The last time that a new episode of a Star Trek TV series was on the air was over a decade ago when Star Trek: Enterprise ended its fifth and final season.

Whispers of a new TV show have come and gone from time to time, especially after J.J. Abrams successfully rebooted the movie franchise in 2009, but now a new series is officially on the way. It’s being reported that Star Trek movie writer and producer Alex Kurtzman is developing a new take on the beloved franchise for television, which he will also executive produce. But those of you excited about news like this have even more to be excited about: the franchise is already established enough that, instead of waiting for a pilot to be ordered and made and watched to decide if they want to give it a full series, this new show has already been given the full series order. There is, however, a bit of a catch.

The first episode of this new Star Trek TV series has already been scheduled to premiere in January of 2017 on CBS. After that first episode airs, all subsequent new episodes will then air exclusively in the United States on CBS’s video on demand subscription service, CBS All Access, which will run you $5.99 per month. The show will also be distributed concurrently for television and multiple platforms around the world by CBS Studios International.

Of the news, CBS Television Studios President David Stapf said:

With Executive Vice President/General Manager of CBS Digital Media Marc DeBevoise adding:

Here’s a brief description of the new series:

The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

It’s also worth mentioning that the new series is not related to Star Trek Beyond, the third release in the rebooted movie franchise set to be released next summer.

I’ve never been a huge Star Trek fan, but I might have been interested in watching a new TV series. That all goes out the window with this exclusive to CBS All Access nonsense. That seems like a slap to the face of the true Trek fans out there, basically saying “this is isn’t important enough for us to air on the main network that you already have, so we’re going to make you pay $6 a months more to see it.” I’m very interested to hear what you die-hard Star Trek fans think of this.

Your best bet, if you’re not willing to pay more just to see this but still want to see it? Wait until the first season is available in its entirety, then pay for one month of CBS All Access and watch it all within that month before canceling. Rinse and repeat with future seasons…if there are any. Just make sure you watch that first episode on CBS. If a massive number of viewers watch that then no one watches on CBS All Access, maybe they’ll rethink such a silly idea before it’s too late and the show is canned.

[Source: Star Trek]