i mean, plenty of people here have already pointed out that the producers are damned if they do, damned if they don't. if they set it in the kelvin timeline, or a new timeline, or an anti-timeline, or something other than the prime timeline, some fans would freak out. but announcing it's set in the prime timeline, redesigning everything and introducing elements that need to be swept under the rug in order for the events of this series to fit within that timeline feels more like lip service than appeasing that group of fans.