‘Star Trek’ EP Bryan Fuller Promises New Series Will Be ‘Genderblind’ As Well As ‘Colorblind’

Star Trek fans are anxiously awaiting news about the new series coming to CBS All Access. Until recently, details on the new series have been hard to come by, but the series executive producer, Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Star Trek: Voyager), has just opened up with the first real glimpse at what the new Star Trek series will look like.

Fuller, who has had experience working on previous Star Trek shows, promises to keep with the long tradition of exploring contemporary issues in a science fiction setting, but the premise of the series has also been updated to deliver those messages in much more thrilling and inventive ways. Fuller will also be exploring the Star Trek concept of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” by adding characters of varying orientations and gender identities.

Bryan Fuller Says Star Trek Will Continue To Push The Envelope

From Star Trek‘s very beginning, creator Gene Roddenberry pushed the limits of what was considered appropriate for a network series in 1960s America, as he used the science fiction drama to explore issues seen in social and political climates of the times. His interest in using Star Trek to break down taboos and prejudices led Roddenberry to cast an African-American woman, Nichelle Nichols, in the prominent role of a bridge officer and ultimately working in the first ever televised interracial kiss between Nichols and William Shatner.

Now, Bryan Fuller is picking up with that tradition of challenging long held prejudices by revealing that the new Star Trek series will open up the franchise to characters of differing sexual orientations as well as those who challenge the traditionally accepted roles of gender.

“There’s a few people that we like and we want to carry on what Star Trek does best, which is being progressive,” says Fuller. “So it’s fascinating to look at all of these roles through a colorblind prism and a gender-blind prism, so that’s exciting.”

Fans Can Expect More Graphic Storytelling, Says Star Trek Showrunner

The new Star Trek series will be far different from any series to have come before in that these will not be single, stand alone stories, but, instead, the new series will tell a serialized story, which will expand across all 13 episodes. Fuller adds that, as the show will run on CBS All Access and not on regular network television, they will be freed up on what they can do with the series.

“Because we’re CBS All Access, we’re not subject to network broadcast standards and practices,” says Fuller. “It will likely affect us more in terms of what we can do graphically.”

That having been said, Bryan is quick to add that he doesn’t want to change the face of Star Trek too much with cursing. He might use the lighter restrictions to create a more natural feel for his Star Trek vision, but he doesn’t want to make the show too unapproachable for younger viewers.

“But Star Trek‘s not necessarily a universe where I want to hear a lot of profanity, either.”

As far as the specifics, Bryan says, if it had been left up to him, he would probably already have spilled tons of spoilers about the plot and the direction of the new Star Trek series, but he reveals CBS has forced him to keep quiet. He can’t even reveal in which universe the new Star Trek series will be set, but he did say he hoped to be able to give some details by the time Comic Con begins.

“I’m sort of relieved I’ve been muzzled by CBS on it because I do less interviews, so I can spend more time writing, but I love talking about Star Trek and I love being involved in it, so I’ll be very excited to share when the muzzle comes off of me.”

[Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for PETA]