James Frain Cast as Spock’s Father in Star Trek: Discovery

January 18, 2017

First the bad news, as CBS All Access has announced that Star Trek: Discovery has once again been delayed from its May premiere date.

“Production on Star Trek: Discovery begins next week. We love the cast, the scripts and are excited about the world the producers have created,” representatives for the series told THR. “This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it’s best for the show. We’ve said from the beginning it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast. There is also added flexibility presenting on CBS All Access, which isn’t beholden to seasonal premieres or launch windows.”

The good news, however, is the addition of actor James Frain (Gotham, Orphan Black) in the role of Sarek, the famed father of Leonard Nimoy’s Mister Spock. First introduced in the original Star Trek, Sarek has made multiple appearances throughout the franchise over the last five decades and has been previously played by Mark Lenard in the original series and several of the films with Ben Cross taking on the role in 2009’s Star Trek.

Frain joins a cast that includes Sonequa Martin-Green as the show’s central Lieutenant Commander, with Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth) as Lt. Saru and Anthony Rapp (Rent) as Lt. Stamets. Michelle Yeoh, meanwhile, is playing Captain Georgiou, in command of another Starfleet vessel. The Klingon cast includes Juilliard-trained actress Mary Chieffo, Penny Dreadful‘s Shazad Latif and Chris Obi, who also stars on Bryan Fuller‘s upcoming STARZ series, American Gods.

Star Trek: Discovery takes place about a decade before the original Star Trek and roughly a hundred years after Earth made first contact with the Klingon species (as depicted in the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, “Broken Bow”). At this point in Trek history, the Federation and the Klingon Empire should be facing an uneasy cold war.

Following its premiere on the CBS Television Network, all episodes of Star Trek: Discovery will be available in the U.S. exclusively on CBS All Access. Continuing the worldwide appeal of the franchise, each episode of the series will be available globally within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere, presented on Netflix in 188 countries and through Bell Media platforms in Canada.

Star Trek: Discovery is executive produced by Bryan Fuller with Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts and Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman manning the bridge.

(Photo Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com)