After driving what it said has been a record number of signups for its All Access service, CBS has decided to renew the exclusive series “Star Trek: Discovery” for a second season.
“In just six episodes, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ has driven subscriber growth, critical acclaim and huge global fan interest for the first premium version of this great franchise,” said Marc DeBevoise, president and chief operating officer at CBS Interactive, in a statement. “This series has a remarkable creative team and cast who have demonstrated their ability to carry on the ‘Star Trek’ legacy. We are extremely proud of what they’ve accomplished and are thrilled to be bringing fans a second season of this tremendous series.”
The show, which reportedly cost about $8 million per episode to produce, debuted simultaneously on the CBS Network and All Access, but since then all episodes have been exclusive to All Access. The series will air the last episode of its first chapter on Nov. 12 before picking back up again in January.
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While CBS has said the show has helped attract subscribers to its platform, at least one All Access subscriber has complained about the ad volume during “Star Trek,” even when viewed with a $10 per month commercial free plan.
In a Reddit post that attracted more than 31,000 upvotes and more than 3,000 comments, user xsamsarax said that the amount of ads shown during “Star Trek: Discovery” have increased throughout the weeks. While CBS does note that even the commercial free tier of All Access does include ads during live TV and “promotional interruptions” during some shows, it said that volumes for those ads were not increasing.
“CBS All Access subscribers experience 25% less advertising than they would over the air, promotional interruptions are not increasing,” a CBS spokesperson said.