CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery has been delayed again as the series continues casting, and will no longer debut in May.
The revival for the streaming platform has cast James Frain as Spock’s father, producer CBS Television Studios announced, as sources confirm that the show’s planned May debut has been pushed.
“Production on Star Trek: Discovery begins next week. We love the cast, the scripts and are excited about the world the producers have created,” reps for CBS All Access said in a statement. “This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it’s best for the show. We’ve said from the beginning it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast. There is also added flexibility presenting on CBS All Access, which isn’t beholden to seasonal premieres or launch windows.”
Frain will play Sarek, the famed father of Spock who was first introduced in the original Star Trek and who has made several appearances throughout the franchise’s many incarnations over the past five decades.
The CBS All Access show features the franchise’s Enterprise, now known as the U.S.S. Discovery. The drama will introduce new characters seeking new worlds and civilizations while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.
The Walking Dead star Sonequa Martin-Green — who will continue to portray fierce survivor Sasha on the AMC zombie drama as a series regular — will play a lieutenant commander on Discovery. It’s also worth noting that Walking Dead has already wrapped production on its current seventh season and, should Martin-Green’s Sasha survive, wouldn’t return to production until summer 2017.
Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones were announced as the 13-episode series’ first castmembers. Chris Obi, Shazad Latif and Mary Chieffo were also cast as Klingons.
Star Trek: Discovery was originally scheduled to debut in January and was pushed back to May, with The Good Wife spinoff The Good Fight now set to be the first scripted offering on CBS All Access, the network’s VOD platform. This marks the second delay for the series, which saw former showrunner Bryan Fuller step down to focus on his Starz drama American Gods.
Star Trek: Discovery hails from Alex Kurtzman, Fuller and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producers include Heather Kadin, Gretchen J. Berg, Aaron Harberts, Akiva Goldsman, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. Berg and Harberts took over as showrunners for Fuller, who recently noted that he will not be involved at all but has left his outline for the series as well as multiple scripts for producers.
