CBS is denying that recent statements by “Star Trek: Discovery” co-showrunner Aaron Harberts imply that the Klingons in the upcoming series are based on supporters of President Donald Trump.
Last week, Harberts gave an interview to Entertainment Weekly in which he discussed how current events had influenced the tone and direction of the CBS All Access series. Themes related to the show’s depiction of Klingons “are going to help us really look at certain sides of ourselves and our country,” he said.
Harberts went on to describe what those themes were, and his remarks were interpreted by multiple outlets, including TheWrap, to mean that the show’s version of alien warrior race was specifically inspired by Trump supporters. However, a representative for CBS reached out to TheWrap Monday morning, calling that interpretation incorrect.
Here is what Harberts said about how current events influenced the show’s depiction of the Klingons:
“The allegory is that we really started working on the show in earnest around the time the election was happening. The Klingons are going to help us really look at certain sides of ourselves and our country. Isolationism is a big theme. Racial purity is a big theme. The Klingons are not the enemy, but they do have a different view on things. It raises big questions: Should we let people in? Do we want to change? There’s also the question of just because you reach your hand out to someone, do they have to take it? Sometimes, they don’t want to take it. It’s been interesting to see how the times have become more of a mirror than we even thought they were going to be.”
Set about a decade before the events of the original “Star Trek” series, “Discovery” follows Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), first officer of the titular starship during the intensifying cold war between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets. Martin-Green is the first woman of color to topline a “Star Trek” series.
“Discovery” premieres on CBS All Access on Sunday, Sept. 24 and will be followed by the premiere on the CBS network.