Star Trek: Discovery scoop: Jonathan Frakes joins as director

Jonathan Frakes returning to the Star Trek universe? Make it so!

The major luminary from the Trek franchise will direct an episode of the CBS All Access show’s first season.

Frakes, of course, played Commander William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation and in several Trek films.

“Jonathan Frakes will rejoin the Trek world with Discovery,” writer-producer Gretchen J. Berg told EW. “He’s a fantastic guy and great director.”

Added fellow showrunner Aaron Harberts: “Our cast is dying to work with him.”

Frakes is very experienced behind the camera, having helmed several episodes of TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, as well as the Trek films First Contact and Insurrection. In addition, he’s directed episodes of several non-Trek titles such as Leverage, Burn Notice, and NCIS: Los Angeles. Berg and Harberts previously worked with Frakes when he directed five episodes of CBS’ Roswell.

Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) as a brilliant Starfleet First Officer — the first human educated on Vulcan — who’s forced to make an impossibly difficult decision which impacts the entire Federation. The series also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs, Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp.

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Star Trek: Discovery will debut Sunday, Sept. 24 (first on CBS, then shifting to CBS All Access streaming service; Netflix internationally).