Last fall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon joined the writers’ room of CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard as an executive producer. The show stars Sir Patrick Stewart in the title role.

The lifelong Star Trek fan has now been named showrunner of that same show.

Chabon has been part of the core creative team on the series from the beginning, and working closely on the day-to-day production with fellow executive producers, veteran Star Trek writer/producer Akiva Goldsman, and Alex Kurtzman, who continues to oversee the expansion of the growing Star Trek universe for CBS TV Studios.

Said Kurtzman of Chabon,

“Daring, lyrical, humane, whimsical, celebrated: words that describe both Jean-Luc Picard and the literary genius of Michael Chabon. Despite a laundry list of accomplishments most writers only dream of, Michael shines with the heart and soul of a Trekkie who’s finally found his dream job. We’re so fortunate to have him at the helm as we explore this next chapter in the great captain’s life.”

In Star Trek: Picard, Stewart reprises his role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: Next Generation. Star Trek: Picard will follow Picard in the next chapter of his life.

Star Trek: Picard, produced by CBS TV Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, will also star Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd  and newcomer Evan Evagora.

Hanelle Culpepper will direct the first two episodes of the series, making her the first woman to direct a pilot or debut episode of a Starfleet series in the franchise’s 53-year history.

“Star Trek has been an important part of my way of thinking about the world, the future, human nature, storytelling and myself since I was ten years old,” said Chabon. “I come to work every day in a state of joy and awe at having been entrusted with the character and the world of Jean-Luc Picard, with this vibrant strand of the rich, intricate and complex tapestry that is Trek.’”

Chabon is steeped in the science fiction genre and has a great deal of geek cred. He has some bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novels under his belt already. He is the author of the novels The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Moonglow, Wonder Boys and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union (this won a Hugo in 2008), among others. His screenplays and teleplays include John Carter, Spiderman 2, and Unbelievable– which he wrote with his writing partner and wife, Ayelet Waldman – as well as the Star Trek: Short Treks episode Calypso. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Chabon has won the Hugo, Nebula, Mythopoeic, Sidewise and Ignotus awards (Spain’s Hugo Award) and many others. It’s hard to imagine a better qualified person to be showrunner from a creative standpoint.

Star Trek: Picard will air exclusively on CBS All Access in the US and internationally on Amazone Prime, and in Canada on Bell Media’s cable networks, Space and Z, and OTT service Crave.

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