From AICN:
https://www.aintitcool.com/node/75945
HOLY SHIRT!! That was the wildest TCA I've been to!! if you want to read all my initial notes on the #StarTrekDiscovery panel head here!!
What we learned at the too-brief Wednesday afternoon “Star Trek: Discovery” TCA panel held at the Beverly Hilton:
* “Discovery” is another prequel, set in the Shatner (not JJ Abrams) universe ten years before Kirk and Spock’s famous five-year mission depicted in the 1960s TV series.
* It follows that “Discovery” is set about 100 years after “Star Trek Enterprise.”
* "Discovery's" lead character will be a human female. The female part has only happened once before, with “Star Trek: Voyager,” another series creator-showrunner Bryan Fuller helped write.
* For the first time since the early episodes of “Deep Space Nine,” the lead character will not be a captain. When I asked creator-showrunner Bryan Fuller if he could describe the lead character’s rank, he replied “lieutenant commander.” A few minutes later though Fuller told me exclusively “she will hold many ranks.”
* The series will explore an incident mentioned in the 1960s series. (In the 1969 episode “Whom Gods Destroy,” there’s a reference to a war the Federation was fighting about 15 years earlier.)
* Fuller seemed to hint he would pursue Winona Ryder to reprise the role of Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson. Hers would not be a regular role. When I asked if Grayson would appear in the first season of “Discovery,” Fuller smiled and replied “maybe.”
* Shooting on the series is still months away and no one has been cast yet.
* I asked Fuller if there would be robots. The answer was “yes.”
* The series will not be subject to broadcast standards and will feature “slightly more graphic content” than a typical Trek series.
* The CBS All Access exec who introduced Fuller indicated that there will only be 13 episodes of “Discovery” per season, and certainly no more than 13 airing in 2017. Prior live-action seasons of Star Trek have typically run north of 20 episodes, often as much as 26.
* Fuller described the series as one 13-episode novel. Trek has featured copious episode-to-episode continuity in the past, notably during the third season of “Star Trek: Enterprise.”
* The infamous Kobayashi Maru incident (used to train Starfleet cadets) occurred prior to the events of “Discovery,” and will be referenced in the series.
* Fuller confirmed Starfleet’s super-secret black-ops division Section 31 may be a component of the series. Discovery’s registry number is NCC-1031.
* Sets, makeup and effects will be upgraded to 2016 standards, just as these things were upgraded to 2002 standard for fellow prequel “Star Trek Enterprise.”
Did you know every live-action season of "Star Trek" from 1966 to 2005 featured at least two time-travel episodes? I asked Fuller if "Discovery" would feature time travel. He did not say "no."
I am-Hercules!!
Spoiler: 
