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'Star Trek: Discovery' will have Jason Isaacs as its captain
Star Trek: Discovery's cast has slowly been coming together, but there's been one glaring omission: who's helming the show's namesake ship? At last, we know: say hello to Jason Isaacs, who will play the USS Discovery's Captain Lorca in the internet-focused TV series. CBS is mum about details of the character, although Isaacs' role hints that he's likely to be a permanent (or at least, long-serving) cast member.
Production on 'Star Trek: Discovery' is finally underway
Thanks to delays at the network, CBS' latest addition to the small screen Star Trek canon obviously didn't make its scheduled release date of January 2017. But there's some good news from the network today: production has officially begun on the set of Star Trek: Discovery.
'Star Trek: Discovery' faces an indefinite delay
If you were banking on watching Star Trek: Discovery in May... well, we hope you have some contingency plans. CBS has confirmed to Hollywood Reporter that it's once again delaying the streaming-focused show, this time for an indefinite stretch. Production on the series is all set to start in late January, but the team says it wants to be "flexible" on timing to ensure the production is a success. "It's more important to do this right than to do it fast," the company says, adding that the internet saves it from having to meet a fixed TV season deadline.
Watch the first trailer for the CBS All Access 'Good Wife' spinoff
While we're all eagerly awaiting Star Trek Discovery on CBS All Access, it won't be the first exclusive to hit the network's streaming service. That would be The Good Fight, a spinoff of the Emmy-winning The Good Wife. CBS announced today that the show will be premiering on All Access on February 19th at 8pm ET, and it'll also air on the broadcast network at the same time. After that, new episodes will be available on CBS All Access exclusively every week. We've also got our first look at the show with a new trailer, which looks a lot like the original series, except with far less expensive sets.
Hulu adds CBS to its live TV service (Updated)
CBS is America's most-watched network, but it's resisted letting its channels onto platforms it didn't control. That's about to change with the news that it's signed up to Hulu's forthcoming live TV streaming service. CBS, as well as CBS Sports and Pop will be available on the burgeoning product, set to launch "in the coming months." Subscribers will also be able to watch much of CBS's content on demand, including hits like Big Bang Theory, NCIS and 60 Minutes.
CBS All Access will stream NFL games starting this weekend
Starting Sunday, December 4th, CBS All Access subscribers will be able to stream weekend and Thursday night NFL action through the service. The network announced today that it agreed to terms with the league on a multi-year deal for live access via its $6 monthly option (or the pricier commercial-free tier). The slate of games not only includes the Sunday schedule, but Thursday night action that CBS broadcasts as well as preseason and postseason slates.
CBS All Access starts streaming on your PS4
Relax, American PlayStation fans, you don't have to worry about missing out on Star Trek: Discovery when your Xbox One-toting friends start watching. CBS has rolled out All Access on the PS4, giving you a way to check out the network's shows in between rounds of Battlefield and Rez. As before, how much you pay depends on your tolerance for ads. Spend $6 per month and you'll get "reduced" commercials, while $10 per month lets you watch in uninterrupted bliss. Whichever way you go, this is a big step for All Access. The streaming TV service is now available on virtually every major device platform, so you don't have to be picky about where and how you watch.
CBS delays streaming 'Star Trek' debut until May 2017
CBS said its new Star Trek series would debut in January, but since it's September and we still haven't even heard about the cast, that date seemed to be in doubt. Today CBS confirmed a delay, essentially swapping debut windows between Star Trek: Discovery and its upcoming spinoff of The Good Wife, which will both be available exclusively in the US on the streaming CBS All Access service (outside the US and Canada, it will be on Netflix).
CBS All Access commercial-free option costs $4 more a month
CBS announced that its All Access streaming service was making the leap to Xbox One last week and now the network has another subscription option. If you like to watch the likes of Madam Secretary, Blue Bloods and more without the interruptions of commercials, you can pay more to get rid of them. CBS now offers a $10 monthly subscription that will allow you to stream all of that on-demand content commercial-free. That's $4 a month more than the regular option that has been available since late 2014.
CBS All Access hits Xbox One
If you have been patiently waiting to try CBS All Access on your Xbox One, there's good news. CBS has announced that its streaming service is now available on Microsoft's console. It's perfect timing for Xbox fans, as the anticipated January, 2017 premier of the All Access-exclusive Star Trek series is only months away.
CBS and Showtime have two million internet-only subscribers
While CBS is busy licensing content to Netflix for display outside of the US and Canada, here its own streaming services are off to a good start. On today's earnings call, execs said CBS All Access and the streaming version of Showtime have combined to reach more than two million subscribers, with the number "about evenly split" between the two.
'Star Trek: Discovery' gets its first teaser at Comic-Con
At last, CBS is offering a glimpse of what its streaming-oriented Star Trek series will be like... if only just. The broadcaster used its San Diego Comic-Con panel to reveal that the show will be titled Star Trek: Discovery, and will revolve around the adventures of the crew of its namesake, the USS Discovery (no doubt inspired by the Space Shuttle of the same name). While the teaser trailer below shows only the starship in question, it's enough to confirm that the visual language of Star Trek will remain intact when Discovery premieres in January.
