Paramount Plus has ordered a fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and said the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will be the final one. Season five of Lower Decks comes out in the fall.  

“It has been incredibly rewarding to continue to build the Star Trek universe, and we're so grateful to Secret Hideout and our immensely talented casts and producers,” said Jeff Grossman, executive VP, programming, Paramount Plus. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has found the perfect blend of action, adventure and humor, and we're elated to announce another season ahead of our season three premiere. Similarly, Star Trek: Lower Decks has brought the laughs with an ample amount of heart to the franchise across its four seasons. We can’t wait for audiences to see what is in store for the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in this final season.”

Strange New Worlds is based on the years Capt. Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The cast includes Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn. 

Lower Decks is an animated comedy about the support crew on the not so important U.S.S. Cerritos. Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid are in the voice cast. 

“Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds are integral to the Star Trek franchise, expanding the boundaries of the universe and exploring new and exciting worlds,” said David Stapf, president, CBS Studios. “We are extraordinarily proud of both series as they honor the legacy of what Gene Roddenberry created almost 60 years ago. We are so grateful to work with Secret Hideout, [executive producers] Alex Kurtzman, Mike McMahan, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and the cast, crews and artists who craft these important and entertaining stories for fans around the world.”

Star Trek: Discovery debuted its fifth and final season on Paramount Plus April 4.   

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery premieres on Paramount Plus Thursday, April 4. Two episodes drop on premiere day, and new ones come out on subsequent Thursdays. Episodes one and two are called “Red Directive” and “Under the Twin Moons.”

There are 10 episodes. 

The final season sees Capt. Michael Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose existence has been hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt for it as well. 

Sonequa Martin-Green plays Burnham. Doug Jones is Saru, Anthony Rapp plays Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman portrays Sylvia Tilly and Wilson Cruz plays Dr. Hugh Culber.  

Star Trek: Discovery debuted on Paramount Plus pre-cursor CBS All Access in 2017, the network’s first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences. When the show was announced, CBS All Access said it would introduce characters “seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.”

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Sonequa Martin-Green, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth are executive producers. Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise are the showrunners. 

Kurtzman’s credits include the films Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). 

Paradise worked on The CW show The Originals before coming on board at Star Trek: Discovery. 

A review of the new season on Space.com says: “The opening episode of the final season [of] Star Trek: Discovery is a far, far cry from strong openings that this show has demonstrated it's capable of in the past. And that's a sentence we've had to write far too many times.”

Another, in the Star-Tribune, says, “The plot in the final episodes seems like a rip-off from The Avengers, with the rather bland crew racing across the galaxy to locate puzzle pieces.”

A more favorable write-up on IndieWire says the final season “hits the ground running with a fun, Indiana Jones-inspired chase plot that doesn’t require you to open Memory Alpha to remember what came before. The MacGuffin is taken straight from a Next Generation episode. We won’t say which one, but it’s a plot point that’ll inspire a good number of nods from the audience: ‘Yeah, why didn’t they ever follow up on that before now?’ It’s a good example of internal continuity for the franchise organically inspiring a cool plotline, not just a callback for the sake of nostalgia.”

Star Trek: Discovery aired on CBS in 2020, when the pandemic delayed scripted production. 

Star Trek shows on Paramount Plus include Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  

Star Trek Day is September 8, and Paramount Global is celebrating with a special program hosted by Jerry O’Connell of Star Trek: Lower Decks. That day will also feature screenings of Lower Decks and other animated Star Trek programming across the U.S and beyond. 

Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966. 

O’Connell voices Commander Jack Ransom on Star Trek: Lower Decks. The special will include segments that look back at memorable moments across the 57 years of the franchise on TV, while showcasing flagship show Star Trek: Discovery and teasing the fourth season of Lower Decks. Both series are on Paramount Plus.  

The special can be viewed on Paramount Plus, Pluto TV and Mixable, and select CBS affiliates, along with Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Fave TV and Smithsonian.com. It can also be seen on YouTube (Paramount Plus and Star Trek official channels), Twitch and Facebook.  

CBS will air the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds September 8.  

There will be free screenings that day celebrating animated Star Trek programming, including four episodes of Lower Decks. They are lined up for Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Vancouver, Calgary and London. 

Star Trek: The Animated Series launched on September 8, 50 years ago. 

Star Trek stuff on Paramount Plus includes Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 

Star Trek: Discovery launched on CBS All Access in 2017. It will wrap after season five, which debuts next year. 

Multicast network Comet hosts Comet Fest ‘23, its first annual multiplatform fan festival, June 16-18. The inaugural event will celebrate Star Trek, and William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek, will be interviewed. The festival features TV series, movies and digital experiences on Comet, a sci-fi and fantasy network, across that weekend. 

On Friday, June 16, Comet Fest ‘23 kicks things off with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in primetime. On June 17, it’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in prime. June 18 features all four movies, starting at 11 a.m., then a primetime preview of new show Grimm. Grimm, which lasted six seasons on NBC, premieres on Comet the next day. 

The Captain’s Closeup, a five-episode docuseries directed and hosted by Shatner, features one-on-one interviews with actors who played Star Trek series captains, including Sir Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine. It will air following Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn on Day 1 and prior to the film telecasts on Day 2 and Day 3 of the festival. 

Sinclair Broadcast Group owns Comet.

“Star Trek is huge! Some 13 feature films and 11 television series later, fans continue to search out and explore everything Trek,” said Adam Ware, senior VP of Sinclair’s Growth Networks Group. “Broadcasting and streaming the first four movies, the five-episode docuseries, and a special one-on-one interview with the legendary William Shatner is the perfect way to launch Comet’s first annual fandom experience.”

