CBS All Access has officially announced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, an upcoming Discovery spin-off series following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike. The show will take place in the years before James T. Kirk ultimately replaces Pike as the Captain of the starship, serving as a direct prequel to the events of the original series. Reprising the roles from Star Trek: Discovery, the new spin-off will feature Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels) as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) as Number One, and Ethan Peck (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) as Science Officer Spock.

The writing team of Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet penned the Strange New Worlds series premiere, also serving as executive producers alongside Henry Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth. Also on board as co-executive producers are Aaron Baiers, Akela Cooper, and Davy Perez. CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment are producing the series. Despite his involvement with Strange New Worlds, Goldsman is also said to remain on board Star Trek: Picard as an executive producer and key part of the creative team as well.

Trekkies have been hoping to see this new Star Trek series about Pike, Number One, and Spock come to fruition since the characters first appeared together on Star Trek Discovery. "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," says CBS Executive Vice President and CBS All Access Head of Programming, Julie McNamara. "This new series will be a perfect complement to the franchise, bringing a whole new perspective and series of adventures to Star Trek."

Kurtzman also added that the creation of Strange New Worlds stems from the fan support behind the concept of seeing more stories from these beloved characters. "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," Kurtzman says. "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."

The character of Captain Pike was first played by Jeffrey Hunter in the original Star Trek pilot episode. When the pilot was redeveloped with William Shatner portraying the new captain of the starship Enterprise, Pike was left on the cutting room floor. However, some of the footage from the unaired pilot was shown in a later Star Trek episode, establishing Pike as the Enterprise captain before Kirk stepped in. Sean Kenney played an older version of the former captain in that episode. Later, in J. J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot movie and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, the Pike character returned when he was portrayed by Bruce Greenwood.

There's plenty of content to look forward to for Trekkies on CBS All Access. Star Trek: Discovery will return to CBS All Access later this year with new episodes, and a second season of Picard is also in the works. Additionally, another Discovery spin-off led by Michelle Yeoh and based on Section 31 has also been ordered. You can watch the announcement trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds featuring the cast below, courtesy of CBS All Access on YouTube.