Section 31 on a back burner: Star Trek unlikely to expand slate of series until current ones end

Pictured Michelle Yeoh as Georgiou of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: James Dimmock/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 - Star Trek fans hoping to see a Section 31 spinoff series coming to Paramount+ are going to have to wait a while. Variety reported this week that ViacomCBS is unlikely to debut another new Star Trek series until at least one of the five series currently in production “runs its course”.

Two new series are joining the Star Trek Universe soon. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Prodigy will join the lineup in 2021 alongside the established series, Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks, all of which are in production for their upcoming seasons. No matter how you slice it, that’s a lot of new Star Trek content coming “down the pike” (pun intended).

What does that mean for a Section 31 spinoff? Or any other projects? Paramount+ programming chief Julie McNamara and Star Trek Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman said that while “conversations” are still being had regarding a Section 31 series, and that there are other Trek shows in development that haven’t been made public, fans aren’t likely to see them until after one of the current series finishes. 

“We’re very careful about curating the pacing — the number of shows at any given time — and what those shows are, so that we make sure that it’s always exciting when there’s a new [Trek] show coming out,” McNamara told Variety. According to McNamara, the plan is to release “a new Trek [each] quarter,” likely referring to the upcoming fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery, the second seasons of Lower Decks and Picard, and the premieres of Prodigy and Strange New Worlds (although no firm plans for release dates have been announced for any of them).

When it comes to the world of television production, never say never. McNamara didn’t completely rule out the possibility of a sixth series, saying, “Whether there’s a show that comes up that feels additive and we should add that into the mix, or waiting for [the end] of another ‘Trek’ show, we feel good about where we are.” Either way, fans can expect to see plenty of new Star Trek coming to screens over the next few years.