Netflix rumored to get exclusive new Star Trek series (Updated) | News | Geek.com
It has been nearly a decade since new stories in the Star Trek universe have been produced for the small screen, but we might be getting close to a revival of this storied franchise courtesy of Netflix. At Phoenix Comicon, Star Trek author and producer Larry Nemecek has announced that CBS is in talks with Netflix to produce a new series that would air on the streaming service. Set phasers to excited. Update: Nemecek has posted a rebuttal of the original report, saying he never stated there were ongoing talks about a new Trek series on Netflix. Apparently there have been “overtures” in the past, but as far as he knows nothing is happening right now.
According to Nemecek, Netflix approached CBS about hosting a new Trek series, then followed up with a proposal to create and produce the show completely in-house. If this deal goes through, the series would be a Netflix exclusive in the vein of House of Cards or Orange is the New Black. Interestingly, CBS is supposedly being offered a royalty deal that would pay it for each stream of the new series. No word on whether the series would be set in the new Abrams alternate timeline or the original one.
The last Star Trek series to air on TV was Star Trek: Enterprise, which abruptly ended back in 2005 after just five seasons. This show never really caught on, and the mediocre ratings brought to an end nearly 20 years of Star Trek on TV. During that time, there were often two different series running simultaneously. After all these years, though, interest in the escapades of Starfleet is on the rise, due in part to the revitalized JJ Abrams movies.
Netflix doesn’t release streaming numbers, but market research firms frequently list Star Trek in its various forms as the most streamed content on Netflix. This might be the time for a new series now that everyone has gotten over their Star Trek fatigue. CBS could also make a boatload of money if the royalty deal is accurate. There is no official confirmation of the talks at this time, so take everything from Nemecek with a grain of salt. Even if this is real and Netflix does get a new Trek series, it’s going to be a few years before it sees the light of day.
If I was Netflix I’d be on the phone to Microsoft suggesting they sponsor the show. After all, who else has a real-life Universal Translator launching later this year?