Shatner will be interviewed by Matthew Hoffman, correspondent on Extra and narrator and co-writer of Love Island USA. Viewers will see excerpts from the interview all weekend long during commercial breaks and watch it in its entirety at CometTV.com/CometFest.

Paramount Plus has ordered the series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The show will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age. The series will begin production in 2024.

Starfleet Academy “will introduce us to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself,” Paramount Plus said. 

Also Read: Paramount Plus Renews ‘Star Trek’ Spinoffs ‘Strange New Worlds,’ ‘Lower Decks’

“We are excited to introduce Star Trek fans to a whole new generation of Starfleet officers in training as they navigate the rigors of the Academy and the brink of adulthood in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” said Domenic DiMeglio, chief marketing officer and head of data at Paramount Streaming. “Introducing new characters and compelling storylines, this all-new original series will serve as a fantastic addition to the franchise and Paramount Plus, bringing new generations of viewers and long-term Star Trek fans alike together to enjoy the next chapter in the iconic Star Trek universe.”

Star Trek shows on Paramount Plus include Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  

“Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny!” gushed co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. “For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves. The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!”

Executive producing with Kurtzman and Landau are Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa and John Weber. The series will be produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. ■

Paramount Global will feed whatever nostalgia viewers have for broadcast TV by putting 6,300 episodes of classic CBS shows on its free, ad-supported streaming platform Pluto TV in the next two months.

Frasier and Cheers will be anchoring a new Sitcom Legends channel; the Star Trek channel will feature the original Star Trek series and a More Star Trek channel will stream Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; the Westerns TV channel will be showing Have Gun – Will Travel and The Wild, Wild West and a Classic TV Comedy channel will offer Petticoat Junction. 

Dozens of new series and new seasons of series will also be coming to Pluto TV's on-demand menu for the first time by the end of the year.

"Pluto TV and CBS are both proven leaders delivering world-class entertainment to global audiences," Paramount Streaming president and CEO Tom Ryan said. "With unrivaled access to the coveted CBS library, Pluto TV is able to deliver the best of both worlds to our viewers — world-class, evergreen programming with flexible viewing options, all for free."

Nielsen recently declared Pluto TV to be one of the top streaming destinations, generating 1% of all viewing in September. Paramount — then called Viacom — acquired Pluto TV for $350 million in 2019.

"Pluto TV and CBS are a great example of how having a BIG network and studio partnered closely with a FAST platform can supercharge our streaming ecosystem," said George Cheeks, President and CEO, CBS. "Both of our teams are continually benefitting from insights and learnings around FAST programming performance to help define future strategies that benefit each of our businesses. The overwhelming success of the CSI and 48 Hours channels on Pluto TV are just two recent examples of how our broadcast franchises are connecting with a growing and often unduplicated streaming audience. We think we’re just getting started in how we can work together with Pluto TV for the benefit of our content and the company."

The shows being added to Pluto on demand are: The Andy Griffith Show, Becker, Beverly Hillbillies, Beverly Hills 90210, Brady Bunch, Charmed, Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, Diagnosis Murder, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Everybody Hates Chris, Family Ties, Flashpoint, The Fugitive, Girlfriends, Gunsmoke, Half & Half, Have Gun Will Travel, Hawaii Five-O, Hot Bench, JAG, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, MacGyver, Man With a Plan, Matlock, Mission Impossible, Moesha, Mork & Mindy, Numbers, The Odd Couple, One On One, The Parkers, Perry Mason, Petticoat Junction, Pink Collar Crimes, Rachael Ray, Rescue 911, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Scorpion, Sister, Sister, Taxi, Touched By An Angel, The Twilight Zone, Webster, The Wild Wild West, Wings and WoW - Women of Wrestling. ■

Paramount Plus celebrated Star Trek Day on September 8 with a batch of announcements, including season three of Star Trek: Picard arriving on the network February 16. Star Patrick Stewart introduced a trailer from the third season, which will be the final one. There will be ten episodes. 

Star Trek Day is held September 8, as that is the day Star Trek premiered back in 1966. The event happened in Los Angeles and was live-streamed. 

Picard cast members Stewart, Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd were at the event. Stewart plays Jean-Luc Picard, as he did on Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Paramount Plus also debuted a clip from season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at the event. Carol Kane will join season two as Pelia. “Highly educated and intelligent, this engineer suffers no fools,” according to Paramount Plus. “Pelia solves problems calmly and brusquely, thanks to her many years of experience.” 

Rebecca Romijn, Celia Rose Gooding and Jess Bush are in the cast. Strange New Worlds  is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the U.S.S. Enterprise. 

Strange New Worlds is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. 

Animated kids show Star Trek: Prodigy has its mid-season return October 27 on Paramount Plus. A trailer, showing the U.S.S. Protostar crew and character Murf as he completes his “metamurfosis,” was shared. 

Billy Campbell is joining the voice cast. Brett Gray, Kate Mulgrew and Ella Purnell are in the cast. 

Prodigy follows a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search of a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered, but get to know Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Star Trek: Prodigy is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, Nickelodeon Animation, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. 

Paramount Plus also released a sneak peek of a scene from animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks. Mike McMahan created the series. Season three began August 25. Star Trek: Discovery cast member Wilson Cruz offered a behind-the-scenes tour of the set. 

Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones  and Anthony Rapp are also in the Discovery cast. ■

Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek series, as well as in movies and by voicing an animated version of the character, has died at 89.

