The HISTORY® Channel is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the iconic and popular “Star Trek” franchise with the Brian Volk-Weiss directed ten-part docuseries from The Nacelle Company “The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek.” Narrated and executive produced by Gates McFadden (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”), the docuseries shares rare, fascinating details of how “Star Trek” began, where it’s been, and how it’s boldly going where no television series has gone before! The first four episodes will premiere on the HISTORY® Channel each week beginning on Friday, November 5 at 10pm ET/PT with six additional episodes also available on “HISTORY Vault®,” the network’s subscription video service.
Each episode focuses on a different chapter in the sci-fi drama’s groundbreaking history chronicling its inception at Lucille Ball’s legendary production company Desilu to more recent film, television adaptations and projects like The Animated Series and Phase II. The definitive in-depth journey honors the creative pioneers in sci-fi excellency and shares the impactful, sometimes risky, decisions behind pivotal moments in television history and how they ultimately made it to the small screen.
In the Fall of 1964, the pilot for what would become “Star Trek” was commissioned. From the start, “The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek” unveils lesser-known stories about the franchise from the importance of addressing timely topics, the creation of the character Spock, the unrelenting fans that kept the show on air and the reruns that gave it new life. These behind-the scenes stories among thousands of hours of show footage will be coupled with interviews from the cast, crew and experts who worked on set. The show includes candid interviews with Star Trek legends such as Nichelle Nichols, Brent Spiner, Kirstie Alley, Walter Koenig, Kate Mulgrew, Denise Crosby, Wil Wheaton, John De Lancie, Nicholas Meyer, Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, Nana Visitor, Robert Picardo, Penny Johnson, Ethan Phillips, Diana Muldaur, Nicole de Boer, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, John Billingsley, John Dykstra, D.C. Fontana, Rick Berman and F. Murray Abraham.
“The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek” is produced for The HISTORY® Channel by the Nacelle Company. Brian Volk-Weiss (Behind The Attraction, The Movies That Made Us, The Toys That Made Us) serves as director. Ian Roumain serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Gates McFadden, Cisco Henson, Ben Frost and Mark Altman serving as executive producers for the Nacelle Company.
