Star Trek: Discovery — Trailer, Cast, Release Date

We've been waiting for Star Trek to return to its home — television — for far too long. CBS All-Access, where Star Trek: Discovery will "air," might not quite be TV, but it's close enough! 

Though the new Star Trek TV series has gone through its share of production snags — most notably Bryan Fuller leaving the series as showrunner and the frequent release date delays — we're closer than ever to the science fiction show's debut.

As we wait for the show's fall premiere, here's everything we know so far about the world of Discovery...

Star Trek: Latest News

The Star Trek: Discovery trailer has dropped and we're slightly freaking out about it. We're working on breaking down all of the stuff we see in this promo. In the mean time, check it out...

CBS announced at today's upfront presentation that Star Trek: Discovery will have a slightly increased episode order. Rather than the previously announced 13-episode season. It will have 15 episodes in its first season. (Apparently, the show is currently filming Episode 6.) After mentioning a vague summer/fall release date, the show is officially set to be release in the fall.

Additionally, CBS announced that Discovery will have a companion show (a la The Walking Dead) called Talking Trek.

In addition to the photo featured above, we also have our first real look at Star Trek: Discovery (via Entertainment Weekly). Check it out...

The photo has series stars Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh as First Officer Michael Burnham and Captain Phillipa Georgiou, respectively. The aesthetic feels much more Star Wars than Star Trek, but we do get a peek at what looks like a Starfleet communicator and tricorder hanging from Burnham's belt. 

Whatever is going on in this photo on this strange planet (or is this planet one we've seen before?), it's just nice to have an official sneak peek for what this show is even going to look like. And for that sneak peek to include two female characters of color in leadership roles? That feels like Star Trek.

For more on these two characters, check out our cast section below...

Star Trek: Discovery Release Date

We've got slightly more information about the Star Trek: Discovery release date. According to the CBS upfronts, Star Trek: Discovery will launch in the fall. 

CBS chief Les Moonves recently told investors: "We’re not going to rush it in. There's a lot of post production. But I’m very confident based on what I’ve seen so far.”

CBS previously pushed the Discovery premiere back from January to May, before releasing this statement (via Variety) back in January, implying they wouldn't make the May release date, either...

Production on Star Trek: Discovery begins next week. We love the cast, the scripts and are excited about the world the producers have created.  This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it's best for the show.  We've said from the beginning it's more important to do this right than to do it fast. There is also added flexibility presenting on CBS All Access, which isn't beholden to seasonal premieres or launch windows.

Production started on January 24th and will go through September 7th, a total of about eight months. 

I am still of the opinion that I would rather wait for something good than have CBS rush Star Trek: Discovery and turn out something mediocre or worse. Previously, when CBS pushed the Discovery start date back to May, executive producers Fuller and Alex Kurtzman released this statement to explain the decision:

Bringing Star Trek back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood. We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don’t result in compromised quality.

Before heading into production, we evaluated these realities with our partners at CBS and they agreed: Star Trek deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of.

Star Trek: Discovery Cast

Let's break down who all these characters are...

First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green)

Star Trek: Discovery has found its lead actress in Sonequa Martin-Green, best known as Sasha Williams in The Walking Dead and Tamara in Once Upon a Time, has been cast as First Officer Michael Burnham on the Discovery.

Martin-Green will be the first black actress to lead a Star Trek series (unlike previous series, Discovery's lead character will not be a captain). According to Entertainment Weekly, who first broke the news, she will continue her role on The Walking Dead. 

Burnham will be referred to as "Number One," in honor of Majel Barrett's character in the original pilot, "The Cage." 

Speaking to Nerd World Report with Hop and Herc, Fuller said:

As we were first talking about the series and talking to CBS, we said, 'Initially, we will only call this character Number One, because in the 60’s, in the first pilot, Gene Roddenberry was very progressive, and he had a female first officer, and CBS [NBC] executives at the time said America is not ready for a female in a command position.'

Speaking about the choice to make the main viewpoint character in the ensemble show a not-captain, Fuller said: "There have been six series all from the captains' perspective, and it felt like, for this new iteration of Star Trek, we need to look at life on a Starfleet vessel from a new perspective."

Captain Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh)

Yeoh will play Captain Georgiou, the captain of the Starship Shenzhou, a ship that "is set to play a big role" in the season.

T'Kuvma (Chris Obi)

Also joining the Lingon cast, via Deadline, are Chris Obi (American Gods, Snow White and the Huntsman) and Mary Chieffo. Obi will play T’Kuvma, "the Klingon leader seeking to unite the Klingon houses" and Kol's mentor.

L'Rell (Mary Chieffo)

Mary Chieffo will portray L’Rell, "the Battle Deck Commander of the Klingon ship." 

Saru (Doug Jones)

Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth) will be taking on the role of Lt. Saru, a science officer. Saru will be a new species of alien we have never seen before in the Star Trek universe.

Lieutenant Stamets (Anthony Rapp)

The Rent star has been cast as Lt. Stamets, an "astromycologist" and "fungus expert" aboard the Discovery. 

Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

Jason Isaacs will fill the role of Captain Lorca, the captain of the Starship Discovery.

Isaacs is best known for playing a film and TV show antagonist (see: Harry Potter, The Patriot, and, most recently, The OA), so it will be interesting to see if Star Trek: Discovery will continue that trend. Could Captain Lorca be a bad guy? Of course, Isaacs has been known to play a good guy or two over the years — for example, NBC's short-lived series Awake — so Captain Lorca might very well be a real mensch.

Sarek (James Frain)

The show recently added James Frain (seen recently as Theo Galavan on Gotham) in the role of Spock's Vulcan father, Sarek. The character of Sarek has a long Star Trek history, first appearing in The Original Series before going on to make appearances in four of the Star Trek movies, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in the 2009 Star Trek movie. 

He has previously been played by Mark Lenard and Jonathan Simpson in the Prime Universe, and Ben Cross more recently in the Kelvin Universe of the Star Trek reboot films. 

This is kind of big news because it represents the first tangible connection between Star Trek: Discovery and the rest of the Star Trek universe. Frain is a great choice (and a familiar face in the genre TV universe), and the introduction of Sarek's character, who has a fascinating history aside from his connection to Spock.

Sarek's grandfather was the first Vulcan ambassador to Earth and Sarek would go on to marry a human, Amanda Grayson (his second marriage), a controversial choice in Vulcan society. Though it's unlikely that Spock will appear in Discovery with his dad, given that Sarek and Spock were estranged during the time Discovery is set, there could be hope for Amanda Grayson to make an appearance — which would be awesome.

Kol (Kenneth Mitchell)

Kenneth Mitchell (Frequency, The Astronaut Wives Club) will step in to replace the previously cast Shazad Latif in the role of Klingon commander Kol, protege to T’Kuvma. In the DS9 comics, Kol was in charge of the Klingon fleet that visited the space station after a suspected Cardassian attack.

Lieutenant Tyler (Shazad Latif)

Shazad Latif (Penny Dreadful, Toast of London), however, is not going anywhere, since he has been given a new part that won’t require hours in a makeup chair to play Starfleet Lieutenant Tyler.

Commander Landry (Rekha Sharma)

Rekha Sharma (The 100, Battlestar Galactica) boards the series as Discovery crew member and security officer Commander Landry.

Ujilli (Damon Runyan)

Damon Runyan (Gangland Undercover, Haven) will play Ujilli, a leader in the Klingon Empire.

Dennas (Clare McConnell)

Clare McConnell (Dim the Fluorescents, This is What it Sounds Like Falling Out of Love with You) will play Dennas, who, like Ujilli, is a leader in the Klingon Empire.

Harvey Mudd (Rainn Wilson)

Star Trek: Discovery is paying homage to The Original Series with the return of fan-favorite conman character Harry Mudd!

According to TV Line, The Office star Rainn Wilson has been cast as the "intergalactic criminal" i the new Star Trek series. The role was held in The Original Series by the wonderfully campy Roger C. Carmel, who appeared in two Original Series episodes — "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd,"— as well as an episode of The Animated Series— "Mudd's Passion."

Wilson is a great choice to reprise the role. Not only does he have the comic chops to bring Mudd to screen, but he once played an alien in the Star Trek-inspired satirical film Galaxy Quest. (See him in the background of many of these scenes.)

This is interesting casting news on the tonal front. While it worries me somewhat that Discovery has room for such a campy character, I'm also willing to see how Mudd fits into the larger story. Will he be as over-the-top as the Original Series character? We'll have to wait and see.

Other characters...

Rounding out the cast/crew, courtesy of StarTrek.com...

Sam Vartholomeos (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Following) is Ensign Connor, "a Junior Officer in Starfleet Academy assigned to the starship Shenzhou."

Maulik Pancholy (Weeds, 30 Rock) is Dr. Nambue, "the Chief Medical Officer of the starship Shenzhou."

Terry Serpico (The Departed, Rescue Me, Elementary) is Admiral Anderson, "a high-ranking Starfleet official."

Star Trek: Discovery Trailer

Paramount and CBS debuted a teaser for Star Trek: Discovery at San Diego Comic Con. Though we don't learn much about the new series from this concept art-y trailer, frankly, it's just nice to see a TV starship again and to know that the Star Trek TV show is on its way. Check out the full trailer for yourself...

We also have this initial teaser, which gives us even less visual detail, but does promise “new crews, new villains, new heroes, new worlds.” So that's something! Check it out...

CBS just released a nostalgia-heavy, behind-the-scenes look at the production, which just started. Following a look back at the previous Star Trek series incarnations (that, frankly, would have been appreciated during the 50th anniversary celebrations), the vid shows the construction of the Discovery on the sound stage, as well as a look at the new uniforms! 

The video ends with a plug to watch all of the previous Star Trek series via CBS All Access (which explains the nostalgia), but, frankly, I don't care if I'm being a little bit emotionally manipulated here. This made me smile...