Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman explains how the franchise can continue to grow, starting with Discovery making movie-quality Trek on TV.
Summary
- Star Trek exec Alex Kurtzman believes taking big bold swings is key to franchise growth, starting with high-quality TV in Discovery.
- Discovery season 5 premieres April 4 on Paramount+, wrapping up the series overseen by Kurtzman’s team.
- Kurtzman aims to bring movie-quality to every TV episode, embracing the enduring nature of Star Trek storytelling.
Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman says taking “big bold swings” is how the franchise can continue to grow, starting with Star Trek: Discovery bringing movie-quality Star Trek to television. Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres on Thursday, April 4, on Paramount+.Discovery, now entering its final season, was the first Star Trek on Paramount+ overseen by Kurtzman and his Secret Hideout single; prior to this, Kurtzman co-wrote J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness with Roberto Orci.
Following Star Trek: Discovery season 5’s world premiere at SXSW, the cast of Discovery along with executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise joined a panel about Discovery‘s final season. Kurtzman was asked by host Scott Mantz about how he approached making Discovery great television, and as cinematic as J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies. Read his response and watch the full Star Trek: Discovery SXSW panel video below:
I had done the first two [J.J. Abrams] Star Trek movies, and I think what I’d learned from those films is you have to take big bold swings, and that’s how Star Trek continues to grow. And often times what happens is if you sort of play it safe always, then it feels like it gets stuck in a kind of routine. So, we knew that we had to take big swings [with Star Trek: Discovery], and we also knew, yes, it had to be great television, but it also had to be specific to Trek.
And I think that one of the things that is so beautiful about Star Trek is that because it was born on television, then it really is about this bridge crew and the enduring time you get to spend with the characters. Whereas in a movie, you only have two hours and it’s more limited. So I think the travel log quality of Trek in general is in some ways better suited to television from that perspective. And then it was just like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna bring a movie quality to every episode of TV.’ Let’s see if we can make that happen.
How Alex Kurtzman’s Star Trek On Paramount Plus Doesn’t “Play It Safe”
There is a new Star Trek show for every kind of fan
Under Alex Kurtzman’s aegis, Star Trek on Paramount+’s series has diversified.Star Trek: Discovery learned upon its premiere in 2017 that its serialized, action-packed incarnation of Star Trek didn’t please many longtime fans. Since then, Star Trek on Paramount+ TV shows have embraced Star Trek: The Next Generation nostalgia with Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, which is also the first Star Trek animated comedy. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix welcomes younger viewers and teaches them the timeless values of Star Trek.
Star Trek on Paramount+ has created a Star Trek series for every type of fan and welcomes new viewers as well.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the closest embodiment of the classic 1960s Star Trek with its episodic style and primary-colored optimism. While the Rick Berman-produced era of Star Trek in the 1990s and 2000s produced some incredible TV episodes and movies, a formulaic sameness settled in that ultimately led to franchise fatigue among audiences. Star Trek on Paramount+ has created a Star Trek series for every type of fan and welcomes new viewers as well. Star Trek on Paramount+ will continue its mission to grow the franchise after Star Trek: Discovery ends with season 5.
