Doug Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Anthony Rapp board 'Star Trek: Discovery'

STUDIO CITY, Calif., Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Doug Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Anthony Rapp are to lead the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, the latest installment in the space-travel franchise.

The sci-fi series is scheduled to premiere on the CBS Television Network in May, with subsequent episodes debuting via its on-demand and streaming service CBS All Access.

Jones will play Lt. Saru, a Starfleet science officer and a new alien species to the Star Trek universe, while Yeoh will portray Captain Georgiou, the Starfleet captain aboard the Starship Shenzhou, and Rapp has been cast as Lt. Stamets, an astromycologist, fungus expert and Starfleet science officer aboard the Starship Discovery, a press release noted.

Although CBS did not specify this in its media alert, Entertainment Weekly reported Rapp's Stamets will be the first Star Trek character originally conceived and confirmed as gay.

"So proud to be a part of this journey. I'm a longtime fan and super geek of the highest order," Rapp tweeted.

"The series will feature a new ship, new characters, and new missions, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers," the press release said.

Rod Roddenberry -- son of the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry -- and Trevor Roth will serve as executive producers.