Scott Bakula Joins CBS Detective Drama as Star Trek Pitch Stalls

A proposed Star Trek series featuring Scott Bakula as former starship captain Jonathan Archer appears increasingly unlikely to move forward after the actor joined a new CBS detective drama. Deadline reported on October 8, 2026, that Bakula will star in and executive produce the untitled project, which is being developed by Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment and written by Michael Sussman. The development brings together Bakula and Sussman for a project outside the Star Trek franchise, casting further doubt on Star Trek: United, a pitch that would have returned Bakula to the role of Archer.

The proposed series has not entered development, according to the source article. Deadline describes the CBS project as a high-concept detective procedural set in Los Angeles. Bakula will lead the cast and serve as an executive producer, although further details about the series and its release schedule have not been announced in the source report.

Sussman previously worked as a writer and producer on Star Trek: Enterprise, the series in which Bakula portrayed Archer. He also pitched Star Trek: United, which envisioned the former captain serving as President of the Federation.

The new detective drama also marks a project for Electric Entertainment, the production company founded by Dean Devlin. The company built its profile through television franchises including The Librarian and Leverage, using its own financing and distribution arrangements. According to the source report, the CBS series would be its first broadcast television production.

Bakula previously starred in CBS's NCIS: New Orleans for seven seasons. His upcoming screen appearance is in Netflix's hockey drama The Sticks, according to the source article.

Star Trek: United has remained a proposal rather than an active production. The source article notes that IMDb Pro listed the project as a pitch and that an industry source said on August 19 that Paramount had no plans to develop the series. That source said the studio was concentrating its efforts on a new Star Trek movie. The source also acknowledged that the situation could change, stating that "one meeting can change everything."

The franchise's film plans center on a separate project from writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. According to the source article, the movie will introduce new characters and will not take place in the Kelvin timeline. The article also reports that a Paramount-WBD merger closed during the week of October 5, 2026. A Day One memo from Skydance identified Star Trek as one of the franchises central to the company's business, with a film in development and new writers joining its television projects.