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It looks like there’s going to be more Star Trek soon. CBS plans to distribute a new television reboot of the series through national television, it will also stream the show through CBS All Access. The new series will be developed by Alex Kurtzman and will supposedly be available next fall.
Kurtzman currently produces the wildly successful Star Trek films, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, which will also see two more films, one of which is set to come out next year. Given the longevity of the Star Trek—next year we’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series—and the strong appetite for nostalgia in media, a reboot of the series is likely to do very well.
Netflix will be able to pursue the show that CBS is essentially creating and then passing forward, allowing the streaming service to get in on the goods. Netflix is itself undergoing a change: it wants to produce more of its own original shows rather than simply running reruns of other shows—the company plans to spend $5 billion more next year to create its own programming. Purchasing the rights to other shows can be very, very expensive, so economically, it makes sense that Netflix would pursue its own programming.
Business Insider alleges that by offering the new Star Trek title on its own Netflix-like streaming service, CBS is “playing Netflix’s game.” The future of streaming television and programming creation is likely to see several changes, including content that comes in the form of bundles—a fewer array of options, but more tailored to individual users’ tastes. “Netflix doesn’t think it will be a considered a ‘streaming TV service’ in the future so much as it will simply be a TV channel,” Business Insider: CBS is rebooting ‘Star Trek’ says.
In the future, Netflix believes it will be driven by users who want to see original content that can only be found on Netflix. But what about the other millions of users who just want to watch reruns of Friends or relive the titillating, beautiful horror of Breaking Bad? We don’t know yet—but at least we’ll have new space adventures to entertain us until we do.
