Just days after Alex Kurtzman took over as showrunner on Star Trek Discovery from departing producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, CBS has announced that Kurtzman has signed a new five-year overall deal with CBS where he'll oversee the expansion of the Star Trek TV franchise. CBS made the deal with Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout Productions, which is run by Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, who serves as president of Secret Hideout and Aaron Baiers as senior VP of television. Here's what Kurtzman had to say in a statement.

"Heather, Aaron and I are thrilled to continue Secret Hideout's amazing partnership with CBS Television Studios. Since our first collaboration with Hawaii Five-0 almost a decade ago, Les, David and the full team at CBS Studios have been our foremost collaborators and champions, treating each project with integrity, supporting the creative visions and working breathlessly to make each episode of every show the best it can be. CBS has also allowed us the great pleasure of reintroducing the world of Star Trek audiences new and old, and we are very excited to keep working alongside them to expand that world."

Kurtzman will supervise the expansion of the Star Trek TV franchise that will include, "developing new series, mini-series and other content opportunities, including animation." No specific details about these new projects were given, but this announcement from CBS also confirmed that production is currently under way on Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, with Alex Kurtzman himself directing the Season 2 premiere. Here's what David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios, had to say in his statement.

"There is a very short list of writer-producer-directors that every film and television studio wants to be associated with, and Alex and his Secret Hideout team are always at the top. His talent, taste and ability to shepherd a successful project is unparalleled. Alex has done remarkable work for our Studio, dating back seven years to the launch of Hawaii Five-0, and we are thrilled that he, Heather and their team will be partnering with us for a long time to come."

Along with overseeing Star Trek: Discovery and the expansion of the Star Trek TV franchise, Secret Hideout will also develop new, original programs for CBS' broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. This will lead to Secret Hideout expanding its production operations, "adding diverse voices and cultivating new creative talent to align with the company." Kurtzman's Secret Hideout has produced Hawaii Five-0 since it first went on the air in 2010, which has become a mainstay on CBS' Friday night lineup. Kurtzman is currently developing The Man Who Fell to Earth for Hulu with Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married), Tandem Productions, Timberman/Beverly and Studio Canal. The new series is based on a Walter Tevis novel, centering on an alien who arrives on earth at a moment of intense geopolitical crisis and must confront his own past to determine the world's future. As for the expansion of the Star Trek franchise, CBS didn't announce any further details, but that may happen soon with Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery currently in production.