Her son, Kyle Johnson, announced on Nichols’s Facebook page that she had died July 30. (No cause of death was given.)

Nichols was groundbreaking both as a Black woman co-starring on a TV series in the 1960s — and for one of the early interracial kisses — with William Shatner’s Capt. James T. Kirk.

“[Star Trek creator] Gene Roddenberry believed in me,” Nichols said on her website. “His belief presented me with a fantastic opportunity: to help conceive and create the groundbreaking role of Uhura on Star Trek, the original series.”

“And my belief was expanded to embrace Gene’s vision of a bright future for humanity. When I was on those wonderful sets with all of the cast members, the universe of Star Trek began to feel not so much a fantasy but an opportunity to lay the groundwork for what we might actually achieve by the 23rd Century … a bold aspiration and an affirmation of Uhura as we eagerly await her arrival.”

That first series only lasted from 1966 to 1968 on NBC, but then lived long and prospered mightily in syndication, spawning movie franchises and numerous spinoffs.

Also: CBS All Access Launches New Star Trek Series

President Joe Biden released a statement praising Nichols:

“In Nichelle Nichols, our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women,” he said.

“A daughter of a working-class family from Illinois, she first honed her craft as an actor and singer in Chicago before touring the country and the world performing with the likes of Duke Ellington and giving life to the words of James Baldwin.

“During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, she shattered stereotypes to become the first Black woman to act in a major role on a primetime television show with her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek. With a defining dignity and authority, she helped tell a central story that reimagined scientific pursuits and discoveries. And she continued this legacy by going on to work with NASA to empower generations of Americans from every background to reach for the stars and beyond.

“Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society.“

George Takei, who played navigator Lt. Sulu on the series, said: “I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise. For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.”

Many have credited Star Trek, which featured a multicultural cast in positions of importance with which many could identify, with fueling their love of space exploration.

“Nichelle Nichols was a trailblazing actress, advocate and dear friend to NASA. At a time when Black women were seldom seen on screen, Nichelle’s portrayal as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek held a mirror up to America that strengthened civil rights,” said NASA administrator and former Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. “Nichelle’s advocacy transcended television and transformed NASA. After Apollo 11, Nichelle made it her mission to inspire women and people of color to join this agency, change the face of STEM and explore the cosmos. Nichelle’s mission is NASA’s mission. Today, as we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols.”

The Smithsonian tweeted a photo of the Uhura uniform in its collection with a note: 

A new Paramount Plus Star Trek prequel and Emmy Award winner Glenn Close's return to TV in Apple TV Plus's Tehran kicks off the list of original shows debuting during the first week of May. 

Paramount Plus's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuts May 5 and follows the adventures onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in the decade before the original Star Trek series. The series stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One.

Returning for its second season on May 6 is Apple TV Plus' s drama series Tehran, starring Niv Sultan as a Mossad spy who infiltrates the inner workings of Iran. Close, whose last regular TV series role was in Damages in 2012, joins the cast for the show's sophomore campaign.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of May 2 to May 8 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

May 4 – The Circle (returning series) – Netflix

May 4 – Meltdown: Three Mile Island (documentary) – Netflix 

May 5 – The Porter (drama) – BET Plus 

May 5 – Girls5eva (returning series) – Peacock

May 5 – Wild babies (documentary) – Netflix

May 5 – The Pentaverate (comedy) – Netflix

May 5 – The Staircase (drama) – HBO Max 

May 6 – The Big Conn (documentary) – Apple TV Plus 

May 6 – The Great Soul Food Cook-off (reality) – OWN

May 6 – Sheryl (music documentary) – Showtime

May 6 – The Wilds (returning series) – Prime Video

Paramount Plus looks to explore new worlds according to the official video trailer for its new series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which debuts on the streamer May 5.

The 10-episode series is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise prior to Captain Kirk and the original Star Trek series. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will follow Pike and his crew as they explore new worlds around the galaxy, said  the streamer.  

The series stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, as well as Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck. Other series stars include Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia and Babs Olusanmokun. 

Executive producers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds include Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth and Aaron Baiers. ■

Paramount Plus has ordered a fifth season for Star Trek: Discovery, while Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for a second season ahead of the series premiere May 5.

“Four years ago, we made a promise to grow Star Trek into something it had never been before, and thanks to the incredibly hard work done by our many talented showrunners, writers and directors, along with the extraordinary support of CBS Studios and Paramount Plus, we’re keeping our word,” said Alex Kurtzman, architect and executive producer, Star Trek. “Now our current shows are set up for the future as we work to build Trek’s next phase of programming for years to come.”

Season four of Star Trek: Discovery returns February 10. Star Trek: Picard starts season two on Paramount Plus March 3.

Among the animated Star Trek shows on Paramount Plus, Star Trek: Lower Decks returns with season three in summer 2022. The network has ordered a fourth season. Season one of Star Trek: Prodigy returned January 6. ■

Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito will add oversight of Paramount Pictures Animation to her job portfolio after being tapped Thursday to lead that unit of the movie studio. 

As president of animation and development for Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, Naito will oversee all projects for the film studio as well as for the kids-targeted cable network, where she has served as president since last year. Naito replaces current Paramount Animation president Mireille Soria, who is leaving the company. 

Naito, who joined Nickelodeon Animation in 2018, has orchestrated the launch of the network's largest animation slate in network history, feeding its content pipeline across all formats and platforms. In 2021 alone Naito has overseen the launch of such projects as PAW Patrol: The Movie; The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and two original spinoffs, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and The Patrick Star Show; Baby Shark; Blue’s Clues & You!; Santiago of the Seas; The Loud House Movie; and Rugrats, which was recently renewed for a second season. 

Read Also: The Five Spot: Ramsey Naito, President, Nickelodeon Animation 

“Ramsey is one of the savviest executives and creative minds in our industry,”  Paramount Pictures president and CEO Brian Robbins said in a statement. “During her time at Nick, she has transformed and reinvigorated the Animation Studio division with her sharp business instincts, deep stable of relationships and unique eye for great storytelling, and I’m thrilled to have her bring her talents to this expanded role where she can further elevate our overall animation business.” 

Naito will now oversee several upcoming projects for both Paramount and Nickelodeon, including Star Trek: Prodigy from Nickelodeon Animation and CBS Studios; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theatrical motion picture, best selling book adaptations of Big Nate and Real Pigeons Fight Crime, an original Transformers series and an animated series based on the Monster High franchise. 

Soria had led the Paramount Animation division since 2017. ”Mireille has been a driving force in building out a new, dynamic and modern chapter of Paramount Animation,“ Robbins said. ”We thank her for her many contributions to the organization and wish her the best in her future endeavors.“   

The estate of iconic Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry will use cloud computing company OTOY and its LightStage scanning technology to capture 3D metadata from images, blueprints and models associated with the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: TNG, spin-off series and the half dozen theatrical movies.

In addition, the archive is working with holographic display company LightField Lab to create what they said is a life size projection of the Starship Enterprise for what they said will be the "first fully immersive holographic installation experience."

The archive, a decade in the making, will be unveiled at Creation, Las Vegas, Aug. 13.

Time was, say more than a week ago, when you thought about Paramount Plus—presuming you actually thought about Paramount Plus —you thought of the streaming service’s approximately 437 Star Trek series and movies. 

Star Trek: Picard, featuring Patrick Stewart, is actually quite entertaining, even for us non-specialists in all things Federation. But if you’re not jazzed about watching the world’s first octogenarian action hero (hope for Liam Neeson’s late, late, late career!), there’s plenty more where it came from, all on Paramount Plus, which gives its nine Star Trek episodic series their own category. 

Also read: ‘South Park’ Movies Coming to Paramount Plus Under New $900 Million Deal

But of a sudden, Paramount Plus has a chance to be more than just Star Trek, thanks to a mammoth deal announced this week. It’s about time. 

Paramount Plus was leaning toward also-ran status, just months after it had finally revamped an underfed predecessor that had been around most of a decade. Now, it looks like that “mountain of entertainment” promised endlessly in the site’s ads might actually include some interesting originals. 

True, if you’re a left-leaning adult female of a certain age, you might already love Paramount Plus’ The Good Fight. The increasingly wacky but still entertaining spinoff of one of CBS’ last buzz-generating shows, The Good Fight that has been around for five seasons.

But the list of other Must Watch programming on Paramount Plus is awkwardly brief. It’s true the company has gotten a tiny bit of critical attention with Evil, where a psychologist, a carpenter and a priest walk into a bar and … actually, that’s not a setup for a joke, but it sure could be. It’s also the setup for what has been a critically well received show, created by Robert and Michelle King, producers of The Good Wife and The Good Fight. =

Evil bears the logo “Paramount Plus Original,” and it certainly counts as that, exploring its namesake in a maybe-supernatural and wholly philosophical take on CBS’ bread and butter programming, crime and punishment. 

In terms of originality, one can’t say much about most originals on the service, which lineup includes a reboot (iCarly), a reunion (The Real World Homecoming New York), and spinoffs of SpongeBob SquarePants and RuPaul’s Drag Race. At least there’s a warm and cuddly show about unhappy postwar housewives called Why Women Kill, a feature-length Mark Wahlberg thriller, Infinite, and later this month, a feature-length Paw Patrol.

But mostly the service has functioned as something like Hulu for all of ViacomCBS’ legacy outlets, a place to catch up on what you missed while watching old-school “TV.”

That’s been modestly successful for Paramount Plus. Analytics consultant Antenna Inc. says Paramount Plus was fifth—ahead of Starz, Showtime, Discovery Plus, Peacock and Apple TV Plus—in its share of subscriptions among the top 10 general-interest services.

But it’s also worth noting that Paramount Plus’ current share, 8% of a fast-growing sector, is not much bigger than the share that predecessor CBS All Access claimed two years ago, when there were just six streaming majors. 

Which is why the programming announcement made during ViacomCBS’ earnings call on Thursday was so much bigger than just its gigantic price tag, though that was big too, a $900 million deal with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. 

The announcement came just in time to extend Parker and Stone’s durable animated comedy South Park for five more years, ahead of its 25th season, a record for animated longevity outstripped only by The Simpsons.

The deal provides far more than just half-hour show after half-hour show about four potty-mouthed pre-pubescents skewering American pop culture. 

It includes 14 movies, starting with a two-parter, in a production slate plan rivaled perhaps only by Marvel. All 14 will debut exclusively on Paramount Plus, significantly enhancing what has been an anemic slate.  

The deal also calls for Parker and Stone to somehow find time to develop non-South Park programming. All this can’t come soon enough. The show’s production has been on hold for a year, and all the back episodes are still sitting on HBO Max for now.

The puckish pair issued a statement saying they were “really happy (ViacomCBS) made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” and they were looking forward to continue experimenting with new formats, like the hour-long specials they’ve made during the pandemic so far. 

