'Star Trek Discovery' Air Date News, Spoilers: Characters Will Spark Debate, Producers Say
Expect "Star Trek Discovery" to spark a big debate among the viewers. Co-creator and producer Alex Kurtzman declared that this will happen once the show premieres in September.
Kurtzman told CNET in an exclusive interview that their choice for the lead character has already drawn different reactions from fans of the franchise. Sonequa Martin-Green plays a Starfleet first officer named Michael Burnham who has so many layers to her character.
"Her story is very unique and draws on some really interesting things in Trek lore," Kurtzman said. "I think fans will both appreciate [it] and I'm certain it will be the cause of much debate."
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Also, Martin-Green's character is human, but she studied in a Vulcan school. "Sarek plays an important role in her life, which has been completely planned until she makes a very difficult choice that sends her life on a very different path," producer Aaron Harberts told Entertainment Weekly.
Sarek (James Frain) is the father of the "Star Trek" iconic character Spock, which were played by Leonard Nimoy in the original television series and Zachary Quinto in the current film iterations. "Star Trek Discovery" is set 10 years before the original franchise with Spock helping Captain Kirk (William Shatner/Chris Pine).
The path that Martin-Green's character chooses in the pilot episode will also explain why there are two main fleets in "Star Trek Discovery," which is a first in the history of the franchise. One ship, the Shenzhou, is led by Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), while the other ship, the Discovery, has Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) as its commander.
"Burnham's choice that we're alluding to is the most difficult choice you can make — it affects her, affects Starfleet, affects the Federation, it affects the entire universe," Harberts further revealed. The first episode to the series will tell how Burnham ended up in Discovery after leaving Shenzhou.
"Star Trek Discovery" will premiere on Sunday, Sept. 24. The pilot episode will air on CBS, but succeeding episodes can be accessed via a paid subscription streaming service, CBS All Access. The show will also launch on Netflix.
