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Published Mar 18, 2022

Recap: Star Trek: Discovery - Coming Home

The season comes to a stunning conclusion

StarTrek.com

With the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA) on its way to impact United Earth and Ni’Var, the Federation fleet travels to the planets in an effort to mount an evacuation. Not only is Federation HQ capable of warp, but its individual decks are detachable and able to achieve faster-than-light speeds. Perhaps Miles O’Brien’s hard work to move Deep Space 9 closer to the Bajoran wormhole in “Emissary” inspired future engineers to equip space stations with the latest tech? Joined by Sylvia Tilly and her Starfleet Academy cadets, Admiral Vance sets out to save as many people as possible.

Back inside Species 10-C’s hyperfield, the U.S.S. Discovery-A’ s crew works to free themselves from the 10-C’s orb so they can prevent Ruon Tarka from stealing the DMA’s power source, an action that would destroy the 10-C’s solar system. President T’Rina offers to telepathically connect with their captors, but the experience overwhelms her senses. Apparently, Species 10-C is linked as one, yet unlike the Borg, their union is harmonious. The fact that knowledge about the Borg persists into the 32nd century is quite intriguing.

Aboard Book’s ship, Cleveland “Book” Booker and Jett Reno emphasize to Tarka that, even if he makes it to an alternate reality, the Oros in that universe would not be his Oros . Having failed, the pair employ Grudge’s cat collar, which is equipped with a holodisruptor to prevent holograms from frightening the legendary “Space Catte,” to disable the containment field and knock Tarka unconscious.

The always reliable Paul Stamets figures out a plan to get Discovery out of its orb — however, the strategy will burn out the spore drive and leave them decades away from home, echoing U.S.S. Voyager ’s 24th century jaunt through the Delta Quadrant. The gambit succeeds, freeing the starship to pursue Book’s vessel. Once in range, Reno beams back to Discovery and informs Captain Burnham that Book hasn’t been able to regain control of his ship.

As debris from the DMA begins to reach Earth, General Ndoye suggests employing a shuttle to collide with Book’s ship in order to knock it off course. Burnham prepares to order Lt. Commander Detmer to undertake the potential suicide mission, a dilemma similar to the 24th century bridge officer’s test that Deanna Troi eventually passed in “Thine Own Self.” Ndoye quickly intercedes and volunteers to pilot the shuttle, demonstrating her resolve to save Earth.

In an emotionally-charged exchange, Book finally manages to connect with Tarka, who understands that Oros would never want him to go to these lengths to reach an alternate universe. The revelation occurs moments before Ndoye’s shuttle strikes, saving the 10-C but sending Book’s ship toward the edge of the hyperfield. Discovery beams a wounded Ndoye to safety, but Tarka believes his interdimensional transporter might work once it hits the hyperfield. The Risan elects to save Book by transporting him back to Discovery …

…but Book’s signal is lost as his ship impacts the hyperfield and is destroyed. A grief-stricken Burnham must push her feelings aside to guide Discovery , which becomes ensnared in another orb that brings the vessel into one of 10-C’s gas giants. The 10-C dispatch a small “shuttle orb,” permitting the dignitaries and bridge crew to join the senior staff as they go to the planet and meet the 10-C in person.

In awe of the massive lifeforms, the Federation team conveys that, while they are individual lifeforms, they are united in their search for peace. Burnham details the destruction wrought by the DMA, and in a moment that displays the priceless nature of communication, the 10-C agree to move the DMA away from Earth and Ni’Var. The 10-C then provide a stunning gift, as they share that they had intercepted Book’s transporter signal and beam the courier down, alive and well!

Grateful to be reunited with Michael, Book nevertheless argues that the 10-C must stop utilizing the DMA, even in uninhabited space. Once again highlighting the power of connection, Book convinces the 10-C to halt the DMA for good and lower their hyperfield wall. The crew returns to Discovery , while the 10-C use their wormhole technology one last time and send the starship back to Earth. If only the Caretaker had been as considerate to the U.S.S. Voyager !

As the crew celebrates their victory, two relationships take center stage. Saru and T’Rina openly acknowledge their feelings for one another, while Burnham and Book share a heartfelt goodbye — one they hope to only be temporary — before the courier serves his sentence for his renegade mission by assisting displaced refugees on Europa. Meanwhile, long-range sensors indicate the 10-C are keeping their promise and cleaning up the subspace rifts left by the DMA.

Having overcome The Burn and the DMA threat, the Federation seems to be back on track. Many new worlds have joined, with Burnham explaining that Tellar Prime never left and Andoria is in talks to return. The President of United Earth (played by surprise guest star and acclaimed activist Stacey Abrams) arrives to tell President Rillak that Earth is also ready to rejoin. The Federation is back!

“Coming Home” provides the perfect conclusion to a season that has underlined the need to find connection and hope in the wake of tragedy and unfathomable loss. Although the Federation had come very far in the short time since the mystery of The Burn was solved, the DMA once again tested its resolve and ultimately pushed the citizens of the galaxy even closer together. With these trials behind it, what will the Federation’s next steps be? Who else might join? Will the next generation spore drive be developed? Where will Discovery be sent to explore? Given that Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a fifth season, we will surely learn these answers in the near future. Stay tuned as we continue to boldly go…

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is the seventh series set in the Star Trek universe. Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman , Discovery was originally set roughly a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series , set primarily aboard the starship USS Discovery , before jumping from the 23rd century to the 32nd century .

The series was announced by StarTrek.com on 2 November 2015 . According to the press release, " The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966 . " [1]

It is produced by CBS Studios and Secret Hideout ; the executive producers are Fuller, Kurtzman, and Heather Kadin .

The first series to be developed for the CBS All Access subscription platform, it began airing on 24 September 2017 , with a preview broadcast of the premiere episode, " The Vulcan Hello ", on the CBS network ; the second episode being released on All Access on the same day. In the US, subsequent episodes were released exclusive to CBS All Access. The first season ran for a complete fifteen episodes, being released on successive Sundays, finishing on 11 February 2018 , with a mid-season break between November and January. [2] [3] The second season ran for fourteen episodes, between 17 January 2019 and 18 April 2019 , again released via CBS All Access, this time on successive Thursdays. The third season ran for thirteen episodes, also on Thursdays, from 15 October 2020 to 7 January 2021 .

Outside the US, the series was available on Netflix from 25 September 2017 and ending on 16 November 2021 , except in Canada, where Space and Z carry the series in English and French, respectively. The series was slated to begin a global rollout on Paramount+ in 2022. [4] However, on 24 November 2021 , it was announced that the program would instead release beginning on 26 November 2021 with the first two episodes in all markets where Paramount+ is currently available, with new episodes releasing weekly. In those markets still without the service, it will be made available on the free ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV on the same timetable. [5]

CBS aired the first season of Discovery on terrestrial broadcast, beginning on 24 September 2020 , exactly three years after " The Vulcan Hello " first aired. [6]

Discovery was the first official Star Trek live-action production the former franchise owner, Paramount Pictures , neither owned nor was involved with on any level (although since Viacom and CBS re-merged to form ViacomCBS in 2019 , Star Trek television is once again under the same corporate umbrella as Paramount – a distinction made even less significant after ViacomCBS rebranded itself as Paramount Global in February 2022 ).

