LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - US broadcast network CBS will expand the popular Star Trek science-fiction franchise with new series, mini-series and animation under a production deal announced on Tuesday (June 19).

CBS said in a statement that it had signed a five-year deal with producer Alex Kurtzman to supervise a range of new programming related to Star Trek. Kurtzman is a writer and producer of Star Trek: Discovery, which premiered in September 2017 on the CBS All Access streaming service. A second season is currently in production.

He also co-wrote and produced the 2009 Star Trek feature film and 2013 sequel "Star Trek: Into Darkness." The original Star Trek debuted in 1966 as a US television series depicting the adventures of the Starship Enterprise.

It was created by the late Gene Roddenberry and featured characters including Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, and Vulcan officer Mr. Spock, played by the late Leonard Nimoy.

The CBS network is a unit of CBS Corp.