New Star Trek TV series will feature a gay character
Executive producer Bryan Fuller says Star Trek: Discovery will ‘honour the spirt of inclusion’.
Star Trek: Discovery will make its maiden voyage in 2017, with one the most diverse crews the galaxy has ever seen.
Discussing the upcoming prequel series, executive producer Bryan Fuller said the show will “absolutely” have a gay character.
Fuller – who is openly gay – also announced that the new show will feature a female lead character, in a further bid to honour the franchise’s history of inclusion.
“Star Trek started with a wonderful expression of diversity in its cast,” Fuller told reporters at a panel for the show at the Television Critics Association press tour.
“You had a Russian with a black woman and an Asian man amongst a Vulcan, which is a different kind of diversity.
“We’re absolutely continuing that tradition.”
However, the new addition will not be the first LGBT character to feature in the Star Trek franchise.
Prior to the release of summer blockbuster Star Trek: Beyond, John Cho – who plays the role of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu made famous by George Takei – revealed the character would be gay.
The decision sparked a heated debate when Takei – a long-time proponent of LGBT characters in the Star Trek universe – said the decision was “twisting” the original universe, though he has since clarified his comments.
The new TV series will be set in the ‘prime’ universe – meaning not in the J.J. Abrams movie universe – and takes place ten years before the start of Captain Kirk’s five-year mission.
Viewers can also expect to see robots, time travel and more than one alien character.
Star Trek: Discovery will make its debut on CBS in 2017. Subsequent episodes will be made available exclusively on paid SVOD service, CBS All Access.