Netflix will air the new 'Star Trek' series outside the US
Netflix has announced that it'll be the exclusive home of the brand-new Star Trek TV series, and will broadcast the show globally next year. When it was announced, CBS revealed that only the first episode would air on TV, with the rest of the episodes exclusive to the network's own streaming service. But since CBS has no digital footprint outside the US, Netflix will bring the show to the rest of the world -- except for Canada. If you live in the great white north, you'll be able to get your Trek fix via Bell Media. It wasn't long ago that Netflix also won the rights to all six existing Star Trek shows, which will be available in 188 countries around the globe. Each episode will arrive on the service within 24 hours of its arrival in the US, mirroring the distribution strategy for other high-profile shows where spoilers are a constant threat.
CBS names an exec to develop shows for its streaming service
Like it or not, CBS will be creating more series for its year-old streaming service. CEO Les Moonves promised the addition of "three to four original series per year," starting with a new Star Trek show and a spinoff of The Good Wife. To keep things running smoothly, CBS has moved Julie McNamara from drama development at CBS Television -- where she was already overseeing the two original All Access series -- to a newly created position: Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access.
CBS All Access' second show is a 'The Good Wife' spinoff
At CBS' Upfronts presentation it had some news about its All Access subscription streaming service to reveal. Beyond the flash of a new logo and a brief teaser trailer for the Bryan Fuller-produced Star Trek show that will try to lure subscribers in January, it also revealed its second exclusive show will be a spinoff of the recently-concluded The Good Wife. The new show will arrive in the spring of 2017 featuring actresses Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo reprising characters from the original.
A lot of people watched the Grammys on CBS All Access
Last night's Grammy awards not only saw Taylor Swift verbally subtweet Kanye West during her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, but also a record number of folks watching music's grand gala via the CBS All Access app. The streaming application saw a 247 percent increase in time spent watching and an upswing of 192 percent more unique users compared to last year's show -- both are apparently double digit increases since 2015. On top of all that, CBS says that yesterday was its single biggest sign-up day for All Access' premium streaming service. Of course, the network didn't release hard numbers so it's anyone's guess regarding what those increases actually amount to.
CBS exec: no recent talks with Apple about a TV service
Since Apple itself doesn't have much to say about its long-rumored TV service, we're forced to look for signals elsewhere. In comments revealed just before CBS announced its earnings today, exec Les Moonves once again filled in the gap. Following previous comments that he believes the service is on hold, Moonves told CNN Money that "we haven't had recent conversations with them." That could mean any potential debut is even further off than we thought, although it doesn't seem to be hurting CBS any. CBS reported (PDF) its highest ever revenue for the fourth quarter, while claiming revenue from retransmission agreements is over $1 billion now, and will be at $2 billion by 2020. According to the exec, "something like 40 percent" of revenue his company is getting, didn't exist five years ago.
New 'Star Trek' has a showrunner from the final frontier
Star Trek fans have had a tumultuous last few months. But it seems that amid the recent ups and downs (a fan film getting shut down by CBS and Paramount most definitely qualifies as the latter), news of the upcoming streaming exclusive finding a showrunner with Trek in his blood should ideally register as a win. Whether you count yourself among the Rodenberry faithful or are just a TV addict, the name should ring a bell: Bryan Fuller. He wrote for Deep Space Nine and Voyager in addition to working outside of the final frontier where he's been a scribe and executive producer on the criminally short-lived Hannibal.
CBS' streaming video service comes to Amazon's Fire TV
Your Fire TV (or Fire TV Stick) just became much more useful as a cord-cutting device... at least, if you watch a lot of CBS shows. The TV network has launched an Amazon-native app for its All Access service, giving your Fire TV the same mix of live and on-demand viewing that CBS is offering on rival set-top boxes. You're still paying $6 per month and don't get any hardware-specific features, but look at it this way: you'll definitely be ready when the new Star Trek series begins streaming in a couple of years.
I'm not paying CBS to watch 'Star Trek' online
Yesterday I got the best birthday present a lifelong Trekkie could hope for: Star Trek is coming back to television -- kinda, sorta. It's been over a decade since Star Trek ended TV production and, while fans have had two successful films to enjoy (or despise), corporate infighting between CBS and Viacom has kept the franchise from its rightful home on the small screen. However, it looks like the two companies have hugged it out with the news that a new Star Trek series will return to "television" in early 2017. And while this would normally be cause for celebration among Trekkies, the announcement doesn't come without a few caveats in terms of who's making it and how it's being distributed: The show will be produced by the team in charge of the recent films, and it will only be available via CBS' subscription streaming service, CBS All Access. It's a bit of a no-win situation (a Kobayashi Maru scenario, if you will) for die-hard fans who wanted to see Star Trek back on television. Star Trek may be back, but it comes at a cost: both figurative and literal.