ViacomCBS is hardly the first company to splash the cash for streaming talent. Netflix was there first, wooing Disney stalwart Shonda Rhimes with $100 million to her Thursday night ABC programming block. That deal is so old, Rhimes just re-upped after Bridgerton proved one of the past year’s biggest hits. Now Rhimes will be making movies, merchandise, and even virtual-reality experiences as part of Big Red’s new gaming initiative.

It was vital for ViacomCBS to lock up, for “75 years” even, one of the most talented producer teams in their stable. More importantly, it was vital to get Stone and Parker thinking beyond the thing they’ve done for a quarter century on an aging distribution platform. In that, transition to the future, they should just look at Rhimes’ expanding remit at Netflix to see wha might be possible. This could get interesting. 

Dish Network has started a website to notify interested potential customers when its new 5G wireless service is coming to their town, another step in its quest to begin offering a “state-of-the-art” 5G wireless offering in Las Vegas in Q3. 

A Dish spokesperson confirmed that the Project Gene5is website is the satellite giant’s, but declined to offer more information. 

“We'll be communicating to customers as options are available in their area, with Vegas being our first market,” the company said.”

News that the Project Genesis website was available was first reported by Axios. 

Whether Project Gene5is will be the name of the new wireless offering remains to be seen, but there could be an obvious attraction to Star Trek fans. Project Genesis -- a device that built habitable worlds out of inhabitable ones, featured prominently in the plots of both Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.  There is also a video game named Project Genesis. Whether substituting one “S” with a “5” will be enough to keep the copyright lawyers at bay is best left to Dish’s attorneys. 

But for now, it appears that the website is geared to push information to potentially interested customers once service begins to become more widely available. All those email addresses could also help the company gauge interest in the product outside of the initial markets at some point. 

After providing a zip code, email address and phone number, the website directs the user to a page that tells them they are on “a list to be an original founder in Project Genesis, the first true 5G network. Check your email for more details soon.”

Dish is in the midst of building out the 5G network using spectrum it acquired from T-Mobile as well as wireless licenses it has purchased over the years. The company has said it will debut its first market -- Las Vegas -- in the third quarter, followed by launches in other markets at later dates.

Dish has weathered a fair amount of criticism surrounding its wireless aspirations and earlier this month JP Morgan media analyst Phil Cusick downgraded his rating on the stock to “underweight” from “neutral,” specifically citing his doubts about the potential success of the wireless offering.  

“We can’t find a way but to be skeptical on the Dish story,” Cusick wrote. 

Analysts across the board have expressed doubt about Dish’s claims the network will cost just $10 billion to build -- most believe the price tag will be much higher -- and whether it will be able to successfully compete against giants like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile without a partner. 

Also Read: Dish: No Partner Needed for 5G Wireless Dance 

Dish also is under the gun to build the network relatively quickly. Dish has about one year to make the network available to 20% of the country as part of the federal requirements for its wireless spectrum licenses, and to 70% of the country by June 2023, deadlines the company says will be reached easily but that other analysts are skeptical can be achieved without a partner.  

 HBO, led by its drama series Watchmen, drew the most TCA Awards wins, the Television Critics Association announced Monday.

The TCA Awards, which are usually announced during a July live ceremony but this year was not held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, honored HBO with six awards, topping all other cable, broadcast and streaming networks. Pop TV was the only other network to earn multiple awards, drawing two awards for its comedy series Schitt’s Creek.

HBO’s Watchmen won four awards, including an Individual Achievement In Drama honor for series star Regina King as well as an Outstanding Movie, Miniseries, Or Special; Outstanding New Program, and the Program Of The Year award, said TCA. 

CBS’ iconic series Star Trek earned the organization’s Heritage Award, while longtime Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek was honored with the Career Achievement award. 

“Entertainment and culture are intertwined and in this challenging year, never has that intersection been more crucial as both a mirror to examine tough reflections and a rabbit hole to escape the noise and scares outside our homes. The 2019-2020 television season was both a challenge and a balm,” said Sarah Rodman, TCA President and executive editor at Entertainment Weekly in a statement. “This year offered up many high-quality options appealing to a wide swath of audiences with eclectic subjects ranging from sports and superheroes, to side-splitting sitcoms, darkly fascinating dramas, insightful documentaries, kid-friendly series, and more. We are excited to see what the future of television has in store, and we look forward to celebrating in-person next year as we come together to honor this medium that means so much to all of us.”

The full list of TCA Awards winners appears below: 

Individual Achievement In Drama: Regina King (WATCHMEN, HBO)

Individual Achievement In Comedy: Catherine O’Hara (SCHITT’S CREEK, Pop TV)

Outstanding Achievement In News and Information: THE LAST DANCE (ESPN)

Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming: CHEER (Netflix)

Outstanding Achievement In Youth Programming: MOLLY OF DENALI (PBS Kids)

Outstanding Achievement In Sketch/Variety Shows: A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (HBO)

Outstanding New Program: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Movie, Miniseries, Or Special: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Drama: SUCCESSION (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Comedy: SCHITT’S CREEK (Pop TV)

Program of the Year: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Career Achievement Honoree:Alex Trebek

 Heritage Award: STAR TREK (CBS)

CBS All Access premieres Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated comedy set in the Star Trek universe, Aug. 6. There are 10 episodes and new episodes stream weekly on Thursdays. 

Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) developed the series, which focuses on the support crew on a not very important Starfleet ship, the U.S.S. Cerritos. Characters Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi keep up with their duties and social lives, and deal with the ship being “rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies,” according to CBS All Access. 

