In continued celebration of Star Trek‘s 55th anniversary this year, the History Channel in the United States will be presenting a new documentary series titled The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek. This ten-part series will chronicle the complete history of Star Trek, from “The Cage” to today’s Trek renaissance.
The series is directed by Brian Volk-Weiss of the Nacelle Company (The Toys That Made Us, The Movies That Made Us) and narrated and executive-produced by Dr. Crusher herself, Gates McFadden. The first four episodes will premiere on the History Channel each week beginning Friday, November 5 at 10:00 pm ET/PT; six additional episodes will be available via History Vault, the network’s new streaming service.
Each episode focuses on a chapter in the franchise’s vaunted history, starting from the original series’ inception at the legendary Desilu Studios run by the incomparable Lucille Ball and including some lesser-known projects including the 1970s animated series and Phase II, the aborted second series which evolved into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This is a definitive, in-depth chronicle of Star Trek, honouring the pioneers in front of and behind the camera while sharing the impactful and potentially risky decisions behind some of the most pivotal moments in television history.
The Center Seat will reveal some lesser-known stories about the franchise, from the importance of addressing timely topics and the creation of Spock, to the dedicated fans who kept the show on the air (big shout out to the progenitors of Trek fandom, Bjo and John Trimble) and the reruns that kept the show alive. Behind-the-scenes stories such as these with thousands of hours of footage from the shows are coupled with interviews from the person who brought the show to life, including such luminaries 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 Jerald, 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 by The Nacelle Company for the History Channel and is directed by Brian Volk-Weiss, with Ian Roumain as showrunner and executive producer, and Gates McFadden, Cisco Henson, Ben Frost, and Mark Altman serving as executive producers for the Nacelle Company.
Watch The Trailer For The Center Seat: 55 Years Of Star Trek
Press Release Info:
“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.
About The Nacelle Company
The Nacelle Company, founded by Brian Volk-Weiss, is an American diversified media company headquartered in Burbank, California. Established in 2017, they are a leader in the pop-culture space through its scripted and unscripted production, podcasting, publishing, records, distribution, development, marketing, and management divisions. Nacelle has produced hits such as Netflix’s Emmy award-winning docuseries, Down To Earth with Zac Efron, The Movies That Made Us, The Toys That Made Us, Kevin Hart’s Guide To Black History, as well as Behind The Attraction on Disney+, Sony’s Mad About You, CW’s Discontinued, All The Way Black for BET+ History’s Grant, and History’s Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek. Nacelle’s vast array of partnerships include Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO, Discovery, BET+, A&E Networks, Hulu, Viacom, History, and many more. The company, as a whole, is dedicated to showcasing groundbreaking stories and pop-culture history through its signature documentary filmmaking style, unique distribution system and a consistent desire to never stop exploring.About The HISTORY® Channel
The HISTORY® Channel, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, the HISTORY® channel serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. The HISTORY® channel has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For additional press materials visit the A+E Networks Press Center at http://press.aenetworks.com.About “HISTORY Vault®”
HISTORY Vault® is a subscription video service (SVOD) offering the breadth and depth of The HISTORY® Channel’s extensive library content, complete with popular series, specials and documentaries that explore some of the greatest people, events and moments in history that shaped our world. HISTORY Vault® is available on major viewing platforms, including Comcast Xfinity, Cox Communications, and DirecTV; at historyvault.com; Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, and The Roku Channel; or by downloading the app on Apple devices (including iPhone, iPad & Apple TV), Android devices, Amazon Fire TV devices, or Roku. You can also broadcast content to your TV using the Chrome web browser or the latest versions of our Android and iOS apps via Chromecast. For more information on how to watch HISTORY Vault®, visit https://watch.historyvault.com/.