On 2 March 2023 , it was announced that the series' fifth season would be Discovery 's last and will air in 2024 . [7] [8]

• 1.1 Special guest star
• 1.2.1 32nd century
• 1.2.2 23rd century
• 2.1 Season 1
• 2.2 Season 2
• 2.3 Season 3
• 2.4 Season 4
• 2.5 Season 5
• 3.1 Writing
• 3.4 Casting
• 3.5 Participation interest
• 3.6.1 Tie-ins
• 3.6.2 Products
• 4 Reactions
• 5 Related topics
• 7 External links
• Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham
• Doug Jones as Saru
• Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
• Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly
• Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber (2019–2024)
• Shazad Latif as Ash Tyler (2017–2019)
• Rachael Ancheril as D. Nhan (2020)
• Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal (2021–2024)
• Tig Notaro as Jett Reno (2021–2024)
• Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner (2024)
• Jason Isaacs as Gabriel Lorca (2017–2018)
• Anson Mount as Christopher Pike (2019)
• David Ajala as Cleveland Booker (2020–2024)

Special guest star

• Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou / Philippa Georgiou (mirror) (2017–2020)

Recurring characters

32nd century.

• Ian Alexander as Gray Tal
• Andreas Apergis as Xi
• Noah Averbach-Katz as Ryn
• Avaah Blackwell as Ina
• David Cronenberg as Kovich
• Orville Cummings as Christopher
• Luca Doulgeris as Leto
• Shawn Doyle as Ruon Tarka
• Oded Fehr as Charles Vance
• Rothaford Gray as Tareckx
• Eve Harlow as Moll
• Ache Hernandez as Kyheem
• Chelah Horsdal as Laira Rillak
• Vanessa Jackson as Audrey Willa
• Hiro Kanagawa as Dr. Hirai
• Janet Kidder as Osyraa
• Ian Lake as Tolor
• Alex McCooeye as Lee'U
• Linford Mark Robinson as L'Teis Kardashev
• Seamus Patterson as Harral
• Katherine Trowell as Bandra
• Tara Rosling as T'Rina
• Phumzile Sitole as Diatta Ndoye
• Giovanni Spina as Sta'Kiar
• Elias Toufexis as L'ak
• Jake Weber as Zareh
• Annabelle Wallis as Zora
• Adrian Walters as Taahz Gorev

23rd century

• Jayne Brook as Katrina Cornwell
• Mary Chieffo as L'Rell
• Conrad Coates as Terral
• Emily Coutts as Keyla Detmer
• Raven Dauda as Tracy Pollard
• James Frain as Sarek
• Riley Gilchrist as Shukar (mirror) / Shukar
• Harry Judge as Gorch (mirror) / Gorch
• Mia Kirshner as Amanda Grayson
• Patrick Kwok-Choon as Gen Rhys
• Clare McConnell as Dennas
• Kenneth Mitchell as Kol , Aurellio
• Sara Mitich and Hannah Cheesman as Airiam
• Sara Mitich as Nilsson
• Ali Momen as Kamran Gant
• Chris Obi as T'Kuvma
• Oyin Oladejo as Joann Owosekun
• Ethan Peck as Spock
• Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley
• Ronnie Rowe, Jr. as R.A. Bryce
• Christopher Russell as Milton Richter
• Damon Runyan as Ujilli
• Sonja Sohn as Gabrielle Burnham
• Hannah Spear as Siranna
• Alan van Sprang as Leland
• Terry Serpico as Brett Anderson
• Rekha Sharma as Ellen Landry / Ellen Landry (mirror)
• David Benjamin Tomlinson as Linus
• Sam Vartholomeos as Danby Connor
• Chris Violette as Britch Weeton
• Romaine Waite as Troy Januzzi
• Bahia Watson as May Ahearn
• Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd

Episode list

DIS Season 1 , 15 episodes:

DIS Season 2 , 14 episodes:

DIS Season 3 , 13 episodes

DIS Season 4 , 13 episodes

DIS Season 5 , 10 episodes [9]

Development

William Shatner claimed that a " 3 movie deal and then a new series [has] been in the cards since 2007 - 2008 . " [10] After the release of the Star Trek reboot in 2009 , Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci pitched an animated series to CBS, similar to their series Transformers: Prime for The Hub (now Discovery Family). [11] However, Orci said the success of the first film did not indicate whether a new show would be viable, explaining, " One movie doesn't make a trend. Two movies starts to indicate that there is a trend and it's viable. It will become more real as the year goes on. " [12]

By 2009, Bryan Fuller desired to produce a new live-action Star Trek series. " I told my agent and told the people of J.J. Abrams ' team I want to create another Star Trek series and have an idea that I'm kicking around, " he explained.

" I would love to return to the spirit of the old series with the colours and attitude [...] [of] the '60s fun and I would love to take it back to its origin [...] Star Trek has to recreate itself. Otherwise, all the characters start to feel the same. You always have a captain, a doctor, a security officer, and you have the same arguments based on those perspectives. It starts to feel too familiar. So all those paradigms where it takes place on a starship have to be shaken up. " [13]

In 2013 , after the release of Star Trek Into Darkness , a CBS Broadcasting representative reiterated interest in reviving Star Trek for television, in response to a comment from Abrams that he had heard the studio was not interested. [14] On 19 January 2014 , Fuller stated he "would drop everything" in order to become the showrunner for a Star Trek television series, commenting,

" I think it's finding a philosophy about it [that would be important], and I think there is such an interesting philosophy happening now with our identity as a planet and taking responsibility for what's happening on the planet, and I think I would make it about identity, in a specific way. " [15]

Meanwhile, however, Brannon Braga mentioned "the word on the street" was that " they probably won't do one until the movies have run their course, " while Rod Roddenberry concurred with this by saying he believed there would not be another series until after the conclusion of the films. [16] [17] In an October 2015 interview, comics writer Mike Johnson suggested the Tholians might "cause major trouble for the Federation" in the next Star Trek television series. ("Top 50 Alien Species!", Star Trek: Ongoing issue #50, " Live Evil, Part 1 ") Another idea for a new live-action Star Trek series, conceived by Worf actor Michael Dorn , would have focused on Worf as a captain . As early as 7 November 2015 , Dorn confirmed the newly announced series will not be the concept he had wanted. [18]

Netflix , Amazon , and Hulu all offered money to distribute the show, [19] but CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves opted to develop the series as CBS All Access' first piece of original content, anticipating that millions would subscribe to watch the show. He also revealed,

" Our international distribution guy is going crazy; he can't wait to get out to the marketplace and sell [it]. Right away, we're more than halfway home on the cost of the show from international alone. The risk is small in seeing the track record. " [20]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe speculated the decision also " allows for good budgets so it makes sense for Star Trek." [21]

