Star Trek boss Alex Kurtzman, in an old interview, was “very optimistic” about a Section 31 spinoff series

Clockwise from top left: Olatunde Osunsanmi, Daniel Holloway, Michelle Paradise, Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin during a panel for the Producers Guild of America

JULY 22, 2021 - According to Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman, a Section 31 spinoff series is still in the works, and he’s feeling “very optimistic about it”. Or, at least he was.

Earlier this year, Kurtzman participated in a Producers Guild of America panel with fellow Discovery executive producers Heather Kadin, Michelle Paradise and Olatunde Osunsanmi. In it, Kurtzman talked about the Section 31 show in the present tense. So what’s the issue? Footage of the panel was recently published to YouTube, but it’s unclear when the interview actually took place, and there have been other, conflicting reports about the show.  

The PGA panel is likely to have occurred between January and February of this year. Given the season three spoilers discussed during the panel, it probably took place after the finale, which aired January 7th. But six weeks later, on February 24th, Variety reported that the Section 31 show was on a back burner. And just a month after that, the panel’s moderator Daniel Holloway, who was introduced as the TV editor for Variety, left Variety for a position at Amazon Studios. The Producers Guild of America did not respond to our request for clarification.

So what did Kurtzman actually say about Section 31? While the PGA panel was focused on the third season of Star Trek: Discovery, the subject of a Michelle Yeoh-led Section 31 series came up, and Kurtzman had some encouraging words for fans. He said, “We actually have a couple of [Section 31] scripts. COVID frankly, just changed the game for everybody [...] Even Discovery season four started many months later than originally planned [...] Everything got pushed [...] We’re actually on a great track with Section 31 and I’m very optimistic about it.”

Officially, this is likely to be old news, given the timing and the fact that the last official word from ViacomCBS in February indicated Section 31 was on hold. However, there have been a few developments since then that indicate Kurtzman’s words could still be relevant. Most notably, Julie McNamara, the former Paramount+ programming chief who was quoted by Variety in February as saying, “We’re very careful about curating the pacing [of Star Trek]”, actually left ViacomCBS in June.

But even before that, the Section 31 rumblings were still (sort of) happening: in April, Michelle Yeoh told The Pod Directive that she “knows” there is more in store for her character Phillipa Georgiou; and in May, Discovery actor Shazad Latif mentioned there were “slight yeses, slight questions” regarding the show.

In other words, while there are definitely at least a “couple” of scripts, there’s no indication as yet when or if a Section 31 series will actually go into production. Regardless of what the latest circulating video has to say.

When we know, you’ll know. Until then, you can catch up on all that Star Trek has to offer, including the latest season of Star Trek: Discovery, available to stream now on Paramount+.