Since the first inklings of follow-ups to 2017’s debut of Star Trek: Discovery, the franchise expansion under the watch of Alex Kurtzman has always been explained as a careful, planned rollout, scheduled years ahead of time — and while shows like Picard, Strange New Worlds, and the two animated series are rolling well along, another show still has a long runway towards takeoff.

First announced in January 2019, the Michelle Yeoh-led spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery — centered around former Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou’s exploits in the ranks of Section 31 — has been discussed now for two years, with occasional updates about story development over that time.

In addition, Yeoh finally departed Discovery this past season in the two-part “Terra Firma” tale, sending the secret agent back through to the past by way of the Guardian of Forever — to a time and place unknown.

In an interview today with Variety, franchise boss Alex Kurtzman and Paramount+ head of original programming Julie McNamara discussed where the Section 31 show stands, and how additional expansion of the franchise are likely not to hit screens for some time — including at least one of those ‘secret’ shows that Alex Kurtzman first teased us about last January.

Kurtzman and McNamara say there are still “conversations” about a new “Star Trek” series around Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou and the mysterious Section 31, and there are other “Trek” shows in development that haven’t been previously announced. But they emphasized that the current five-series slate will likely not expand further until at least one of the shows runs its course.

“We’re very careful about curating the pacing — the number of shows at any given time — and what those shows are, so that we make sure that it’s always exciting when there’s a new track show coming out,” says McNamara. The rough schedule, she says, is to debut “a new ‘Trek’ a quarter” on Paramount Plus.

“Whether there’s a show that comes up that feels additive and we should add that into the mix, or waiting for attrition of another ‘Trek’ show, we feel good about where we are,” she says. McNamara said that by “attrition,” she means either a “Trek” show “aging out” naturally, or — in an allusion to 80-year-old “Picard” star Patrick Steward, “perhaps an older lead is only committed to a certain number of seasons and and therefore we move on from that.”

While there were some expectations that the Section 31 series may have been headed into pre-production in early 2020 before COVID-19 hit, combinations of pandemic delays, Michelle Yeoh’s commitment to star in Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and potentially-greater fan interest in the Captain Pike-led Strange New Worlds has seemed to move it off the slate for some time.

This shouldn’t be a major surprise, as back in 2019 McNamara had already been hedging how fast the Yeoh-led spin-off may hit screens, indicating at that time that it may not even come to viewers until after Star Trek: Discovery completed its run.

Kurtzman also spoke with The Hollywood Reporter today, explaining about about his thoughts on future expansion plans and how to dial in just the right way to move forward.

Despite all appearances, we’re not interested in being in the quantity business. I don’t think that serves the Star Trek universe. We are interested in being in the quality business.

It takes upwards of two years from inception to postproduction. Yes, we’ve thought beyond the five [shows]. Yes, we’re having conversations about what happens beyond the five. But we have to make sure we’re staying true to the way we’ve built the first five.

Each show is incredibly different, offers a specific thing, they’re not all targeted at the same audiences — but interestingly enough, they tend to bring in the same audience. It’s difficult to make something for everyone. You end up making something for no one when you take that approach.

Do I see something on BET? Yes, because there may be a niche Star Trek show that’s perfect for that. I want to make sure as we build this out that we’re being thoughtful about creating a really interesting rainbow of colors, that each show feels different and you don’t think, “I can watch Picard and not watch the others.” Because they’re all very different.

That to us is more important — staying true to that approach.

Finally, Paramount+ debuted this tribute to the past, present, and future of the Star Trek franchise, though it doesn’t include any new footage of in-production or upcoming projects.

We’ll bring you all the latest news on the Star Trek: Section 31 series if and when it breaks; Star Trek: Discovery‘s fourth season is in production now and projected to debut in late 2021.