    If CBS studios was interested. Until now there hasn't been any indication they were, but CBS now at least claims they're interested in producing for online services. Whether they want to produce star trek is still an open question. But at least there is one fewer question.


    Mooneves has now said he's interested in producing for Netflix. He may or may not be interested in producing star trek, but he's not committed to keeping shows on CBS properties anymore.
     
  15. TheNatural

    TheNatural Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2014
    After lurking here for quite a long time, I signed up here just to post some common sense points that seem to get lost on the jaded Trek community.

    First of all, this exact moment is not the perfect time for a new show, but that time is rapidly approaching. I am blown away that many are arguing that there would not be an audience for a show, now, or in the near future. I would be willing to bet the farm that many of you would have said, after the unfortunate failure that ultimately was Enterprise, that multiple, large budget, feature length reboot films would have been unimaginable, yet, here we are.

    The built-in fans are used to Trek in a TV show format, and that is how they are accustomed to consuming that universe, and despite what some executive at CBS may or may not have a said a few years back about not being interested in a new TV series, there are a few very important milestones in both the Trek world and in how serialized drama is consumed that very well could have changed all of that. If you think that the interest in the movies, combined with a myriad of new ways to create, produce, and distribute a show in this era of entertainment has not led to CBS very seriously considering an altogether new Trek-based show, then you are out of your mind.

    Like I said, this very moment is not the time to announce, or even begin preliminary work on a new show, because at the moment, the fans new and old have something Trek that is on the horizon with the third film, but once that concludes, there will be a mainstream and cult market out there that would like to see more of the universe. I personally know several young adults who have been brought into TNG, DS9, etc. just because the movies put the idea of Trek into their minds, not to mention previous fans who are now rewatching their favorite series. There will be a market for a show, and again, you are incredibly cynical if you believe CBS will just go, "Hey those movies did great! People seem to like Star Trek! Let's put DS9 on Blu-ray and let it die."

    That being said, I believe the fan base alone could make a Netflix incarnation of Star Trek a reality, and a success. I hate to say it, but the "nerd" thing is really popular right now. There is a bar near my house that shows new Game of Thrones episodes on sundays, and the place is packed. Every. Single. Time. The people who are there are from all walks of life, many are now reading the books, and to be honest, if you told me when I was 18 that soon all of the hot chicks in my class were going to be fervently watching a sword and shield fantasy show full of dragons, magic, and beards, I would have told you you were a lunatic. But here we are. Like it or not, there are those who work in mainstream television production who are definitely taking advantage of the fact the it is cool (at the moment) to be a nerd. It's the only explanation for Chris Hardwick's success. Just look around, Cosmos = Record Ratings, GoT = Gigantic in scale and popularity, The nerd sitcoms, Walking Dead = Diverse and large veiwrship. What's missing? A decent Sci-fi show. Think about it, Netflix shows are awesome, and popular, what better way to fill the Sci-fi gap than with a show with a built-in 60 years and running, fan base than with a Star Trek series? Putting it on Netflix would be the best way to make that happen, especially considering the realism they could add without having to make it Network safe.

    Sorry for the rant, I'll edit to clean it up later, but I had to spill this out somewhere after reading and reading countless posts that seem like they are trying to convince the person posting them that a Trek series will never happen.
     
  16. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Location:
    St. Paul, MN
    Nice post, TheNatural.

    Showtime at least has a better share of households than Netflix, so it would likely help there too. But I'm not sure if sci fi fits their brand of TV series.
     
  17. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Showtime did Stargate.
     
  18. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Location:
    St. Paul, MN
    A show that was cancelled on its network over a decade ago? Yeah, that's completely relevant to TV on Showtime today...
     
  19. TheNatural

    TheNatural Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2014
    Thanks, kinda sucks that it's going to be buried, though.

    I agree with Showtime being an unlikely conduit for a new series, although I would be shocked if more people had access to Showtime than Netflix. If I were to guess, I would have thought Netflix had many more subscribers. Everyone I know from my parents and their contemporaries, to nearly all of mine have Netflix accounts, and off the top of my head I can't think of any more than a handful that have Showtime. I certainly do not.
     
  20. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Location:
    St. Paul, MN
    Yeah, I don't have it either (I would if Star Trek was on there).

    I think it depends on where you get your data. According to this site, about a quarter of the US households have it. This site says about the same for Netflix. I'm not really sure what to believe there.

    But if they're even moderately equal, using Showtime would make more sense from a profitability standpoint.