In a shock announcement, Star Trek: Discovery will be leaving Netflix soon. The sci-fi series will be gone from the streaming service as of midnight November 17. It will be heading to Paramount Plus, where a new season will launch next year in the UK.
The UK and Ireland will be among the first international markets to stream Discovery on Paramount Plus. ViacomCBS (the company behind Paramount Plus) have bought the first three seasons of the sci-fi series from Netflix, removing any stakes they had in Discovery. There was a time pressure to close the new deal, as season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery is set to start on Paramount Plus in the US on November 18, 2021.
“As we rapidly expand our global streaming footprint, we are bringing more of our top titles home to ViacomCBS for Paramount Plus markets around the world,” ViacomCBS Networks International streaming boss Kelly Day told Deadline. “We have a strong global and local content pipeline that positions us for success across our regions, and repatriating beloved series like Star Trek: Discovery for Paramount Plus is another step forward as we bring fans more must-watch series worldwide.”
Star Trek: Discovery was created by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal, American Gods) and Alex Kurtzman (who co-wrote the 2000s Star Trek films starring Chris Pine). Fuller was initially the showrunner, but later left. The current showrunners are Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise.
Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Jason Isaacs and Wilson Cruz. The first season was set ten years before Star Trek: The Original Series, but the end of season 2 saw them travel 900 years into the future. Martin-Green plays Commander and later Captain Michael Burnham.
The official synopsis for season 4 is as follows: “Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered. With Federation and non-Federation worlds alike feeling the impact, they must confront the unknown and work together to ensure a hopeful future for all.”
In the trailer, viewable above, there is much discussion of an “anomaly” but we don’t know much beyond that yet. We’ll find out more when Star Trek season 4 begins airing on November 18.