Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Section 31 Will Launch After Discovery's Third Season, Aurora Rising Heads to Television, and More

Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.

Star Trek Expands: Alex Kurtzman was recently discussing the Star Trek franchise which he is closely involved in and indicated the Star Trek: Discovery spin-off which will focus on Section 31 and star Michelle Yeoh will begin production once the parent series has wrapped its third season. The new show focuses on the clandestine unit of Starfleet that remains behind the scenes and does the dirty work for the Federation. Kurtzman also said that the other current Trek Projects are moving along at a rapid pace. That includes more installments of Star Trek: Short Treks, the Star Trek: Picard series which debuts later this year, the animated comedy Lower Decks, and the Nickelodeon animated series that will be targeted at younger viewers.

Aurora Rising on Television: MGM Television is working on an adaptation of the recently released YA novel Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description of the project:

Set in the year 2380, Aurora Rising follows Ty Jones, the top cadet of the Aurora Academy, and his unwanted squad of misfits and losers as they slowly realize that the girl they rescued from hundreds of years of cryo-sleep may be the catalyst for a war millions of years in the making.

Bill Todman Jr. and Edward Millstein will executive produce the series. Aurora Rising is the first in a planned series of YA books. No network is attached to the TV series at this point, but expect this one to draw some interest.

Production Notes: HBO is doing some re-casting of its upcoming horror series Lovecraft Country, with Abbey Lee joining as a series regular and Jamie Chung and Jordan Patrick Smith coming onboard in recurring roles. Eliza Clark (Extant) has been assigned as the new showrunner for FX’s long-gestating Y: The Last Man series. She is also one of the main writers for that show. Rosamund Pike has joined Amazon’s The Wheel of Time in the lead female role of Moiraine.