This week on Episode 535 of Priority One: Content deals continue at ViacomCBS, so you’ll see what IP Bob can guarantee to be on TV.  A touching farewell to Tilly, with the character’s far future plans on the tip of Mary Wiseman’s tongue.  In gaming news, some fresh and refreshed games to add to your Trek catalog, and Mudd is back with a fresh Intel in a big ship bundle.  And before we review the most recent episode of Discovery, Dr. Robert Hurt tells us how we’re looking for planets not just around distant stars, but in distant galaxies! 

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Not Every Loss Is Eternal

By Jake Cobb

If you haven’t watched Star Trek: Discovery’s season 4 episode 4 “All is Possible” our next story contains spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Still here? Good! Let’s get started!

In the aforementioned “All is Possible”, Discovery said goodbye to one of its own: Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly. This week, TVInsider sat down with Tilly actor Mary Wiseman to talk about the episode, her departure, and the future of Tilly.

Before going any further, let’s get the big question out of the way: will Tilly be back, and in what capacity? Wiseman answered (unsatisfyingly) ”I can say that you’ll see me later on in the season.” She continued (also unsatisfyingly) ”I’ll say that her hair is slightly different and she’s wearing a different outfit.”

Being less vague, Wiseman recalled her on-screen goodbyes, telling TVInsiders Meredith Jacobs ”you tend to create a found family and that’s very much the story of our show, both on and offscreen, that we are a found family. So it felt really important to honor those relationships…[i]t kind of feels like...she’s going off to do this thing and all of these people show up for her to say, ‘we’ll still be here for you when you come back and we love you and we’ll miss you’.”

It’s true, we’ll miss you–a lot.

ViacomCBS: Deal With It

By Cat Hough

In some not very shocking news, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish confirmed that Paramount+ is moving towards exclusivity for its major IP franchises, by reducing the amount of third-party licenses...just like the recent buy-back deal for Star Trek: Discovery from Netflix.

In a recent media conference, Bakish was asked about the third-party licensing deals and he said that while the company continues to bring in revenue for many deals cut before the launch of Paramount+, its priorities have definitely changed and that they are not likely to renew any prior third-party deals.  

Bakish elaborated on this, saying, “as we increasingly transition to leveraging our particular franchises and original production for our owned and operated streaming assets, principally Paramount+…that, in turn, will create a decline in that third-party business over time as these deals roll off. I would note that as an example of that, we just took back Star Trek: Discovery internationally from Netflix. And so we now have that property globally. That’s clearly a core franchise for us, and it’s working.”

It appears that these efforts are working for Bakish, as he stated that Paramount+ had its best week ever and best month ever in November. However, Discovery has yet to be confirmed for a fifth season. Historically, additional season pickups are announced around the time of the launch of a new season, which they did for Star Trek: Prodigy.

Paramount+ Opens Revenue Channels

By Cat Hough

Speaking of Paramount+, it just announced the launch of 18 linear channels that let subscribers surf through dedicated-themed collections of shows called Live Channels. The content comes from all ViacomCBS properties including CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and the Smithsonian Channel as well as from other sources. The themed “live” channels, streaming 24 hours per day, feature the service’s most-streamed genres or specific franchises like Star Trek. Just think Star Trek Channel: all Trek, all the time.  

Paramount+ Live Channels also will potentially provide a new bucket of advertising inventory for the streaming service to sell. At launch, there won’t be ads in the channels for either the Paramount+ Premium ($9.99/month) or the ad-supported Essential ($4.99/month) tiers, but eventually ViacomCBS may introduce ads for customers with the Essential package. Through Dec. 31, new subscribers can try Paramount+ for 30 days free by using the promo code “PEAKSALE.”

Quick News Roundup

• A Star Trek Adventures-based audio play, Star Trek: Europa, is now available as a podcast with 10 episodes online.  The series follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Europa, a Luna-class starship with a new prototype positronic-bioneural computer system and an advanced AI. The ship’s mission is exploration following the Dominion War. It’s available on all of your favorite podcast apps.  
• In other audio news comes a cryptic tweet with very few details. Coming soon fresh outta spacedock is a new STO series, “Ex Astris: The Ships of Star Trek Online.”  The tweet comes from Daniel Orrett, writer and creator of the science fiction audio drama Sojourn HQ.  Which could imply an audio drama telling the story of STO ships?  With no release date, we’ll have to simply wait and see.  

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Mudd-Slinging Continues Unabated

By Cat Hough

Just in time for the holidays when you have all the extra money, a new bundle hits Mudd’s Market on December 22nd! Mudd’s Secret Intel Choice Pack will be available for 29,500 Zen, and you can choose any three of the following options: 

• Section 31 Intel Science Destroyer
• Son'a Intel Battlecruiser
• Elachi Sheshar Intel Dreadnought Cruiser
• Na'Qj