‘Star Trek: Discovery’ to Miss May Premiere Date on CBS All Access

Series also casts James Frain as Spock’s father, Sarek

Star Trek: Discovery
CBS

“Star Trek: Discovery” will most likely not be ready for its planned May launch date on CBS All Access, TheWrap has learned.

In addition, former “Gotham” star James Frain has joined the series in the role of Sarek, the legendary Vulcan statesman and father of Spock from the original series.

According to a source close to the production, it is very possible that the show will not have time to shoot and complete all of its visual effects work before May. However, the source insisted that there are no serious issues with the production and producers are simply taking their time with the show.

This would mark the second delay for the highly anticipated series, which was originally slated to debut in January. The series is set to start production next week at Pinewood Studios in Toronto.

“Production on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ begins next week. We love the cast, the scripts and are excited about the world the producers have created,” CBS Television Studios told TheWrap. “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.”

“The Walking Dead” star Sonequa Martin-Green was recently cast as the lead in the series, a lieutenant aboard the titular starship. However, Martin-Green is scheduled to work on “Walking Dead” through April, meaning she would not have time to promote “Discovery.”

Given the fact “Discovery” is going to premiere on a streaming service, the show does not have the same pressure of filling a specific time slot like a broadcast series.

Frain joins “Star Trek: Discovery” after playing Theo Galavan on Fox’s “Gotham.” The actor also appeared in Seasons 3 and 4 of “Orphan Black” opposite Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany and in the second season of “True Detective” on HBO. He also portrayed Franklin Mott in HBO’s “True Blood.”

His past film credits include “”Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett and “Hilary and Jackie” opposite Emily Watson, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Where the Heart Is” alongside Natalie Portman, and “Into the Blue” with Paul Walker.

Chris Obi, Shazad Latif and Mary Chieffo joined the show as a trio of Klingon warriors. The series has also cast Anthony Rapp, Doug Jones and Michelle Yeoh in key roles.

Recently, Bryan Fuller left his post as showrunner on “Discovery,” with executive producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts taking his place.

As originally planned, the premiere episode of “Discovery” will air on CBS, with all subsequent episodes released weekly and available in the U.S. exclusively on CBS All Access. Each episode of the series will be available globally within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere, presented on Netflix in 188 countries and through Bell Media platforms in Canada.

The series is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout, Fuller’s Living Dead Guy Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Kurtzman, Fuller, Heather Kadin, Berg, Harberts, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth will serve as executive producers.

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