On 9 February 2016 , it was officially announced that Bryan Fuller would serve as showrunner on the new Star Trek series. David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios, explained,

" When we began discussions about the series returning to television, we immediately knew that Bryan Fuller would be the ideal person to work alongside Alex Kurtzman to create a fresh and authentic take on this classic and timeless series. Bryan is not only an extremely gifted writer, but a genuine fan of Star Trek . Having someone at the helm with his gravitas who also understands and appreciates the significance of the franchise and the worldwide fan base was essential to us. "

Fuller himself said, " It is without exaggeration a dream come true to be crafting a brand new iteration of Star Trek with fellow franchise alum Alex Kurtzman and boldly going where no Star Trek series has gone before. " Added Kurtzman,

" Bringing Star Trek back to television means returning it to its roots, and for years those roots flourished under Bryan's devoted care. His encyclopedic knowledge of Trek canon is surpassed only by his love for Gene Roddenberry 's optimistic future, a vision that continues to guide us as we explore strange new worlds. " [22]

On 26 February 2016 , it was announced that Nicholas Meyer would be joining the show as a consulting writer and producer. [23] In an interview conducted the next day , Meyer expressed hope in getting to write some episodes, but was not yet sure how big the writing staff would be. Still to begin work on the show, Meyer said he was waiting to be notified when to do so. He did, however, have some ideas about what the new show would entail. Meyer elaborated,

" I think it's going to be a different Star Trek . It will go in a different direction. And I think that is probably good. Because the thing that mainly troubles me about Star Trek is the fear of it being maybe re-treads of itself [....] And I think that Bryan [Fuller] – who is a very clever fellow – has ideas – some of which I’ve heard – that are innovative and different. Different is what got me interested. "

Meyer also said Fuller considered Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country to be his touchstone for the new series. [24]

On 3 March 2016 , it was announced that Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth would be joining the show as executive producers. [25]

On 17 March 2016 , two photographs apparently showing behind-the-scenes test shots surfaced, but were later proven to be from an unrelated project. [26]

On 22 April 2016 , Pop Goes The News reported that it would be filmed in Toronto, Canada, saying CBS had booked studio space back in September 2015. [27] According to CBS' VP of communications Kristen Hall, however, CBS hadn't yet confirmed the shooting location by this point. [28]

Also in April 2016, Mark Worthington was confirmed as the series' production designer. Worthington's resume, in addition to confirming his own involvement, also revealed that Alex Kurtzman would direct the pilot episode. [29]

On 30 April 2016 , it was reported that the show would be filmed at Toronto's Pinewood Toronto Studios . [30] On 2 May 2016 , the Toronto location was confirmed in a tweet by CBS. [31] This marked the second time (after Star Trek Beyond ) that a Star Trek live-action iteration was not to be produced physically in Hollywood, [32] in itself a further indication of the diminishing relevance of Hollywood as a motion picture production hub, a trend that had set in in the early 2000s. [33] [34]

On 3 May 2016 , it was reported that the show would be available in weekly installments rather than a whole season all at once. Its premiere would simultaneously air on CBS' TV network and All Access, with subsequent episodes exclusive to All Access (for US viewers). [35]

On 18 May 2016 , the first teaser trailer, along with the logo for the show, was released, simply naming the series as " Star Trek ". [36]

On 6 June 2016 , it was reported that the project's code name might be "Green Harvest". [37] The Canadian industry union IATSE 873 confirmed the working title as "Green Harvest" and dated the filming between 26 September 2016 and 15 March 2017 . [38]

In a red carpet interview at the Saturn Awards on 22 June 2016 , Fuller revealed that the first season would be comprised of a thirteen-episode story arc. Filming was scheduled to take place from September 2016 to March 2017 . [39] This was to be the second season-long story arc in Star Trek history, the first having been in season 3 of Enterprise .

Fuller noted, " We are not subject to broadcast standards and practices. So we can have profanity if we choose – not that I want to see a Star Trek with lots of profanity. But we can certainly be more graphic than you would on broadcast network television. " [40] That also meant episodes could be longer than a typical broadcast show. [41]

On 18 July 2016 , Netflix was announced as the international broadcaster for the series in countries where it is available outside the US and Canada. In Canada, the series would air on Space in English and on Z in French. [42]

On 1 August 2016 , Bryan Fuller suggested that the series would be set prior to The Original Series , stating that the registry number of the Discovery was a clue as to the placement of the series in the timeline. He also stated that it would be possible to read a connection, "or not", to Section 31 in some aspect of the first season. [43]

On 8 August 2016 , Bryan Fuller tweeted a picture on Twitter for a makeup test for Discovery which was possibly a hint for the inclusion of an Andorian . [44]

On 10 August 2016 , Bryan Fuller announced that the series would take place in 2255 . [45] According to Fuller, the basis for the first season would incorporate "an incident in the history of Starfleet that had been talked about but never fully explored." [46]

In a radio interview on 27 August 2016 , Fuller revealed more details. The female lead would be the first officer of the Discovery and referred to as " Number one ", honoring Majel Barrett-Roddenberry 's character from TOS : " The Cage ". [47]

On 9 September 2016 , Fuller tweeted that the events of TOS : " Balance of Terror " would provide the "touchstone" for the series' story arc. [48]

On 14 September 2016 , Fuller announced that the series premiere would be delayed until May 2017, in order to ensure the quality of the show was not compromised. CBS agreed with the move. [49]

Variety reported, on 26 October 2016 , that Bryan Fuller would no longer oversee day-to-day operations on the show, but would remain executive producer. He was to remain involved in breaking stories and providing support for showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts . Sources indicated that CBS, while satisfied with the materials he had created, was concerned that Fuller had too much on his plate with his involvement in other work. This included Starz's then-upcoming drama American Gods . [50] Akiva Goldsman joined the show to provide additional support. [51] Fuller later clarified with Newsweek , on 2 December 2016 , that he was no longer involved with the production. [52]

According to issue #1 of the 2017 Emmy Magazine (p. 21), Star Trek: Discovery has a reported budget of US$6 to US$7 million per episode. [53]

At the CBS upfront presentation on 17 May 2017 , it was announced the first season had been extended to fifteen episodes. Talking Trek (now After Trek ), a post-episode discussion show, was also announced. [54]

The premiere date for the series was announced on 19 June 2017 , when it was revealed that the first season would be split into two airing blocks. [55]

On 23 October 2017 , it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which began filming in April 2018. [56] [57]

On 27 February 2019 , it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, with Michelle Paradise becoming co-showrunner with Alex Kurtzman . [58]

The renewal for the series' fourth season was announced on 16 October 2020 ; the renewal for the fifth season was announced on 18 January 2022 . [59] [60]

Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg have said the characters will be more conflicted and not as perfect as characters from previous Star Trek series. Harberts said they would hold true to Gene Roddenberry's idealised view of future Humans with " how we solve those conflicts. So we do have our characters in conflict, we do have them struggling with each other, but it's about how they find a solution and work through their problems. " [61]

Having the female protagonist be given the traditionally male name of Michael is one of Fuller's signature motifs: other examples include Chuck in Pushing Daises and Jaye on Wonderfalls . [62]

