CBS announced on Thursday that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s son, Rod Roddenberry, will be an executive producer in the new Star Trek series.
Eugene Wesley “Rod” Roddenberry Jr. is the president of Roddenberry Entertainment and the COO, Trevor Roth, will also be an executive producer. They will be joining Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin and Bryan Fuller.
Fuller was previously reported to be the showrunner. He believes that having part of the Roddenberry legacy will help the show.
“Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, left a finely feathered nest for all who love ‘Star Trek’ to enjoy,” Fuller said in a press release. “And it is only fitting that Rod Roddenberry and Roddenberry Entertainment join our new Trek adventure to ensure that his father’s legacy of hope for the future and infinite diversity in infinite combinations runs through our tales as Gene Roddenberry intended.”
The late Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek series will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the Star Trek universe has spawned multiple movies and TV shows. His son is honored that he will be able to further his father’s legacy.
“Moral dilemmas, human issues, complex characters and a genuine sense of optimism: These are the cornerstones of Star Trek and are what have made it such an influential and beloved franchise for the last 50 years,” Roddenberry said. “While I will always be humbled by its legacy and the legions of fans who are its guardians, it’s a genuine honor to be joining a team of imaginative and incredibly capable individuals whose endeavor it is to uphold the tenets of Star Trek’s legacy while bringing it to audiences in a new era and on a contemporary platform.”
Rod Roddenberry has always strived to embrace the legacy of his father. The 2011 documentary film, Trek Nation, looked at the impact that Gene Roddenberry had on the world through the eyes of his son. Rod Roddenberry is also one of the founders and members of the board of directors of The Roddenberry Foundation. The Roddenberry Foundation was created to honor the vision Gene had for the world.
“If our support can inspire one child to become a scientist, one organization to become more charitable, one person to simply invest himself or herself in improving the future of our world, then our foundation can be a catalyst in making the future envisioned through Star Trek a reality,” Roddenberry said in a press release.
Star Trek has had recent success in on the silver screen with JJ Abrams’s 2009 reboot, its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. Star Trek has a long history with television with at least one series always on the air from when Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 1987 until Star Trek Enterprise was cancelled in 2005. This will be the first Star Trek show since Enterprise.
The new show is going to launch in early 2017 and there will be a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. After that the episodes will be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access and is the first original show being the developed for the digital subscription service.
