Shout! Studios Acquires Worldwide Rights To WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND: LOOKING BACK AT STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE

Shout! Studios, the multi-platform filmed entertainment distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, has acquired worldwide rights to the documentary feature What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Directed by Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr and David Zappone (For the Love of Spock), the film is a fascinating in-depth look at the past, present and future of a series whose dark, edgy take on Gene Roddenberry’s vision was often misunderstood when it premiered, but has grown into a beloved mainstay in the Star Trek franchise. Featuring extensive new interviews with the cast and crew of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, What We Left Behind also focuses on the original writers of the series as they craft a brand-new episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, developing what would be the eighth-season premiere if the show were to return to the air today.

A production of 455 Films and Tuxedo Productions, What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is directed by Ira Steven Behr and David Zappone, executive produced by David Zappone, and produced by Ira Steven Behr, Kai de Mello-Folsom, Joseph Kornbrodt and Luke Snailham with additional production services from the New York Film Academy and 455 Films’ Kevin & Helene Layne. The announcement was made today by Shout’s founders and CEOs Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, Douglas Lee for 455 Films and Mark Balsam at Shout! Studios.

Shout! Studios has secured all world rights to What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, including theatrical, video-on-demand, digital, broadcast, and home entertainment for cross-platform releases. Shout! Studios plans to launch this movie across multiple entertainment distribution platforms in 2019.

“I loved Deep Space Nine and this documentary beautifully captures the true essence of the series and what it meant to the Star Trek franchise,” said Shout! Studios’ Mark Balsam.

“Deep Space Nine has a passionate fanbase—as shown by the successful crowdfunding campaign that brought this movie to life—and we’re thrilled to share their love of and dedication to the show by bringing the What We Left Behind to an even wider audience,” said Michael Ribas, VP of Marketing at Shout! Studios.

Ira Steven Behr said “When Dave Zappone asked me if I wanted to make a documentary about about Deep Space Nine, my first reaction was, ‘What is there left to say about Deep Space Nine?’ Well, William Faulkner once wrote, ‘The past is never dead. It's not even past.’ The cast, crew and fans have a lot to say about Deep Space Nine. What We Left Behind is their story; it's my story, too. Turns out William Faulkner was a very wise man.”

“I have been a fan of Deep Space Nine since I first saw the pilot over twenty-five years ago,” stated David Zappone, “so to finally be sharing that passion with a wider fandom through Shout! Studios and to become a part of the continuing legacy of the show is a dream-come true.”

The film deal was negotiated by Mark Balsam and Shout’s Vice President of Business Affairs, Vanessa Keiko Flanders for Shout! Factory, and Douglas Lee for 455 Films.

What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Synopsis

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine first aired in January 1993, well over a year after the death of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. When compared to The Original Series and The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine was written off as too “dark,” and “edgy,” “the black sheep” of the Star Trek family, a show that did not fit Roddenberry’s vision of the future. Though polarizing within the franchise, the show pushed narrative boundaries for seven seasons and gained a rabid cult following. Now, over twenty years after the series ended, fans and critics all over the world are rediscovering Deep Space Nine and embracing the show with an enthusiasm rivaling the affection they feel for any other Star Trek series. What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, takes a detailed look at this historic series and consider the reasons Deep Space Nine went from a family outcast to a Star Trek mainstay.