It’s been known for some time now that, following the success of Discovery and the impact it had on All Access subscriptions, executives at CBS had tasked the creative team to come up with some fresh ideas for more Star Trek content.
One of those ideas hinted at as early as November has just been commissioned….
This morning CBS announced that Michelle Yeoh will carry over her Star Trek Discovery character, Phillipa Georgiou, to a new series based around mysterious shadow organisation Section 31. Having appeared in the pilot of Discovery as the ill fated Captain Georgiou, Yeoh reprised the mirror universe version of the role as the Terran Emperor, ending season one in the prime universe after Burnham saved her from a coup, bringing her back when the Discovery crew returned to their own universe.
“I’m so excited to continue telling these rich ‘Star Trek’ stories,” Michelle Yeoh was quoted in the initial announcement. “Being a part of this universe and this character specifically has been such a joy for me to play. I can’t wait to see where it all goes – certainly, I believe it will go ‘where no WOMAN has ever gone before!’”
First seen in Deep Space Nine, Section 31 was an clandestine organisation that were on a mission to protect and advance the Federations interests at any cost. Acting above the law, and in complete secrecy, they would tinker with the fate of the galaxy to their own ends. After seeing their origins develop on prequel show Enterprise, Discovery producers revealed a scene cut from the season one finale of Discovery of Emperor Georgiou being recruited by the organisation; handing her a’black badge’.
While a departure form the Star Trek theme, Section 31 could offer some intriguing opportunities to tell stories from different perspectives and include some divisive politics which have been prominent in recent years. Star Trek overseer, Alex Kurtzman, recently told Variety that there were interesting points of Trek that had potential to go to these new places, explaining, “One of the things that is really beautiful about Star Trek is there are interesting offshoots and there are interesting areas in the world of Star Trek and points of view in the world of Star Trek that allow for tremendous variety in kinds of stories you can tell.”
It’s early days so not much is known other than the show being confirmed to enter pre production. However Discovery writing partner Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt – responsable for Discovrery’s half season cliffhanger last year and recent short The Brightest Star – have been hand picked to write the series as joint showrunners.
The new Section 31 series will star Michelle Yeoh and be produced by CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth will serve as executive producers.
Michelle Yeoh will be back a little bit sooner however as she’s set to appear in season 2 of Discovery which begins in the UK this Thursday January 18th, exclusively on Netflix.
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