Jack Quaid, Jerry O’Connell and Dawnn Lewis provide voices. 

The streaming service starts at $5.99 monthly. 

Other Star Trek properties on CBS All Access are Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. 

The series is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Titmouse is the animation studio. 

McMahan executive produces with Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth and Katie Krentz. 

CBS has ordered Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, based on the time Captain Christopher Pike manned the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan favorites from season two of Star Trek: Discovery, Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. 

The pilot was written by Akiva Goldsman with the story by Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman, Kurtzman and Lumet are executive producers in addition to Henry Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. 

Strange New Worlds will be produced by CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.

“Fans fell in love with Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck’s portrayals of these iconic characters when they were first introduced on Star Trek: Discovery last season,” said Julie McNamara, executive VP and head of programming, CBS All Access. “This new series will be a perfect complement to the franchise, bringing a whole new perspective and series of adventures to Star Trek.”

CBS All Access also streams originals Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery. 

“When we said we heard the fans’ outpouring of love for Pike, Number One and Spock when they boarded Star Trek: Discovery last season, we meant it,” said Kurtzman. “These iconic characters have a deep history in Star Trek canon, yet so much of their stories have yet to be told. With Akiva and Henry at the helm, the Enterprise, its crew and its fans are in for an extraordinary journey to new frontiers in the Star Trek universe.”

CBS All-Access Friday announced the development on a new live-action series based on the iconic Star Trek sci-fi franchise, the streaming service said Friday.  

The new series, Star Trek-Strange New Worlds,follows current CBS-All Access series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, and will feature iconic Star Trek characters Spock, Captain Pike and Number One played by Ethan Peck, Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn, respectively, said the streaming service. 

The new series will follow the characters, which were introduced during the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy in the decade before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, said the service.

“Fans fell in love with Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck’s portrayals of these iconic characters when they were first introduced on Star Trek: Discovery last season,” said Julie McNamara, executive VP and head of programming for CBS All Access in a statement. “This new series will be a perfect complement to the franchise, bringing a whole new perspective and series of adventures to Star Trek.”

Also in development at CBS All Access is an animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks and a Section 31-based series starring Michelle Yeoh. 

Two new cable dramas will shine a light on two historical events revolving around racism and prejudice that have for the most part remained in the shadows of American history.

HBO’s Watchmen, which debuts this fall, is set in an alternative universe in which police officers wear masks to protect their identities against a group of white supremacists seeking to kill them. The series takes place in 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where nearly 100 years earlier an angry white mob terrorized black homeowners and destroyed businesses in a thriving area known as Black Wall Street in arguably one of the worst occurrences of racial violence in American history.

Watchmen series creator Damon Lindelof said during the recent Television Critics Association press tour that reading about the Tulsa race riot in author Ta-Nehisi Coates’s 2014 essay The Case for Reparations gave him the idea to use the city as a symbolic launching pad to tackle the subjects of race, prejudice and law enforcement in his version of Watchmen, which is inspired by the classic 1980s graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

“That was the first time that I heard about Black Wall Street and what happened in Tulsa in ’21 … that was the beginning of my education,” said Lindelof. “When I started thinking about what Watchmen was going to be and trying to think about the original source material, the book was highly political ... it was about what was happening in American culture at the time. What in 2019 is the equivalent of the nuclear standoff between the Russians and the United States? It just felt like it was undeniably race and policing in America.”

AMC’s horror anthology series The Terror: Infamy -- premiering Aug. 12 -- bases its storyline around the true-life relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans from their homes into internment camps during World War II after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The series, created and produced by Alexander Woo (True Blood), prominently features Asian-Americans both in front of and behind the camera, including 82-year old actor George Takei of Star Trek fame who experienced life at an internment camp first hand. Takei, who was five-years old when his family was incarcerated, said the series's inclusion of a supernatural entity derived from vintage Japanese ghost stories -- or kaidan -- that ultimately terrorizes the inhabitants of the internment camps, helps to highlight the real horror stories of racial prejudice and imprisonment experienced by interned Japanese Americans in the 1940s.

“It was a harrowing experience, but the kaidan adds to the intensifying of that story,” said Takei. “I hope The Terror: Infamy will remind people that [racism] is still existing today. What we have is this endless cycle, the repetition of this kind of horror and injustice being inflicted on minority people. And we see it again today on our southern borders.”

Indeed, the two series serve as a creative spotlight in which fiction brings to light dark periods in American history.

The 2019 Comic-Con International convention in San Diego is in full swing, with cable networks and streaming services offering first-look trailers of new and returning series.

The conference, which runs from July 19-July 22, showcases the latest in comics-themed television and theatrical content from such content providers as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, WarnerMedia, Disney and NBCUniversal. A sampling of those videos appear below and will be updated throughout Comic Con International’s four-day run.

Watchman -- HBO

The Man In The High Castle -- Amazon Video

Westworld -- HBO

Star Trek: Picard -- CBS All Access

Harley Quinn -- DCUniverse 

The Witcher -- Netflix

Star Trek: Discovery -- CBS All Access

The Expanse -- Amazon Video

CBS All Access Thursday released a teaser video trailer for its upcoming series Star Trek: Picard.

The series features Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The new series will follow Picard's character into the next chapter of his life, according to the streaming service. 

Star Trek: Picard also stars Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway, said CBS All Access.

History will debut its unscripted series In Search Of on Friday, July 20, network officials said.

The investigative series, inspired by the classic In Search Of … show that ran in syndication and on Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) from 1997 to 1982, will explore all manner of mysterious phenomena around the world, according to officials.

