Star Trek: Discovery finished filming for its third season before COVID-19 lockdowns were put in place, allowing CBS to make it available for streaming on October 15th as planned. It’s exclusive to All Access in the US, but it will be out on Netflix for the rest of the world on October 16th. Series star Sonequa Martin-Green has unveiled the trailer, which you can watch above, during the Star Trek: Discovery panel at CBS All Access’ virtual Star Trek Day celebration. If you’ve been a fan of the series from the start, you’ll also notice that the trailer debuts a new series logo — one that CBS says represents the show’s jump into the future.

Star Trek: Discovery

In a welcome change, here’s some news about something that hasn’t been delayed too much by COVID-19. The third season of Star Trek: Discovery will start streaming on CBS All Access on October 15th. As was the case with previous seasons, the 13 episodes will debut weekly instead of all at the same time.

A teaser video doesn’t show much beyond Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) sticking a ragged Federation flag into the ground on a barren planet, but there’ll surely be a proper trailer or two in the coming months. Filming on season 3 wrapped before lockdown measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 were enforced in March. According to Deadline, it sees the crew of the USS Discovery travel into “an unknown future far from the home they once knew” and work with new friends “to restore hope to the Federation.”

“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 vice president and head of programming at 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.” 

We don’t have a release date yet, but it appears contentious Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman will play a role in Strange New Worlds. CBS says he helped write the series premiere and is serving as an executive producer. It’s not a surprise to see the company greenlight yet another Star Trek series. There had been rumors of a Captain Pike spin-off for months ahead of today’s announcement, and CBS says it’s also developing a series that follows Michelle Yeoh’s Discovery character.

For one, CBS has surprise-released the first of its Short Treks mini episodes — you can watch “Q&A” right now. The short tells the tale of Spock’s first day aboard the Enterprise and the headaches that ensue when he’s stuck in a lift with Number One. Future episodes will appear October 10th, November 14th, December 12th and January 9th. Yes, CBS is dribbling this out, but it will give you a quick fix of Star Trek.

NYCC also provided a teaser trailer for the third season of Discovery. As viewers will know, this next chapter throws the crew of the Discovery into a far-flung future (930 years later, to be exact) where everything is uncertain — including the fate of sentient life. CBS still hasn’t said when season 3 premieres beyond a vague 2020 window, but it won’t be shocking if the media giant gives Picard some breathing room.

Picard will see a whole host of The Next Generation cast members make appearances, including Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh the Borg). You can also expect Voyager‘s Jeri Ryan to appear. In other words, this is as much a reunion as it is a furtherance of the Star Trek timeline.

The company is also dribbling out some of the first details of Star Trek: Discovery ‘s third season. Filming for the new run has only started, but there’s already some news about the plot and characters. If you haven’t finished season two, you’ll want to be careful — there are a few spoilers ahead for this, too.

Season 3 will take place a full 1,000 years after the events of the second season, and will include a mix of new and familiar characters. David Ajala (Manchester Black in Supergirl, among other projects) is joining the cast as the “devil-may-care” character Cleveland Booker. You can also expect familiar characters like Spock, Christopher Pike and Number One to continue alongside mainstays like Commander Burnham.

You can also expect the return of Short Treks. CBS is planning six of the six shorts this time around, two of them animated. While the broadcaster isn’t sharing everything, Tribbles are making a return and won’t be quite as cute as before. It’s safe to declare that there will be an avalanche of Trek when all is said and done.