Exclusive – Star Trek: Sisko In The Works At CBS, Not A Deep Space Nine Revival
They're planning a new series based entirely around one specific character from that show: Deep Space Nine's Captain Benjamin Sisko played by the now mostly retired actor Avery Brooks.
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Earlier this week rumors started circulating indicating that CBS is considering resurrecting Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for a new series. I’ve done some digging to discover the full breadth of their plans and have learned that it’s not a Deep Space Nine revival, at least not exactly. Instead they’re planning a new series based entirely around one specific character from that show: Deep Space Nine’s Captain Benjamin Sisko played by the now mostly retired actor Avery Brooks.
According to my source (the same source that was first to break the news that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was happening), the series would follow the pattern already established by Star Trek: Picard and basically be Star Trek: Sisko. Cirroc Lofton, who played Ben Sisko’s son Jake on DS9, would co-star in the show along with Avery Brooks back as Sisko. No one else from the original Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cast is expected to be involved at all, at least not in the show’s first season. It’s worth noting that our source says: “CBS does not want Lofton to be part of it, yet Brooks is adamant that he will not do the show without him.”
Now 42-years-old Cirroc Lofton hasn’t worked a lot since the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but he has picked up more acting work in recent years. Most recently he appeared on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives in a bit role. He also made an appearance in the Star Trek fan film Renegades. Last we heard though, he was more focused on running a restaurant than on trying to make it as an actor.
Fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will remember that series ended with Captain Sisko leaving the mortal world and going to live with the wormhole aliens, The Prophets, in their non-linear plane of existence called the Celestial Temple. It wasn’t clear then if he would ever return. The new show would begin with the wormhole opening and Sisko emerging from the Celestial Temple on a mission to set something right that the wormhole aliens see as going wrong.
CBS is still in early, early development on Star Trek: Sisko and there are a couple of big obstacles in the way of making it a reality. Our source tells us the biggest is Avery Brooks who is 72-years-old, long since retired, and not really interested in acting anymore. The suits at CBS are talking to him anyway and they believe that by making the show about racial injustice and the relationship between Star Trek’s first black Captain and his now grown son, they can get Brooks involved. These are themes Avery Brooks cares deeply about and making the show dedicated to pushing a specific message about racial inequality is really the only way they believe can get Brooks involved.
The other big obstacle here is Star Trek: Picard, which underperformed in its first season. The ratings weren’t good and before CBS is willing to greenlight Star Trek: Sisko they’re going to wait and see if the ratings for Picard improve in season 2. They’re optimistic about that and if there’s a strong uptick in Picard’s ratings, then expect to hear more about them moving forward with Star Trek: Sisko.
