Page "Pavel Chekov" Paragraph 1

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to include a younger cast member, to appeal to teenage audiences.

With a second season of Star Trek to be produced, Roddenberry interviewed Koenig on the recommendation of director Joseph Pevney.

After casting Koenig, Roddenberry wrote a letter to Mikhail Zimyanin, editor of Pravda, informing him of the introduction of a Russian character, and an NBC press release announcing the character at the time stated that it was in response to a Pravda article.

Koenig always denied the " Russian origin " story and said the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees ' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.

Roddenberry had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director, a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of the Beatles or Monkees on the show.