Star Trek: The Original Series/Behind the scenes/Concept

Star Trek was the brainchild of Gene Roddenberry, a science fiction enthusiast since the 1940s through his exposure to Astounding Stories. His earliest science fiction production, The Secret Weapon of 117, was broadcast in 1956 on the Chevron Theatre. By , Roddenberry had begun producing his inaugural television series, The Lieutenant, at MGM.
In 1963, MGM believed that the popularity of "true-to-life" television dramas was waning and that action-adventure shows would be more profitable—a prediction that proved correct with series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Gene Roddenberry had been developing a science fiction concept titled Star Trek since . When he presented his ideas to MGM, they showed initial interest. However, after the conclusion of The Lieutenant, Roddenberry submitted his first Star Trek draft to MGM, but the studio was not impressed with the concept, and consequently, the series was not produced.
Roddenberry attempted to pitch his "wagon train to the stars" concept for Star Trek to various production studios, but without success. In , there were rumors that Desilu, a smaller studio compared to MGM, was looking to purchase a new television series. With the assistance of Desilu executive Herb Solow, Roddenberry took the opportunity, which resulted in a three-year contract with Desilu in .
The initial pitch for the Star Trek format to the broadcasting network CBS was unsuccessful, as Desilu had a first-look deal with the network. CBS opted for 's more family-friendly science fiction project, Lost in Space, over Roddenberry's intellectually stimulating concept. However, in , NBC's Vice-President of Programming, Mort Werner, consented to allow Roddenberry to develop three story outlines, from which NBC would choose one to adapt into a pilot episode.
One of the storylines submitted on , was an outline for "," which NBC selected. The formidable challenge for Roddenberry and his team was to create the "Star Trek" universe from the ground up. Roddenberry enlisted the help of many colleagues to envision his future. Harvey P. Lynn of the RAND Corporation served as a scientific advisor, Pato Guzman was appointed as the art director, and Matt Jefferies assisted as a production designer. This period of innovation and brainstorming continued throughout the summer until the final draft of "The Cage" script was submitted to NBC in the last week of , leading to the greenlighting of the pilot's filming.