‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Is Boldly Going In A ‘Hard PG-13’ Direction

Audiences can expect a somewhat more “adult” incarnation of Star Trek when Discovery makes its CBS All Access debut this fall. Just don’t count on things getting that sort of “adult” when it arrives. That’s between you and your Holodeck.

Showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg were interviewed by Entertainment Weekly about their upcoming addition to the long-running sci-fi franchise and in the chat there was a discussion about how this version of Trek will have a somewhat different tone than its predecessors. Things will be different, but there are some lines the program are unlikely to cross.

“Every writer’s impulse when you get to work on the streaming shows with no parameters is to go crazy,” Harberts said about the freedom of being on a streaming service. “But then you look at things like: How does nudity play on Trek? Eh, it feels weird. How does a lot of [profanity] on Trek? Not so great. Are there moments where it merits it that we’re trying to push here and there? I would say we’re trying to push more by having the type of complicated messed-up characters who aren’t necessarily embraced on broadcast.”

Harberts says Star Trek: Discovery is going to push the envelope by Trek content standards and remain relatively family-friendly in the process.

“I’m not saying we’re not doing some violent things or doing a tiny bit of language,” he said. “But what’s important to the creative team is the legacy of the show — which is passed down from mother to daughter, from father to son, from brother to brother. We want to make sure we’re not creating a show that fans can’t share with their families. You have to honor what the franchise is. I would say we’re not going much beyond hard PG-13.”

That’s not an unreasonable route for Star Trek: Discovery to go in. This is Trek we’re talking about, not Game of Thrones or Handmaid’s Tale or Zoobilee Zoo. It’d be weird for the new series to go hard R or NC-17 just because they can. That’s what Deviant Art is for or whatever. The main concern is whether or not Discovery is any good. We’ll have an idea when the series premieres on September 24.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

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