How the rise of Trump and the election influenced the upcoming ‘Star Trek’ TV show, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

The upcoming CBS All Access show, “Star Trek: Discovery,” tells the story of a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. The show is set ten years before the 1966 original series, when the Federation and Klingons were in a Cold War that reflected the political climate at the time.

“Star Trek: Discovery” will follow that tradition, by mirroring themes from the Trump Era.

“The allegory is that we really started working on the show in earnest around the time the election was happening,” showrunner Aaron Harberts told Entertainment Weekly. “The Klingons are going to help us really look at certain sides of ourselves and our country. Isolationism is a big theme. Racial purity is a big theme. The Klingons are not the enemy, but they do have a different view on things. It raises big questions: Should we let people in? Do we want to change? There’s also the question of just because you reach your hand out to someone, do they have to take it? Sometimes, they don’t want to take it. It’s been interesting to see how the times have become more of a mirror than we even thought they were going to be.”

“The thing about the war is it takes Starfleet and the Federation and forces them to examine their ideas and ethical rules of conflict and conduct,” Harberts added.

Co-showrunner Gretchen J. Berg. added, “In times of stress and conflict, it can bring out the best of us and the worst of us. But but ultimately brings out the best in our Starfleet officers.”

The show is shooting the last couple episodes right now, and Harberts says that “North Korea is in our thoughts as we finish the series.”

Watch the trailer for “Star Trek: Discovery” below: