In the mid '60s, Gene Roddenberry created a show that would become one of the most important sci-fi franchises in history. It's a utopian vision of the future that has produced some of the firsts on television, including the first interracial kiss.
The creator instigated a number of rules that have been followed for every single iteration of Star Trek that has come since. Until this year.
The newest show in the Star Trek franchise won't follow one of Roddenberry's general guidelines. Throughout the decades, Star Trek writers have avoided putting Starfleet members into direct conflict with one another. That's one of the rules that creates Star Trek's idea of the future, where humanity has reached its zenith to explore the reaches of space. Except in Star Trek: Discovery, writers have been allowed to ignore this notion.
As showrunner Aaron Harberts told Entertainment Weekly:
"We're trying to do stories that are complicated, with characters with strong points of view and strong passions. People have to make mistakes — mistakes are still going to be made in the future. We're still going to argue in the future ... The thing we're taking from Roddenberry is how we solve those conflicts. So we do have our characters in conflict, we do have them struggling with each other, but it's about how they find a solution and work through their problems."
In other words, prepare for some major space drama.