The 10-episode reboot will be hosted by actor Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Snowden), and each episode will investigate a different subject within a dynamic theme – such as super-humans, alien life, artificial intelligence, Atlantis, time travel, mysterious creatures – using new technology, new locations and deeper analysis, History said.

In Search Of is produced by Propagate Content, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Before the Door Pictures, with FremantleMedia International distributing the series globally. Quinto will serves as executive producer along with Ben Silverman, Howard Owens, Brett-Patrick Jenkins, Eddie Schmidt and Zachary Behr.

George Takei, the Japanese-American actor and activist who portrayed Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series, has launched a Care2 petition supporting Muslims in response to President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to suspend immigration from "terror-prone regions."

Takei's family was among those placed in internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II; he was just five years old at the time.

The petition comes in advance of Wednesday's Hill hearing on Trump's nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly.

Citing the internment of innocent Japanese-Americans, Takei said: “It starts with a registry, with restrictions, with irrationally ascribed guilt, and with fear. But we know well where it might lead. National security must never again be permitted to justify wholesale denial of constitutional rights and protections."

At press time the petition had more than 43,000 signatures with a goal of 45,000.

In an e-mail to supporters this week, Trump asked for input on his planned priorities as president, which include "Suspend immigration from regions compromised by terrorism and where vetting cannot safely occur."

The full text of Takei's petition follows:

When I was just 5, my family was rounded up at gunpoint and forced from our home in Los Angeles into an internment camp. We were prisoners in our own country, held within barbed wire compounds, armed guards pointing guns down at us. It was an egregious violation of our rights under the U.S. Constitution, all in the name of "security.” During that time, fear and racism drove government policy, creating a living hell for over 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans, most of whom were U.S. citizens. 

I have spent my life trying to ensure something like this never happens again. But dark clouds once more are gathering. A Trump spokesperson recently stated the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II "sets a precedent" for Trump to do the same today. And Trump continues to stand by his plans to establish a Muslim registry and ban immigrants from “certain” Muslim countries from the U.S. It starts with a registry, with restrictions, with irrationally ascribed guilt, and with fear. But we know well where it might lead.

National security must never again be permitted to justify wholesale denial of constitutional rights and protections. If it is freedom and our way of life that we fight for, our first obligation is to ensure that our own government adheres to those principles. Without that, we are no better than our enemies.

Please sign this petition to let the Muslim community know you support them and oppose any policy targeting them based on their religion or national origin. Help send a message to Trump and his ilk that this will never again happen in America.

At lunch the other day a Star Trek fan around my age admired the cool ad in our magazine for the upcoming Building Star Trek special on Smithsonian Channel. All it takes is a photo of a spiffed-up original-model starship Enterprise (I used to have one hanging from my bedroom ceiling) to revive the desire for a phaser, a tricorder or, especially, a clicking communicator (pictured) one felt back in the day. This two-hour special has a lot of that sort of object envy, including by curators at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and at the EMP Museum in Seattle. The special goes close up on the former museum's restoration of the original eight-foot-long U.S.S. Enterprise model, the one used in the 1966-69, three-season series: the 50th anniversary of the premiere is this coming Thursday (Sept. 8) and the aging model was earmarked to hang in Air and Space's front hall, along with Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the original lunar lander and other pioneering craft. EMP Museum went after other original set pieces, including Captain Kirk's command chair, Ensign Chekov's navigation console from the Enterprise bridge and the aforementioned handheld devices. Make sure to hang on until the big reveals. Also, as my lunch compadre noted, the special touches on the Cold War analogues in the series and important characters and cast members such as Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura, an African-American woman who was a key member of the crew, an unusual role on television in the 1960s. 

The show -- while doing its part to promote the latest movie in the series, Star Trek Beyond -- delves into much trivia about the original series and explores the possibilities of faster than light "warp" engines; tractor beams to grab and move distant objects in space; cloaking devices that can make starships invisible and other concepts that might or might not ever become reality. “Science fiction inspires scientists to invent what they see in science fiction,” as EMP Museum curator Brooks Peck notes. There's science here but mostly it's for fun.

Bonus link: this Smithsonian Magazineoral history of Star Trek is a must read for serious fans.

Building Star Trek premieres on Smithsonian Channel on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The Smithsonian Channel this September will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Star Trek TV series with a special focusing on the show’s influence on science and technology.

The two-hour special, Building Star Trek, will premiere Sept. 8 and will follow the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum conservation team as they attempt to restore and conserve the original 11-foot, 250-pound model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original series, said network officials. The two-hour special also profiles a new generation of engineers and scientists who are making Star Trek’s visionary technology real, said the network.

The original Star Trek series premiered on NBC Sept. 8, 1966 and has spawned a slew of spinoff TV series and movies.

Building Star Trek is produced by Yap Films for Smithsonian Channel and Discovery Canada, with Yap Films’ Elliott Halpern and Elizabeth Trojian serving as executive producers, along with Smithsonian Channel’s David Royle, Charles Poe and Tim Evans. 

CBS could follow online video pioneer Hulu with an ad-free version of its own over-the-top service CBS All Access, charging an additional $4 per month on top of the $5.99 monthly fee the broadcaster gets for the offering.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss fourth quarter results, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves said nothing is carved in stone, but that the company is considering offering an ad-free version of CBS All-Access.

“We’re exploring it,” Moonves said on the call. “We’re not there yet.”

He added that the ad-free offering “hasn’t worked quite well” for Hulu so far.

