The new Star Trek TV series can be described in just 3 words
Exclusive: Ex-showrunner Bryan Fuller lifts the lid on what to expect from the sci-fi series, and explains his shock departure
Despite the first members of the cast being announced last week, there’s still very little we know about the long-awaited new series of Star Trek (coming to Netflix UK in 2017). What will the story be? When will it be set? And how will the tone fit in with both the original series and the new Star Trek movies?
For now, it’s all a mystery – but one man who might know a bit more about what to expect is TV writing heavyweight Bryan Fuller, who created series like Hannibal and was set to run the new Star Trek series before unexpectedly leaving the role due to his commitments to Neil Gaiman adaptation American Gods.
“I couldn’t do what needed to be done in the time that they needed it done,” Fuller explained to us when we caught up with him recently. “And I felt like there was so much responsibility happening with American Gods, that it seemed like the cleanest approach to the problem.”
With that said, Fuller was still up for chatting all things Star Trek with us, and even described the new series in three simple words (we’ll leave it to the fans to ponder any secret meanings in them).
“I think what we were doing with Star Trek was…I’d say, ‘Understand Each Other,’” Fuller told us. “I’m very curious to see how it unfolds.”
Bryan Fuller
However, Fuller also explained that due to his lack of involvement in the series going forward (despite early reports, he says he won’t continue to have much of a creative role), he wasn’t sure about what would happen to the story he mapped out – or how the series would feel to longtime fans.
“I submitted stories for the entire season,” Fuller explained. “So, I wrote the first two episodes and I wrote the storyline for the entire season, and that essentially completes my responsibilities to the show.”
Asked how the tone of the series would compare to the recent films and the original series, he continued: “You know, it’s interesting to ponder, because I won’t have anything to do with the actual production, and I won’t have anything to do with post, which are really places where I dig in and do a lot of work.
“I know where we were going before I left, but I don’t where they were going to take it after I’ve left.”
In other words, Fuller will just have to wait like every other fan to see how the new Star Trek pans out – though he’s not ruling out a return in the future.
“If they need me, they have my number and they can call me,” he told us. “Otherwise, I’m ploughing ahead on American Gods.”
Sounds like Fuller is still boldly going where no showrunner had gone before – just in a slightly different direction.
American Gods will be released on Amazon Prime in Spring 2017
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
