Quick Hits: Star Trek: Discovery renewed; The OA season 2 premiere date; Jane the Virgin spin-off news
Today, CBS All Access confirmed that there will be a season 3 for what is their landmark streaming show, a visual wonder that seems to be spawning all sorts of other Trek-related programming. (Need we generate more hype around the potential Jean-Luc Picard show again? Our hearts race at the thought!) This isn’t a surprise given that the streaming service has invested so much into this series, which has undergone numerous showrunner changes and a lot of behind-the-scenes upheavals.
Moving into season 3, it looks like there is finally some stability aboard the metaphorical bridge — Alex Kurtzman is still steering the ship after taking the reins for that role in season 2; meanwhile, he will be joined by co-executive producer Michelle Paradise, an expert in Trek lore and someone who seems eager for the challenge. Check out some of the effusive praise Kurtzman gave her in his statement today:
“Michelle joined us midway through Season 2 and energized the room with her ferocious knowledge of Trek … Her grasp of character and story detail, her drive and her focus have already become essential in ensuring the Trek legacy, and her fresh perspective always keeps us looking forward. I’m proud to say Michelle and I are officially running Star Trek: Discovery together.”
Now, let’s steer this ship towards some other news of the day…
The OA season 2 (finally) gets a premiere date
The great news here is simply that we now know when the super-mysterious Netflix series is coming back — Friday, March 22. (Sidebar: Remember when Netflix just randomly launched the first season without hardly any hype at all?) The problem is that it’s been so long since season 1 (or “Part 1,” as Netflix is calling it for some sort of “we don’t want to conform to society” reason) that there’s a good chance you don’t really remember a whole lot of it.
If you want a refresher, Netflix did release a synopsis to go along with the excellent trailer below:
The “mind-bending” story returns with The OA Part II, which follows OA as she navigates a new dimension, one in which she had a completely different life as a Russian heiress, and one in which she once again finds herself as Hap’s captive. Part II introduces Karim Washington, a private detective tasked with finding a missing teen, Michelle Vu. His path crosses with OA, as they try to solve the mystery of Michelle’s whereabouts and a house on Nob Hill connected to the disappearance of several teenagers. Meanwhile, back in the first dimension, BBA, Angie and the boys find themselves on a journey to understand the truth behind OA’s story and the incredible realities she described.
The appeal for The OA is that it’s one of the most visually-imaginative series that you’re going to see — it’s ethereal and thought-provoking as it makes you question choices, identity, and what your life could be. It also commands just about all of your attention, because if you look down for even a moment to see how many cheese puffs are left in your Costco sized container you will miss something important. Watch it with that in mind.
Hell’s Kitchen is back for more
Fox confirmed this week that the Gordon Ramsay cooking competition — a.k.a. a show that keeps chugging along without many realizing that it’s still on the air — will be back for a season 19 and a season 20. It gets virtually zero mainstream attention (even though it’s still just as fun to watch Ramsay smash a fish with his hand as it was back in the day), but it’s the perfect Fox plug-in show that always gets good ratings, and relies solely on the appeal of Ramsay for its success. Sure, the contestants also do fight with each other, but you don’t know who any of these people are when you start watching and what you do know for sure is that Ramsay is going to call someone an idiot and kick everyone out of the kitchen for botching up the beef wellingtons.
Jane the Virgin spin-off news
You may have heard that Jane the Virgin is leading into a spin-off anthology series called Jane the Novela, where each season is basically a TV adaptation of one of Jane’s stories, as narrated by Gina Rodriguez. Now, we can tell you that Jacquline Grace Lopez will play the lead for season 1. This is set at a California vineyard, one where family secrets (insert dramatic pause here) threaten to tear the family apart. Not too much else is known, but how much more do you need? It’s basically Jane the Virgin with different stories and a fresh coat of paint. It’s the same tone that you’ve come to love from the flagship show.
The final season of Jane the Virgin, as a reminder, will premiere on The CW next month.
That’s all for this edition of Quick Hits, but keep your eyes peeled for some more news coming up! (Photo: CBS All Access.)