How Star Trek Discovery Will Expand Its Universe Before Season 2 Debuts

Star Trek Discovery
(Image credit: CBS)
(Image credit: CBS)

If you desire some Star Trek: Discovery related content to help hold you over until the series returns to TV, there is good news right around the corner. Star Trek: Discovery's universe just got even more extensive before the show's second season debuts, thanks to an announcement made by CBS All Access at San Diego Comic-Con. Here is what Star Trek: Discovery's new showrunner Alex Kurtzman had to say about it:

There is no shortage of compelling stories to tell in the Star Trek universe that inspire, entertain, and either challenge our preconceived ideas or affirm long held beliefs, and we are excited to broaden the universe already with Short Treks. Each episode will deliver closed-ended stories while revealing clues about what's to come in future Star Trek: Discovery episodes. They'll also introduce audiences to new characters who may inhabit the larger world of Star Trek.

As Alex Kurtzman's tease indicates, Trekkies are in for a real treat of the episodic anthology variety. Replete with a clever title, Star Trek: Short Treks will be comprised of four episodes. And each installment's duration will run around ten to fifteen minutes in length. New episodes of the brief series will be released monthly. While CBS All Access could have left everyone in tremendous suspense, we already know quite a bit about the ensuing run of episodes, including cast details. So who will be starring in these installments?

Turn's Aldis Hodge will star as Craft, a man who discovers he is the only human inhabiting an abandoned ship. Rainn Wilson will be among the actors to bring back their Star Trek: Discovery characters. Wilson will return as Harry Mudd for an episode, which the actor will also direct.

Thanks to Star Trek: Short Treks, fans can also expect to learn more about the backstory of Star Trek: Discovery character Saru, who is the first Kelpien to join Starfleet. There will also be an episode chronicling Tilly as she develops a friendship with a surprising partner, as well as her journey on the USS Discovery.

All of these plots sound like they could fill well-over ten to fifteen minutes, although it is a compelling idea to present them in such a compressed fashion. Fleshing out characters doesn't always require hours of time-- it's all in the power of nuance. The series will also offer fans the fun opportunity to try to find the Discovery clues, Alex Kurtzman hinted of the spinoff series possessing.

This whole project is an ambitious and creative undertaking that should easily draw fans back into the Star Trek: Discovery universe. They have technically been away from the show's world since the first season wrapped up in February of this year. With fans having to wait almost a year for Season 2 to premiere, Star Trek: Short Treks should be able to fill the gap and satiate the appetites of Trekkies -- ravenous for its return.

Star Trek: Short Treks will premiere this fall on CBS All Access. The second season of Star Trek: Discovery will premiere in January 2019 on CBS All Access. For new television shows set to arrive in the not so distant future, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's summer premieres.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.