New 'Star Trek: Discovery' series to feature female lead - CNET

When the upcoming "Star Trek: Discovery" edges out of port, it will have a woman as the TV series' lead actor.

However, she won't be captain, according to The Hollywood Reporter, but rather a lieutenant commander. That character will likely be non-white, boldly going where no Star Trek has gone before, reports Deadline. (CBS is the parent company of CNET publisher CBSInteractive.)

"We're going deep into something that was for me always very tantalizing, and [we're telling] that story through a character who is on a journey that is going to teach her how to get along with others in the galaxy," series creator Bryan Fuller told reporters Wednesday during the Television Critics Association summer press tour. "For her to truly understand something that is alien, she has to first understand herself."

Fuller also revealed that the new series will be set 10 years before Captain Kirk began his five-year journey in the original TV series.

The series is set to debut its premiere episode on CBS in January 2017 before streaming the rest of its season on CBS All Access in the US. Episodes will stream a day later on Netflix internationally. (Disclosure: CBS is CNET's parent company.)