‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Delayed Until May 2017

Star Trek: Discovery, the new Star Trek television series set to premiere in January 2017, has been delayed. The show has been pushed back to May, reports The A.V. Club. Showrunner Bryan Fuller and Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman have put out a statement.

“Bringing Star Trek back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood. We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don’t result in compromised quality. Before heading into production, we evaluated these realities with our partners at CBS and they agreed: Star Trek deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of.”

In announcement on the official Star Trek website, the writing staff takes a positive approach to the news. They note that “the new premiere date is driven by the creative team’s belief that this will give the show the appropriate time for delivery of the highest-quality, premium edition of the first new Star Trek television series in more than a decade.” In social media, CBS, the studio behind the show, has taken a positive spin by not using the word “delay” and instead calling it a “new premiere date.”

https://twitter.com/startrekcbs/status/776171215908057088

In a press release, CBS Television Studios President David Stapf continues the optimistic streak. He also notes that some scripts have been completed already.

“The series template and episodic scripts that Alex and Bryan have delivered are incredibly vivid and compelling… They are building a new, very ambitious Star Trek world for television, and everyone involved supports their vision for the best timing to bring to life what we all love on the page.”

The exact reason why Star Trek: Discovery has been delayed is still unknown at this time. Star Trek news and fan site TrekMovie speculates it may be due to a “rush for new visual effects staffing.” They point to job recruitment postings, which are listing a work period of “August 2016 thru April 2017.”

BREAKING: Discovery pushed back to May 2017 – https://t.co/EmqFSU0mr2 pic.twitter.com/wVSQRIFLQT

— TrekMovie.com (@TrekMovie) September 14, 2016

Writing in The A.V. Club, Danette Chavez notes that Star Trek: Discovery may have also been delayed to accommodate showrunner Bryan Fuller’s busy schedule, as he is developing more than one TV series simultaneously.

“…the delay is actually kind of heartening to anyone who was concerned about Fuller juggling the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods while also reviving Star Trek on the small screen. Those are a lot of ideas for anyone, even someone like Fuller…”

What do the fans think?

Fan reaction to the Star Trek: Discovery delay so far appears to be mixed. On the Star Trek subreddit, user “drifter1717” is not very surprised. “Sad but not unexpected. Having no cast announced at all with less than 4 months before the [January] premiere date was a huge red flag.”

On TrekMovie, commenter “Thorny” is concerned if it will be harder to promote the show in May as opposed to January. “So much for getting a big network push after the AFC Championship game. Now it will be lost in a crowd of season finales in May.”

On The A.V. Club commenter “ObliqueStrategy” is mostly unconcerned. “People shouldn’t be panicking over this. The original production schedule wasn’t remotely realistic. If it’s early July, your show launches in January, and you don’t have a cast, sets, or even a ship designed yet (remember, the one we saw in the teaser… not the official model), then you aren’t going to hit a January premiere date. There’s just no way to pull that off. I’ve been expecting this announcement since Comic-Con.”

On Birth Movies Death commenter “dianec” is hoping the extra time will ensure a higher quality show. “Better to cast and do everything else properly rather than rush it and get it wrong. It may be Star Trek but it’s a different era now. They have to compete with more shows.”

What do you think about the Star Trek: Discovery delay? Leave a comment below.

[Featured Image by CBS]