In contrast to previous shows, the writers are ready to kill off characters even if their actors aren't planning to leave the series. [63]

Due to Gene Roddenberry 's belief religion would die out by the 23rd century , writer Kirsten Beyer felt references to God should be avoided, quipping to Jason Isaacs when he ad-libbed on set "for God's sakes", that "for f–'s sake" would be more likely. [64] Gretchen Berg later clarified, " I don't necessarily agree with [Isaacs'] quote. On a show about diversity and with different points of view, I feel like you have to accept that some people believe in God, some people want to worship a potato, and some people don't want to believe in anything. I think there is room for that on Star Trek . " [65] Harberts later confirmed that the incident had been taken out of context and was specific to Lorca at that juncture, not the show in general. He also expressed interest in exploring the issue of faith or lack of it in later episodes. [66]

Even when the series was yet to begin airing, a second season had already been mapped out, with a third season beginning to be mapped out. [67]

The writers regularly consult Memory Alpha. According to Harberts, the series' writing team are themselves "fanatical" about fact-checking the information they discover on the wiki. For example, they sometimes rewatch, or ask researcher Anthony Maranville to rewatch, an entire episode based on a single detail from one of Memory Alpha's many entries. [68]

Writing for Season 2 began in January 2018. [69]

In August 2020 Kurtzman said that writing for Discovery had continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the writers' room meeting via Zoom. [70] On 16 October 2020 Season 4 was officially announced.

The teaser title card for Discovery

Bryan Fuller was adamant the Klingon make-up be updated for the show. Aaron Harberts noted, " In the different versions of Trek , the Klingons have never been completely consistent. We will introduce several different houses with different styles. " [71] According to Neville Page , who also designed the Klingons for Star Trek – though the Klingon scenes were cut from that film as released – and Star Trek Into Darkness , Fuller mandated most of them should be bald. [72] Page, and fellow lead designer, Glenn Hetrick  continued to identify the baldness as an enduring part of Fuller's intentions for the Klingons, allowing them to reveal what was on their heads (such as in AT : " Lethe ").

The lead costume designer is Gersha Phillips . The Starfleet uniforms were originally similar to those in the original series. [73]

The teaser clip presented at the San Diego Comic-Con on 23 July 2016 was scored by Fil Eisler as an audition for the show. At the following year's panel, Jeff Russo was announced as the series' composer, and it was revealed that he had already completed work on the Discovery theme. [74] Russo recorded the theme, along with the score for the first episode, with a sixty-piece orchestra in Los Angeles on 27 July 2017 . [75]

Russo returned for Season 2. [76]

The show was announced to have a female lead. [77] The first cast member, Michelle Yeoh , was revealed by Nicholas Meyer in an interview on 22 November 2016 . [78] Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones were confirmed the following week. [79]

Bryan Fuller commented that the cast should be diverse. "Star Trek is a show of firsts. And in researching the characters for this new iteration of Star Trek , I've been talking to Mae Jemison , who's the first black woman in space, and who saw Star Trek in the '60s and who saw Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of a ship and said, 'I see myself in space.' So there's something wonderful about the legacy that Nichelle Nichols represents as giving a gift to people who weren't previously able to see themselves in the future. We are going to be continuing that tradition of progressive casting and progressive character work to be an inclusive world. " He also said "eventually, eventually" there will be appearances from previously established characters. [80]

On 24 May 2016 , it was reported that some fans wished to see Castle and Firefly alumnus Nathan Fillion in the series. [81] It was even suggested that this was why Fillion ended his commitment to Castle . [82] Bryan Fuller ideally wanted Angela Bassett and Rosario Dawson ; Bassett declined due to prior obligations, and there is no evidence Dawson was ever approached for consideration. [83]

Star Trek alumnus Tony Todd also expressed interest in working on the new series and even confirmed he is on a casting list of the studio. [84] [85]

In late October, it was reported the cast would feature, in addition to the female lead, an openly-gay male lead, a female and a male admiral , a male Klingon captain, and a British male doctor. [86]

Early news stories of Sonequa Martin-Green's casting in December 2016 identified her character as "Lieutenant Commander Rainsford"; [87] CBS' official announcement on 3 April 2017 changed the name to "Burnham".

On 28 April 2017 , it was announced that Shazad Latif had been re-cast as Lt. Tyler, being replaced in the role of Kol by Kenneth Mitchell. Three other cast members were also added: Rekha Sharma as Commander Landry, Clare McConnell as Dennas, and Damon Runyan as Ujilli. [88]

Wilson Cruz's casting as Dr. Culber was revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con panel on 22 July 2017 .

Participation interest

Marina Sirtis has expressed interest in reprising her role as Deanna Troi in a phone interview with MZNOW , saying, " I loved playing her... It would be interesting to me to go back now, twenty years later and kind of go 'who did she become? Who is she now?' I would find that very interesting, and I would love to do that. " [89]

Both Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan have expressed interest in reprising their roles as Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine respectively. In an interview with the TODAY show, Mulgrew said, " I want to be the admiral and I want to boss them around. " Ryan, in an interview with Digital Spy , said, " My understanding is that it's in a very different world from any of the previous shows – but never say never. It'd be fun to just drop in and revisit her – not that I want to revisit her all the time! " [90]

Scott Bakula , Jonathan Frakes , and Nichelle Nichols have also expressed interest in appearing on the series. [91] [92] [93]

In an interview with "Variety", Martin-Green's Walking Dead co-star Andrew Lincoln expressed his desire to appear on the show, possibly with alien make-up on. [94]

According to Michael Dorn 's publicist, brief discussions were held between Discovery producers and Dorn about a possible role on the show, but that there are no plans for him to appear on it at this time. An Orlando Sentinel writer expanded on the publicist's statement by stating that Dorn was offered less than one percent of what he had been paid for his last appearance as Worf. [95]

Robert Duncan McNeill has stated that he had to turn down the chance to direct an episode of Discovery due to being unavailable but that he would "love to do it". [96]

The show's title was revealed by Bryan Fuller at the San Diego Comic-Con on 23 July 2016 with a clip of the title ship, the USS Discovery (NCC-1031). [97] [98] The promo was produced in three weeks and scored by Fil Eisler as an audition for the show. It greatly resembled the Ralph McQuarrie concept art for the canceled film Star Trek: Planet of the Titans , which the staff could not confirm at the time for legal reasons. [99]

Fuller also announced, at a press junket immediately thereafter, the show would be set in the prime timeline, though Fuller declined to say exactly when in that timeline it would be set.

↑ John Van Citters has chosen "DSC" as the series' official abbreviation. [100] This is consistent with the studio's use of "VGR" for Star Trek: Voyager , but MA will use the abbreviation "DIS" for Discovery , for consistency with using "VOY" for Voyager .

