Quick Hits: Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek series; Perry Mason adds Matthew Rhys; NBCUniversal streaming service
Today, CBS All Access confirmed that the long-rumored project revolving around her Star Trek: Discovery character of Capt. Philippa Georgiou is in development, and all signs point towards this show eventually making it to a pilot and beyond. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman is on board, as are writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt. The series will allow us a chance to see a different side of Georgiou’s character, and also expand the larger universe in an exciting way.
In a statement, Kurtzman had the following to say on the project:
“Michelle has shattered ceilings, broken boundaries and astonished us with her grace and gravitas for decades. As a human, I adore her. As an actor, I revere her … Erika and Boey are remarkable, exciting writers who bring a fresh perspective to the world of Star Trek, and we’re all thrilled to explore the next wild chapter in the life of Captain Philippa Georgiou.”
Want some other news of the day? Read on…
Matthew Rhys playing Perry Mason – This long-gestating project at HBO was originally set to star Robert Downey Jr. as the title character; he is still behind the scenes as an executive producer. The idea now is to put The Americans alum in a period of Mason’s life where he is struggling as a low-rent private investigator; it is a limited series at the moment, but as we’ve seen over time that could certainly change.
Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald are the two writers currently behind the project; Nic Pizzolatto was at one point attached, but that changed when he kicked off work on True Detective streaming service.
NBCUniversal looking towards streaming service – Apparently, the media company wants to replicate the success of CBS All Access, the upcoming Disney+, and others. Per Deadline, the idea is for this service to launch in 2020 and be free to viewers who are already cable subscribers — it’s actually a little more similar that way to what HBO and Showtime do with their apps. They are free to those who already have them on cable, but you can purchase them a la carte for a price. NBCUniversal is keeping their stake in Hulu, and the precise programming for this remains TBA.
In a statement, here’s what NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke had to say:
“NBCUniversal has some of the world’s most valuable intellectual property and top talent, both in front of and behind the camera … Many of the most-watched shows on today’s popular streaming platforms come from NBCUniversal. Our new service will be different than those presently in the market and it will be built on the company’s strengths, with NBCUniversal’s great content and the technology expertise, broad scale and the wide distribution of Comcast Cable and Sky.”
As always, we welcome your thoughts on this story below! (Photo: HBO)