Rod Roddenberry

Rod Roddenberry
Rod Roddenberry
	Roddenberry in 2017
Born	Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Jr.; February 5, 1974 (age 50); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Hampshire College
Occupation	Television producer
Spouse	Heidi Roddenberry (m. 2002)
Children	1
Parents	Gene Roddenberry (father); Majel Barrett (mother);

Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. (born February 5, 1974)^[1] is an American television producer and the chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment. He is the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett and is an executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Early life

Roddenberry was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Majel Barrett and writer and producer Gene Roddenberry, creator of the American science fiction series Star Trek.^[2] Roddenberry went to the John Thomas Dye School in Bel Air and Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood.^[3] and then attended Hampshire College in the early 1990s.

As a young man, Roddenberry was not closely familiar with Star Trek, having never even watched it. In 1991, when he was 17 years old, his father died, after which he began to examine Star Trek and discover "what made the series special" to its fans.^[4] Roddenberry struggled initially with his father's near-legendary stature among Star Trek fans, commenting: "A son cannot identify with a mythical figure; my father was put up on this pedestal throughout my life." However, as Roddenberry heard many moving stories about his father's flaws and follies, he observed, "That allowed me, as a son, not just to connect with him, but actually love him."^[2]

Career

In 2001, Roddenberry became chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment, which builds upon his father's work, and develops multimedia science fiction properties including comics, television and film projects.^[5]

In mid-2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Roddenberry approved of the 2009 Star Trek film by J.J. Abrams. Roddenberry opined that the producers and writers "made Star Trek cool again" with the film.^[6]

In 2010, Roddenberry, an avid scuba diver since 1993, founded the Roddenberry Dive Team, to allow people "to embark on undersea experiences and discover the diversity beneath the ocean." Roddenberry leads the dive team in its exploration of underwater worlds and hopes to inspire stewardship of the world's oceans. Roddenberry, who holds a Divemaster certification, has led or participated in more than 1,000 dives from exotic locations around the world.^[2]^[5]

In October 2011, the Roddenberry Foundation, which was founded by Rod Roddenberry, made its largest gift of $5 million to the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco to establish the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine.^[2] The Roddenberry Foundation believes that "the center's innovative technology that converts adult skin cells into life-changing stem cells will radically advance the fight against Alzheimer's and heart disease."^[7]

Roddenberry started to become directly involved in the Star Trek franchise in 2016 when he signed on as an executive producer of the TV series Star Trek: Discovery.^[8]^[9]

Filmography

Year	Film/Series	Role	Notes
1990	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Production assistant
1997	Earth: Final Conflict	Writer (technical advisor)	Produced through his production company, Roddenberry Entertainment
2004–2011	Star Trek: New Voyages	Consulting producer	Star Trek fan series
2011	Trek Nation	Producer and star	Documentary chronicling Roddenberry's exploration of his father's work. Includes interviews with fans, Star Trek alumni, and notable celebrities such as George Lucas, J. J. Abrams and Seth MacFarlane.
2012	White Room: 02B3	Executive producer	A 15-minute, 360-degree narrative^{[clarification needed]} short film starring Breckin Meyer, Tamlyn Tomita, David Blue and Rachel True
2017–present	Star Trek: Discovery	Executive producer
2018–2020	Star Trek: Short Treks	Executive producer
2020–2023	Star Trek: Picard	Executive producer
2020–present	Star Trek: Lower Decks	Executive producer
2021	Star Trek: Prodigy	Executive producer
2022–present	Star Trek: Strange New Worlds	Executive producer^[10]
2022^[11]	The Roddenberry Archive: The Cage	Executive producer	Documentary short series with interviews of surviving cast and crew from Star Trek's 1964 pilot episode "The Cage", featuring 3D and filmed recreations of the sets, characters, and events from Star Trek's history.^[12]