On 31 January 2017 , a trailer was released, showing behind-the-scenes footage of early filming. [101]

Ahead of the CBS upfront presentation on 17 May 2017 , the first official promotional image of the series was released, featuring Yeoh and Martin-Green in character on location in Jordan. [102] At the presentation, Martin-Green appeared to debut the first full trailer for the series, which was released online immediately afterward. [103] A trailer featuring the same footage recut was released by Netflix at the same time. [104]

The first official teaser poster for the series was released alongside the trailer, with a second released to accompany the announcement of the season premiere date. Two further limited edition posters were released at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017 . At the Discovery panel on 22 July 2017 , a second full trailer debuted, featuring the first footage of Isaacs' Captain Lorca and Wilson's Harry Mudd. The trailer was released online shortly after the panel. [105] [106]

The overall first year publicity efforts of CBS Television Studios on behalf of Discovery were coordinated by its Vice President Communications Kristen Hall , [107] which earned her an industry award nomination in 2018, the ICG Publicists Award; she did not win, however. [108]

Season 3 title card

At the Mission New York convention in September 2016 , it was announced that IDW Publishing would produce comics (written by Mike Johnson ) and that Gallery Books would produce novels (the first by David Mack ) tying into the series. Both tie-in lines are coordinated with the events of the series, and are supervised by Discovery writer Kirsten Beyer. [109]

In August 2017 , it was announced that Star Trek Timelines would be updated to include characters and ships from Discovery , including Philippa Georgiou, Michael Burnham, and Saru. [110] [111] In October 2017 , more Discovery characters were added to the game including Gabriel Lorca, Ash Tyler, and Harry Mudd. [112] A month-long event, Discovery: A New Frontier , gave players the opportunity to acquire other characters and ships from the series. [113]

In September 2017 , to mark the start of the series, Perfect World made Discovery 's Starfleet uniform available to players of Star Trek Online for a limited period. [114] In January 2018 , the publisher announced that the " Discovery Lock Box" would be added to the game, giving players the chance to win ships, weapons and equipment based on those of the series, including the Crossfield -class , the Sarcophagus , and the Walker -class . [115] Starting in the autumn of 2018, Age of Discovery allows players to create a character from the Discovery era. [116] Later additions include the uniforms worn by the crew of the ISS Charon and ISS Shenzhou and several weapons used by the Emperor .

Under Eaglemoss Collections ' Hero Collector imprint, Penguin Random House published the Star Trek: Discovery Designing Starships volume of the Designing Starship reference book series on 3 September 2019 . From an in-universe perspective, a number of DIS ships are also covered in the Star Trek: Shipyards - Starfleet Ships 2151-2293 volume from the Shipyards series. Starfleet ships from the show's third season will also be covered in the second edition of the Star Trek: Shipyards - Starfleet Ships 2294 to the Future reference book . [117]

Anovos produced a phaser pistol prop replica in December 2017 [118] and released a phaser rifle late in 2018. It began to retail Starfleet uniforms (replica costumes) in the summer of 2018 [119] and markets upscale "Studio-Scale Filming Miniatures" of the USS Discovery , USS Shenzhou , and USS Enterprise ( as seen in DIS ) along with a number of Eaglemoss and QMx products. [120] [121] Rubie's Costume Company also produces DIS costumes.

In January 2018, Eaglemoss Collections ' Hero Collector brand premiered the Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection partwork , featuring starship miniatures , dedication plaques , and a figure from the series. Other ships from the series were also released as larger models within the Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , and polyresin busts of DIS characters were featured in the company's Star Trek: The Official Busts Collection . Following the release of its 33rd (numbered) issue in 2021, the company's DIS starships will be marketed as part of the Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection .

QMx debuted its magnetic DIS Starfleet insignia badges at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017. FanSets launched its first wave of collectible Discovery pins in August 2017. [122]

Hallmark released a Keepsake Christmas ornament depicting the USS Discovery in July 2018. Another DIS ornament that featured Commander Saru and Michael Burnham was released a year later.

Beginning in August 2018, McFarlane Toys began to retail a series of seven-inch articulated figures which will eventually feature characters from DIS. [123] [124] [125] Toy weapons and accessories for role-play were planned but the production of phaser pistol toys was halted after regulatory issues (and the ensuing retailer reticence) came to light, due to the toys' perceived resemblance to real firearms.

Titan Merchandise debuted DIS "Titans" vinyl figures at a 2018 convention and planned to put them into wide retail release during 2019. [126]

Gentle Giant released a Saru bust in the summer of 2018, followed by figurines of Michael Burnham and the Torchbearer. Its toy division, Gentle Giant Toys , announced that it planned to release Fleet Flyers "starship danglers" in the autumn of 2018 but they did not reach retail and had been placed "on hold" as of February 2019. [127] [128] [129]

Branded as Polar Lights products, Round 2 began to release plastic model kits (and display models) of DIS starships in early 2019. [130]

Ukonic/Robe Factory released a USS Discovery pizza cutter in 2021.

On 13 July 2021 , ViacomCBS Consumer Products and Playmates Toys jointly announced that the latter had acquired new licensing for " action figures, vehicles and ships, role play and other toy categories ", and slated the first of these products for retail release in 2022. Among other Star Trek series and films, this licensing encompasses Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Picard , and Star Trek: Prodigy . [131]

Rick Berman responded to the new series with cautious optimism. On his Twitter feed, he tweeted, " I wish them nothing but good luck and smooth sailing. Just hope it stays true to Gene's vision. " [132]

Brannon Braga likewise wished the new series well, commenting on his Twitter feed, "Star Trek is a vast canvass with many artists. Constantly evolving. Godspeed to Mr Kurtzman. " [133] Braga additionally remarked, " Hopefully with the new series they can get back to more meditative storytelling. " In Braga's opinion, the new series is vital to ensuring Star Trek continues for another fifty years. He stated, " It's all about making sure the next television show is really good and finds a new generation of viewers to keep it going. " ( SFX , issue 270, p. 68) He later commented, " With Discovery , I am honestly as excited to see it as any other Star Trek fan. I devour each new trailer the moment it comes out. " [134]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe admitted to not knowing anything about the new series, apart from having read about it online, and stated he is currently too busy to write for it. He also commented, " Sounds like it could be great though. " As for the way the new series will be released, he stated, " Subscription streaming is an extremely successful model & allows for good budgets so it makes sense for Star Trek." Wolfe tweeted a "congrats" message to Bryan Fuller, upon him being named as the series' showrunner, adding, " You have the conn. Do us proud. " [135] [136] [137]

David A. Goodman reacted to news of the series by saying, " Hope it's good, will watch it even if it's bad. " [138]

As for whether he and wife Denise Okuda will be involved in working on the new series, Michael Okuda remarked, " We'd love to be involved. Kurtzman already has a talented, experienced team from the last two films, but who knows? " [139] Regarding the announcement that the series will be run by Bryan Fuller, Michael Okuda stated, " Congrats, Bryan! Go boldly! " [140]

Rene Auberjonois dismissed the notion that the new series will feature himself and Nana Visitor portraying their respective Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters of Odo and Kira Nerys . [141]

On Seth MacFarlane 's Twitter feed, he recommended, " Let's make this new Star Trek series optimistic, eh? I think we're all dystopia'd out. " [142] MacFarlane incidentally, actually put his money where his mouth was, as he is the creator/star/producer of the Star Trek: The Next Generation inspired science fiction series The Orville , adopting the former's upbeat tone and which almost simultaneously premiered with Discovery in September 2017 on FOX TV, thereby de facto becoming a competitor for the latter, as it has inevitably led up to many fans and reviewers making head-to-head comparisons between the two. The overlapping airings continued when the respective second seasons of both series started their run in January 2019.

