CBS All Access announced on January 14 their plans to spin off a new Star Trek series featuring Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians). Yeoh currently stars as “Philippa Georgiou”on Star Trek Discovery, most recently as a member of Section 31, Star Fleet’s black ops shadow organization within the Federation. It is this role that will be featured in the unnamed series currently in development.
“I’m so excited to continue telling these rich Star Trek stories,” Michelle Yeoh said in a statement. “Being a part of this universe and this character specifically has been such a joy for me to play. I can’t wait to see where it all goes – certainly I believe it will go ‘where no WOMAN has ever gone before!’”
Yeoh has been part of part of Star Trek Discovery since episode one when she was the Captain of the titular ship. But her death was pivotal in the growth of another character on the show, “Lt. Michael Burnham,” played by Sonequa Martin-Green. Burnham’s angst over the captain’s death is what ultimately brings Emperor Georgiou from another dimension onto Discovery and into Section 31.
Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth will serve as executive producers. Aaron Baiers and Bo Yeon Kim will serve as co-executive producers, and Erika Lippoldt will write the series.
This new series is only one of several new shows announced recently, including one that brings the return of Patrick Stewart as “Jean Luc Picard,” and the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, developed by Emmy Award-winner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty).
Star Trek Discovery premiers on January 17 on CBS All Access.