First announced back in July at San Diego Comic Con, we now have the confirmed release schedule — and plot details — about the four new Star Trek: Discovery short films coming this fall!
Kicking off on October 4, Star Trek: Short Treks will follow a monthly release schedule which will carry the Discovery story forward until the approach of Season 2 in early 2019.
The first Short Trek will be the Tilly-centric “Runaway,” followed by the Michael Chabon-scripted “Calypso” in November. Saru’s “The Brightest Star” will kick off December, and the currently-filming “The Escape Artist” rounds out the films with Harry Mudd in January.
Through the story descriptions, we learn that Saru’s home planet is called Kaminar, and that we’ll get to meet at least two members of his family — including the first female Kelpien in the series.
Here’s the full schedule, and story summaries, announced via CBS today:
“Runaway” (Thursday, Oct. 4) — “Onboard the U.S.S. Discovery, Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) encounters an unexpected visitor in need of help. However, this unlikely pair may have more in common than meets the eye.”
Written by Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman. Directed by Maja Vrvilo.
“Calypso” (Thursday, Nov. 8) — “After waking up in an unfamiliar sickbay, Craft (Aldis Hodge) finds himself on board a deserted ship, and his only companion and hope for survival is an A.I. computer interface.”
Teleplay by Michael Chabon. Story by Sean Cochran and Michael Chabon.
Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi.
“The Brightest Star” (Thursday, Dec. 6) — “Before he was the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, Saru (Doug Jones) lived a simple life on his home planet of Kaminar with his father and sister. Young Saru, full of ingenuity and a level of curiosity uncommon among his people, yearns to find out what lies beyond his village, leading him on an unexpected path.”
Written by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt. Directed by Douglas Aarniokoski.
“The Escape Artist” (Thursday, Jan. 3) — “Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson), back to his old tricks of stealing and double-dealing, finds himself in a precarious position aboard a hostile ship — just in time to try out his latest con.”
Written by Michael McMahan. Directed by Rainn Wilson.
CBS also released a (very) brief teaser trailer for the upcoming films, giving us our first look at guest star Aldis Hodge and a new alien woman aboard Discovery.
These four short films will, of course, debut on CBS All Access in the United States, though as of this writing we’re not yet sure of release venues in other global regions — and it’s possible, based on preliminary reports, that Short Treks may not immediately be available outside of the US.
Digital Spy in the UK reports today that inquiries to Netflix (which carries Discovery outside of North America) that “there are currently no plans to air the Short Treks on Netflix.”
TrekCore is working to independently verify that statement, as well as the status of Bell Media’s plans for distribution in Canada — as soon as we have updates on those non-US regions, we’ll be sure to update you all right here.
UPDATE: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp noted on Twitter this morning that international release plans are still being finalized due licensing agreements:
It’s not purposeful geoblocking, it just has to do with the international rights holders not having an agreement (yet) for these mini episodes. They’re not covered in the regular agreement.
— Anthony Rapp on Mastodon @albinokid@nerdculture.de (@albinokid) September 21, 2018
Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest Star Trek: Discovery and Short Treks news — and watch for our review of “Runaway” after its debut!