Former Star Trek , but now- The Orville , science consultant André Bormanis has stated, " When it comes back to TV, I hope they do something more in the spirit of the original. Everybody in Hollywood who has ever had even the smallest association with Star Trek I'm sure has a 'How would you do the next Star Trek ?' answer. I would probably do something a little more like Captain Pike's adventures. Go back to that era where it was a little more rugged, a little more fifties' sci-fi sensibility. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 39)

Press reactions to the series' announcement pondered how Star Trek could appeal to a new generation and compete against darker, more mature shows of the 21st century, like Game of Thrones , The Walking Dead , and Ronald D. Moore 's reboot of Battlestar Galactica . [143] [144] [145] [146] National Post felt there was no need for a new series, arguing Star Trek had become a quaint retrofuture series akin to Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers . [147] The Independent was one of the few to argue the optimistic future of Star Trek would make a welcome antidote. [148]

Other articles concentrated on the decision to produce the series for streaming, with some expressing deep cynicism over the idea. [149] [150] [151] Others noted the decision was a win-win in terms of keeping the series going. [152] [153] [154] [155]

Den of Geek and io9 noted most fans would prefer the show be set after The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and Voyager instead of in the same timeline as the film series. [156] [157] UK magazine SFX reported that was the most wanted request for the series. Other requests, in order of most desired, included: having the new crew undertake a multi-year mission in a starship rather than having them occupy a space station; focusing on controversial social issues; retaining a sense of fun; and introducing new alien species and technology. The magazine also determined that their readers' "dream cast" for the series included Dan Stevens as the captain, Rooney Mara as the first officer, Gina Torres as the doctor, Nick Frost as the engineer, and Wil Wheaton as the Federation President . ( SFX , issue 270, pp. 36-37) USGamer expressed hope that the series' success could revive interest in Star Trek video games after the failure of the movie tie-in . [158]

During an interview given at CinemaCon (11-14 April 2016), Brent Spiner commented that "looking at such a pedigree" working for the show, he thinks it is going to be fantastic. He also remarked that J.J. Abrams allegedly just became a producer of the show. [159] In an interview with SFX magazine (issue 275, p. 67) that was published around the same time, Spiner remarked, laughing, that all the new series had to do in order to work in the 21st century was simply "to be there." He added, " And just be entertaining [....] And I think there's a good chance it'll work. There's a really great bunch of people attached to that project, really talented people. I have no doubt that's going to be a really huge success. "

A lawsuit alleging that elements of Discovery had been copied from an unreleased video game called Tardigrades was filed on 19 August 2019 , and dismissed on 20 September 2019 . The judge found that Discovery "is not substantially similar to [ Tardigrades ] as a matter of law." Memory Alpha was cited in the finding. [160] The case was appealed, but on 17 August 2020 the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision. [161] [162]

In April 2021 , the third season of Discovery won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series. The show had previously been nominated in 2018 and 2019 for each of the first two seasons. [163]

As of 2021, Discovery has been nominated for ten Emmy Awards , mostly in "technical" categories such as visual effects and makeup. It has won two: "Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special" and "Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode".

Related topics

• DIS directors
• DIS performers
• DIS writers
• DIS recurring characters
• DIS studio models
• Character crossover appearances
• Performers considered for DIS roles
• Star Trek: Discovery novels
• Star Trek: Discovery comics
• Star Trek: Discovery soundtracks
• Star Trek: Discovery on DVD
• Star Trek: Discovery on Blu-ray

External links

• Star Trek: Discovery at Wikipedia
• Star Trek: Discovery at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek: Discovery at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek: Discovery writers at X (formerly Twitter)
• 1 Christopher Russell
• 3 Bell Riots

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Kobayashi Maru

Star Trek: Discovery returns for its fourth season with its strongest premiere yet.

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The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 premiere

Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 1

Star Trek: Discovery has been many things over the course of its run: A grim war story, a nostalgia-fueled prequel, and a journey into a far-flung feature unlike anything the franchise had attempted in the past. Over the course of the show’s 40-ish episodes to date, the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery has faced off against Mirror Universe clones, battled an evil A.I. bent on wiping out all life in the universe, and struggled to find the cause of the mysterious Burn, a galaxy-wide disaster that killed millions and crippled the Federation as we know it.

To say this series has struggled to find its footing is putting it very, very mildly. And fans might be forgiven for wondering just how many chances Discovery could possibly have to reinvent itself. But judging by Season 4’s first episode, the fourth time just might be the charm. “Kobayashi Maru” is not only a thrilling hour of television in its own right, full of space adventures and thoughtful ruminations on the nature of leadership, but it’s also the first time Discovery has truly felt like honest-to-goodness Star Trek from start to finish, in all the ways that matter.

From the simple, straightforward missions focused on providing help and hope to those in need of it – no strings attached – to the fascinating prospect of rebuilding the Federation from what is essentially the ground up, these are the sorts of stories this franchise has always been uniquely equipped to tell, and watching Discovery finally get the chance to do so honestly feels like a revelation. There’s a sense of both thematic and narrative purpose throughout “Kobayashi Maru” and multiple characters are given the chance to shine – in ways that are separate and apart from their relationships with Michael. 

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The difference is clear from the episode’s opening scene, which features Micheal and Book attempting to mend ties with a beautifully weird race of what appear to be alien moth people, who are rightfully distrustful of the Federation in the wake of the events surrounding the Burn. (Well, that, and the fact that they think that Book is keeping Grudge prisoner and she needs to be rescued.) But, this is the Star Trek I’m here for, the one where the dramatic chase scenes are ultimately used in the service of something bigger than simple explosions, and in which its politics are as philosophical as they are practical. 

And while some of us might have been apprehensive about how Discovery would handle Burnham’s elevation to captain, given that so much of its reason for existing was to chronicle her journey towards the chair, it turns out that putting her character in the position we always knew she was headed for has given the show the freedom to finally confront her flaws in intriguing new ways. Yes, Michael takes risks. Yes, she leads with her heart and has an almost pathological need to save everyone who crosses her path. And she’s willing to risk herself in a way that few other characters on the show can match.

 But part of being a true leader is about being willing to step back, to risk others instead of yourself, to understand that there will truly be situations full of nothing but bad and worse choices. (That’s the point of the Kobayashi Maru test, after all.)  Michael is honestly terrible at all of those things, and it feels like Discovery is finally forcing her to face that, rather than make excuses for why her particular way of doing things is an exception. That sounds like an insult, but it’s not – I’m honestly so excited to see how this character grows and changes in the chair, and how she strikes a balance between who she is and what being a captain, for real, will require her to become. 

