The Star Trek franchise may be in a holding pattern, but that doesn't mean its most beloved stars are out of a job. In fact, we have two stars hailing from the The Next Generation era that are set to appear in a crime series. Voyager's Kate Mulgrew will team up with Deep Space Nine's Colm Meaney for a series called The Yank.
The broadcaster RTÉ reported it's teaming with a selection of production companies to commission The Yank as a six-part series. Filming is already underway in Conamara, Galway, in Ireland. (Screen Ireland will be in the mix by association.)
Mulgrew will star in the series, with Colm Meaney being a co-star alongside others. I'm psyched to see this collaboration, especially considering Meaney never joined in on Trek's new era, and hoping I'll be able to watch it with via Netflix subscription or some other streaming service access.
What Is The Yank About?
Kate Mulgrew will go from playing a criminal in Orange Is The New Black to a NYPD detective who returns to her family's home after a traumatic event. Unfortunately, she's pulled into a murder investigation and teams up with local authorities to look into the death of a climate activist.
The series is a script from writer Eithne Verling, who made The Yank specifically for Kate Mulgrew after the two met when the actress was on vacation in Galway. I knew the actress was always proud of her Irish heritage, so maybe this series will atone for some of Star Trek: Voyager's WTF scenes with Fair Haven.
Why I Hope The Yank Will Get Picked Up In The United States
It's not Star Trek, but I do hope to see The Yank get picked up by some streamer or network to run in the United States. As mentioned, Colm Meaney wasn't a part of the recent stretch of Trek television, so I'll relish the opportunity to see him in this series. Then there's Kate Mulgrew, who did voice work for the canceled animated series Prodigy, but has not had a chance to appear in live-action.
At a time when it feels like Trekkies might be waiting on the next new television show in the franchise for a while, The Yank sounds like it could be a great distraction. It's not often we get to see a lot of these actors, especially the older ones, take on roles outside of Star Trek. With Patrick Stewart reportedly retiring from acting soon, we might see it happen even less frequently.
As such, I do hope that networks and streamers are keeping an eye on The Yank, because I know I'd like to give it a watch here in the U.S. when it releases. In the meantime, I guess I can always enjoy both Kate Mulgrew and Colm Meaney's previous Trek episodes with a Paramount+ subscription.