Hulu launched the ad free version in September, charging an additional $4 per month on top of its $7.99 monthly charge for the service.  The online service continues to offer its original service which includes ads for $7.99 per month.

CBS launched CBS All-Access in October 2014, and Moonves said the service received a boost in customers after it aired a commercial during the Super Bowl.  Although CBS would not say how many customers the service has, it did say that it is attracting a younger demographic.

CBS has been developing new programming for the All Access service – its new Star Trek television series will appear exclusively on the service after its first episode debuts in January 2017 on the broadcast network. Moonves added on the call that its own CBS Studios could create additional programming for the OTT service.

Premium Epix is extending its reach this week, debuting on PlayStation Vue, Sony’s new over-the-top multichannel pay TV service.

PS Vue is offering Epix Hits, a new channel that will feature titles such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1; “classic” titles from franchises such as Star Trek and James Bond; and EPIX originals. PlayStation Vue subs will also have access to an Epix on-demand library featuring “thousands of titles,” Epix said.

Epix said its service for PlayStation Vue will be offered in a variety of tiers and multipremium packages. PS Vue’s multichannel TV tiers -- Access ($49.99 per month), Core ($59.99/month) and Elite ($69.99/month) -- are currently offered in seven markets: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla; Chicago; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; New York; and San Francisco. Those packages also feature a cloud DVR. PS Vue also features a growing mix of a la carte fare that’s separate from its multichannel offering, including Fox Soccer Plus, Showtime and a new channel from Machinima that will be offered as a standalone or with PS Vue's Elite package. 

PS Vue is currently supported on the PlayStation 4 and PS3, and via an app for the iPad.

“PlayStation has been an outstanding partner since we began working together in 2013,” said Mark Greenberg, Epix president and CEO, in a statement. “We’re excited to continue our partnership to advance the next generation in the evolution of multichannel offerings.”

Syfy on Sunday will air a five-hour block of programming saluting Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy, who passed away Friday.

Begining at 9 a.m. Sunday Syfy will air two Star Trek movies starring Nimoy as well as the actor's starring role in an episode of the original Twilight Zone series.

Nimoy, who will be remembered for his iconic role as Mr. Spock in the 1960's Star Trek series and subsequent Star Trek films, died Friday of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 83.

Following is the schedule for theLeonard Nimoy Tribute

9AM The Twilight Zone/”A Quality of Mercy”

9:30AM Star Trek: The Next Generation/”Unification: Part I”

10:30AM Star Trek: The Next Generation/”Unification: Part 2”

11:30AM Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

CBS Television Station Group and The Weigel Group believe they have found the answer for television viewers who can’t get enough of I Love Lucy and Star Trek reruns, with the planned launch of the new Decades digital network, a channel dedicated to programming from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Decades will be available over the air via CBS owned and operated station’s digital sub-channels – for example, in New York, the CBS affiliate will continue to be available digitally on channel 2.1, while the oldies channel will be available on channel 2.2. Decades also will be available on cable, satellite and telco TV systems.

The channel will offer more than 100 iconic series from the 1950s, 1960, 1970s and 1980s from the CBS library, including Happy Days, Cheers and the aforementioned I Love Lucy and Star Trek. In addition, the channel will air theatrical and made-for-TV movies and historical and cultural broadcasts from the archives of CBS News and Entertainment Tonight.

Other broadcasters have utilized their digital sub-channels to broadcast classic TV shows – in 2011, Tribune Broadcasting unleashed Antenna TV in markets where it owns stations – in New York, it uses Tribune’s WPIX’s digital channel 11.2 -- to offer viewers a steady stream of Mr. Ed, McHale’s Navy and Barney Miller reruns. And RetroTV, owned by Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Luken Communications, has offered classis programming like I Love Lucy, Lassie and Doctor Who on digital broadcast channels since 2005.

The CBS venture seems a bit more ambitious in that it seems to be opening up more of its library, including movies and news programs. For example, one feature of the network will be the Decades Retrospectical, a daily one-hour program that will be produced around the news events and cultural touchstones of a specific day, week or other time frame or theme. Those events can be as diverse as the Happy Days “jump the shark” episode, the Apollo moon landing and The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

“Decades is the most ambitious and creative subchannel programming service that has ever been created,” said CBS Television Stations president Peter Dunn in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Weigel Broadcasting, the leaders in this space, to make smart use of our stations’ spectrums and our companies’ considerable programming assets. This service will be a tremendous new business for CBS and all of the other stations across the country that participate, regardless of their primary network affiliation.”

Decades is expected to debut during the second quarter of 2015, with CBS’s 16 owned and operated stations serving at the launch group, such as New York City (WCBS), Los Angeles (KCBS), Chicago (WBBM), Philadelphia (KYW), Dallas (KTVT), San Francisco (KPIX), Boston (WBZ), Detroit (WWJ), Minneapolis-St. Paul (WCCO and its satellite stations KCCO and KCCW), Miami (WFOR), Denver (KCNC), Sacramento (KOVR), Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Baltimore (WJZ).

Weigel, which operates MeTV,a similar classic TV network, will be responsible for securing affiliation agreements for Decades with other stations across the country.

“Decades takes the digital broadcast network platform to a new level,” Weigel president Norman Shapiro said in a statement. “Viewers will ‘Relive, Remember & Relate’ to the events that touched their lives and generations past. The events, themes and programming possibilities are endless. We are truly honored to be chosen as the company to develop the CBS Television Stations’ diginet product, and look forward to the launch of Decades next year."