The basic plot of “Kobayashi Maru” involves the Discovery being sent to answer a distress call from a deep space repair base, which has been pummeled by debris caused by some sort of unexplained gravitational anomaly. This turns out to be a remarkably – for this show anyway – roundabout way of introducing the season’s apparent overarching mystery: What is this anomaly, what caused it, and how can it be stopped? For once it’s a larger arc with stakes that are easy to understand, intimately tied to characters we already know and care about – something that couldn’t be said for most of the larger Burn and Red Angel plots. 

How Star Trek: Discovery Formed Its Season 4 Federation

How Star Trek: Prodigy Just Challenged Discovery Canon

The destruction of Book’s beautiful homeworld of Kwejian – as well as, one has to assume, that adorable nephew – is heartbreaking, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I’m really looking forward to seeing how the fallout from this cataclysmic loss affects his character. As much as I love Book and Burnham’s relationship (and this episode nicely highlights so much of what makes their connection specia l), much of his presence on Discovery thus far has been defined by his relationship to her. This certainly makes sense given how his character was introduced and the role he played in introducing Burnham to the 32nd century . But if he’s going to be a real part of this show (and I think he deserves to be) he has to transition into being something beyond Michael’s love interest, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to really delve into who he is in his own right.

ther things I’m excited about: The introduction of new Federation President Laira Rillak is intriguing, both because I simply love the basics of the character – a  half-human, half-Cardassian woman from what appears to be something of a working-class background with a take no bullshit attitude – and because The Man in the High Castle’s Chelah Horsdal is a wonderful addition to the show’s already stacked cast. I hope we see more of her this season, if only because a character like this, who can go toe-to-toe with Michael and tell her hard truths without flinching? Let’s just say that has been a rare thing on Discovery (Emperor Georgiou is technically evil, after all) and I want to see more of it.

In truth, the only part of this episode that didn’t entirely work – and I’m as surprised by this as anyone – was pretty much everything to do with Saru’s time on his home planet of Kaalamar. Since we all know that Saru is going to find his way back to the Discovery in the not too distant future, there’s something about these interludes that feel purposeless, as much as it’s lovely to see how the Kelpians in the 32 century have come into their own versus those we met back in Saru’s time. But I can’t say that I’m terribly interested in Su’Kal’s life now that he’s not an immediate threat to millions of lives, and this is honestly screentime I’d rather spend on other characters (Detmer and Owo, for a start.) 

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All that said, however: “Kobayashi Maru” is still clearly Discovery’s best premiere to date, and if the rest of this season can live up to its promise? We’re in for quite a ride. 

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

The Entire Star Trek: Discovery Timeline Explained

For a series ostensibly about exploring the galaxy and meeting new lifeforms in the hopes of sharing knowledge and resources, there sure is a lot of time travel in "Star Trek." It's been present from the very beginning, as even Kirk and crew visited the past multiple times . Two of those adventures resulted in the iconic episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Star Trek 4: The Adventure Home."

Modern "Star Trek" adventures have embraced this aspect of the universe, as time travel was also the direct cause of the Kelvin Timeline featured in the 2009 "Star Trek" film and its sequels. When the Romulan Nero traveled back in time and destroyed the USS Kelvin, killing James Kirk's father, he accidentally contributed to the creation of a new universe running parallel to the prime timeline. Ultimately, time travel has become every bit as important to "Star Trek" as exploration.

"Star Trek: Discovery" is no exception to this. Initially a prequel series set ten years before the original series, it soon became a sequel set further into the future than any other "Star Trek" installment. Time travel tends to muddy the narrative progression of a story, so we will be looking at where "Star Trek: Discovery" started to shed some light on where it ended up. Here is the entire "Star Trek: Discovery" timeline explained.

A visit to Talos

"Star Trek: Discovery" is set ten years before what is now referred to as "Star Trek: The Original Series." However, one episode of "The Original Series" actually occurs before "Discovery." In many ways, it is the beginning of the entire "Star Trek" franchise. While most viewers back in the late '60s probably remember it as the story told in the exciting two-parter "The Menagerie," which reuses the footage captured for the original "Star Trek" pilot called "The Cage."

We have to begin here because these events play a crucial role in "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 2. "The Cage" sees the Enterprise crew, led by Captain Christopher Pike, visiting Talos IV, encountering a strange alien race. These are the Talosians, telepaths who experience life by manipulating beings they keep in their menagerie. By forcing Captain Pike to endure multiple illusions of their creations, they hope to understand love, anger, fear, excitement, and other emotions they forfeited by choosing to further develop their mental abilities.

Years later, after Captain Pike temporarily assumes command of the USS Discovery, he is forced to revisit Talos IV to cure Spock of his current mental disorder. Not only is it a chance to save Spock's life, but it also allows Pike to seek out closure regarding his past experiences on the planet.

The Battle at the Binary Stars

"Star Trek: Discovery" officially begins with a huge two-part story called "The Vulcan Hello" and "The Battle at the Binary Stars." This is where we meet the star of the show, Commander Michael Burnham, the first officer of the USS Shenzhou. While most "Star Trek" shows tend to be ensemble pieces, "Discovery" belongs to Burnham and it is her arc that we follow.

This opening episode sees Starfleet encountering Klingons for the first time in about a century. An extremist group of Klingons led by the xenophobic T'Kuvma engaged in a devastating battle with the USS Shenzhou after an altercation with Burnham resulted in the death of one of their own. This opening battle becomes a war between the Federation and the Klingons, the effects of which are still being felt during "The Original Series" and the six original "Star Trek" movies .

Following this battle, Michael Burnham is stripped of her rank and sentenced to life in prison — which leads to the true beginning of the show.

Six months later

Following Michael's sentencing, the show jumps ahead six months. While being transferred to a new prison, there's an emergency and the Discovery arrives to save her. While on the ship she meets its captain, a dark and elusive man named Gabriel Lorca, and its crew. She also reunites with her old friend from the Shenzhou, Commander Saru. Healing their relationship following her mutiny is a major part of the first two seasons of "Star Trek: Discovery." 

Lorca believes that Michael's knowledge and experience could be of some use to them on the Discovery, so he invites her to unofficially join them as a specialist. The reasons behind Lorca's decision to go out of his way to save her, and why he wants her working with him on the Discovery, is another major element to the first season. His character comes off as a little strange right away, as Starfleet captains tend to be fairly approachable and diplomatic. However, Lorca is intimidating, conniving, and a little too adept at war to fit the typical captain archetype.

Taking Control

To correctly understand the timeline of "Star Trek: Discovery," we next need to dive into some events that are revealed during Season 2 but take place in Season 1. 

Section 31 is the secret Black Ops division of the United Federation of Planets . They operate in the shadows, carrying out missions the Federation doesn't want to be made public. They feature heavily in "Star Trek: Discovery" and its second season. Following the events of "The Battle at the Binary Stars," Section 31 starts using a threat assessment artificial intelligence called Control in the hopes of preventing wars.

