CBS relaunches ‘Star Trek’ with series for web-TV service

William Shatner, left, DeForest Kelley, center, and Leonard Nimoy pose on the set of the television series “Star Trek” in this undated photo. Nimoy, who died Feb. 27, struggled with his “Star Trek” legacy. His first memoir, published in 1975, was called “I Am Not Spock.” (MUST CREDIT: NBC )

LOS ANGELES – CBS Corp. is bringing back “Star Trek” with a web series that that will run exclusively on its All Access subscription service after a special broadcast preview in January 2017.

New and on-demand episodes will be available exclusively online at the company’s $6-a-month CBS All Access subscription service, according to a statement Monday.

“This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run ‘Star Trek’ series has gone before — directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access,” Marc DeBevoise, executive vice president for CBS Digital Media, said in the statement.

The online-only production of a blockbuster franchise underscores the efforts media companies are taking to create new digital products ratings fall for traditional TV. Networks such as CBS, ABC and Viacom’s Nickelodeon and MTV have lost viewers to online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.com.

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The new series will be produced by Alex Kurtzman, who co- wrote the 2009 film “Star Trek” and it successor, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” in 2013. He is also a producer of the current CBS hit “Hawaii Five-O.”

The original “Star Trek” series ran for three seasons on NBC starting in 1966. It soared later in syndication and in numerous film and TV versions.