New Animated Star Trek Series Announced
3 min read
CBS All Access has announced a new half-hour adult Star Trek animated series, called Star Trek: Lower Decks.
The new animated Trek series was developed and will be produced by Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) and Alex Kurtzman.
Star Trek: Lower Decks “will focus on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships and will be produced by CBS Eye Animation Productions, CBS Television Studios‘ new animation arm; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment.
“Secret Hideout‘s Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin and Roddenberry Entertainment‘s Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth and Katie Krentz will serve as Executive Producers alongside McMahan. Aaron Baiers, who brought McMahan to the project, will serve as a Co-Executive Producer.
“‘Mike won our hearts with his first sentence: ‘I want to do a show about the people who put the yellow cartridge in the food replicator so a banana can come out the other end.’ His cat’s name is Riker. His son’s name is Sagan. The man is committed,’ said Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman. ‘He’s brilliantly funny and knows every inch of every Trek episode, and that’s his secret sauce: he writes with the pure, joyful heart of a true fan. As we broaden the world of Trek to fans of all ages, we’re so excited to include Mike’s extraordinary voice.’
“‘As a life-long Trekkie, it’s a surreal and wonderful dream come true to be a part of this new era of Star Trek,’ said executive producer Mike McMahan. ‘While Star Trek: Lower Decks is a half-hour, animated show at its core, it’s undeniably Trek — and I promise not to add an episode at the very end that reveals the whole thing took place in a training program.’
“Star Trek: Lower Decks is not McMahan’s first Star Trek project. As a longtime fan of the series, in 2011 McMahan started a Twitter account where he posted episode plots to a fake season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They were such a hit that Simon & Schuster hired him to write a readers’ guide to a fictitious eighth season of TNG titled Star Trek: The Next Generation: Warped: An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season. For television, McMahan recently served as head writer and executive producer on Adult Swim‘s hit animated series Rick and Morty and co-created Hulu‘s animated alien family show Solar Opposites.
“‘We couldn’t have imagined a better creative team to work with on CBS All Access‘ first original animated series than Mike McMahan, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment,’ said Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access. ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks is a fantastic complement to our growing lineup of original series and our ongoing expansion of the Star Trek universe on CBS All Access.”
This is Star Trek‘s second animated series. Star Trek: The Animated Series aired in 1973-4, showing twenty-two episodes during its two-season run.
Star Trek: Lower Decks has a two-season order. TrekToday will update readers when more information is released, including the premiere date for the series.
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