The idea is the Federation would give Control information regarding potential threats, and Control would then provide suggestions on how to proceed. As often happens in science fiction when artificial intelligence is involved, things go haywire when Control decides it no longer needs human beings to implement its suggestions. Instead, it assumes "control" of human beings to enact its agenda. This leads to the massive time jump the USS Discovery would take into the future during the end of Season 2.

Into the Mirror Universe

The USS Discovery has an experimental new system called a spore drive. It allows the Discovery to travel along a microscopic network spread throughout the universe, effectively making instant travel possible. It's an incredibly complex system, one that Forbes notes was inspired by a real-life mycologist, which can be used to break the barriers between realities.

The idea is proposed to astromycologist Commander Paul Stamets by Captain Gabriel Lorca. Stamets is considering leaving Starfleet, but Lorca convinces him to stay on to try one final experiment to see if it truly is possible to visit alternate realities. The experiment works, and the entire crew of the USS Discovery is transported into the classic evil dimension of the "Star Trek" universe — the Mirror Universe .

In the "Star Trek" Mirror Universe the heroes are villains and the villains are heroes, and it is soon revealed that this is where Lorca is from. He arrived in the prime timeline, took over the original Gabriel Lorca's life, and orchestrated events to unite with Michael Burnham — who was his lover in the mirror universe — and use the spore drive to return to his universe and overthrow Emperor Georgiou.

While the time the crew spends in the mirror universe might seem brief, it turns out that nine months pass during that time. 

Nine months later

When Gabriel Lorca dies in the mirror universe, the crew of the USS Discovery returns to their native universe — but they've brought the emperor with them. 

One of Michael Burnham's defining character traits is parental issues. She lost her human parents at a very young age. She was then adopted by the Vulcan Sarek and his human wife, Amanda. They raised her on Vulcan with their son Spock, effectively making her Spock's human step-sister .

Although she tried to live like a Vulcan, her human emotions were far too powerful. As a result, when she joined Starfleet and was assigned to serve on the USS Shenzhou, she gravitated to its human captain Phillipa Georgiou, seeing her as a maternal figure. Tragically, Georgiou died in the Battle of the Binary Stars, and the guilt of her loss has tortured Burnham ever since. Upon arriving in the mirror universe and finding another Georgiou, she can't help but try and bring her back to the prime timeline, hoping to correct her biggest regret.

Back in the prime timeline, they discover that nine months have passed and the war has not been going well. Discovery is boarded by Sarek and Admiral Cornwell, who informs the recently-returned crew that the Klingons have almost won the war.

The mystery of the Red Angel

By the end of Season One, the Klingon War is over, and there is an uneasy peace between the two sides. However, the crew of the Discovery doesn't have long to reflect on these events, as they soon encounter the Enterprise and are boarded by Captain Christopher Pike. Pike has been directed to temporarily assume command of the Discovery to research red burst anomalies that have been popping up all over the galaxy.

The red bursts are caused by an entity referred to as the Red Angel. The identity of this entity and the reasons for its actions are complex but intimately related to Michael. It turns out that there are two Red Angels — one is Michael Burnham's mother, Gabrielle, and the other is Michael herself. The form of the angel is actually a suit capable of traveling through time developed by Michael's parents as a project for Section 31.

At some point, Gabrielle decides to use the suit to escape an attack from Klingons but winds up in the distant future. She sees that the AI system Control has taken over the galaxy, so she uses her suit to jump around in time in the hopes of preventing Control from evolving and spreading across the galaxy. Michael then uses the suit to send signals that appear as red bursts for the crew of the Discovery to follow, defeat Control, and travel to the future.

The all-knowing Sphere

Season 2 of "Star Trek: Discovery" is full of big, wild ideas that could serve as the basis for a film or an entire series. The first, of course, is the threat of Control. The second is the Red Angel. The third is a sentient, planet-sized lifeform called the Sphere.

This Sphere has spent hundreds of thousands of years exploring the galaxy, collecting information and experiences. It has existed for such a long time that it is now dying. With such a wealth of knowledge and experience, it doesn't want to be forgotten, so it transfers its memory to the Discovery's computers.

As wonderful a find as this is, it is also incredibly dangerous. When Airiam, a cybernetic member of the Discovery crew, is infected by a future version of Control, she is directed to transfer all the sphere data on artificial intelligence to the current form of Control. With that information, Control will be able to gain full sentience and take over the galaxy — just as seen in Spock's vision from the Red Angel.

Defeating Control

For any "Star Trek" fans upset that "Star Trek: Discovery"  takes place 10 years before "The Original Series" but the technology is significantly more advanced — or that Spock never mentioned having a human step-sister — their fears were partially quelled when the ship made the jump ahead almost one thousand years.

By the end of Season 2, Control was defeated, the mystery of the Red Angel was solved, and the need to get the sphere data to a safer time period arose. With the data merging to Discovery's computers, the decision was made not to try and delete the data but take it into the future. Using the Red Angel suit, Michael Burnham drags the USS Discovery into a time in a future not yet explored by the "Star Trek" franchise .

Once Discovery is gone, the Federation decides to clear the ship's existence from all Starfleet records and never speak of it, the crew, or its mission again. Thus, Michael Burnham is never mentioned, nor is the Discovery or its experimental spore drive. 

The future of Starfleet and the Federation

The jump to the future is successful, but Michael arrives there alone. Since she was towing the ship, not riding in it, the trip was different for her. Immediately upon arriving, she rams into a ship piloted by Cleveland Booker before being pulled in by a nearby planet's gravity, regaining control of the Red Angel suit only seconds before splattering on its surface.

At first, she is panicked that Discovery won't answer her call but is soon thrilled by the knowledge that there is life on this planet. She eventually meets Cleveland Booker and discovers that the Federation barely exists anymore. The reason for its diminished size and influence was something called the Burn. In the 31st century, nearly every warp core installed in Federation ships exploded, wiping out swaths of life and nearly destroying the Federation. Exactly what caused this "burn" is the central mystery of Season 3. 

One year later

In this new world, where dilithium is more precious than ever, Michael travels the galaxy, trading it for goods and services. She spends an entire year recording her experiences and searching for any sign of the Discovery. Finally, her search efforts pay off, and she is reunited with her crew. In a completely new headspace, Michael isn't sure about serving on the Discovery any longer. True, she earned back her respect and rank but is she is more interested in solving the mystery of the Burn and restoring the Federation rather than limiting herself to a single ship.

By the end of Season 3, the mystery surrounding the Burn is solved, the Federation is in the early stages of reconnecting with its lost members, and Michael joins the crew of the Discovery again. This time, however, she isn't a specialist or a first officer — she is the captain. 

Season 4 is still set in the 32nd century and Michael is now known as Captain Michael Burnham. Her arc mirrors the real-life arc of the show. She started as a first officer who lost everything and worked her way back to a command position, while "Star Trek: Discovery" began life as a prequel with a dubious connection to canon and became a sequel that takes the franchise to brand new heights.

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Episode list

Star trek: discovery.

S4.E1 ∙ Kobayashi Maru

S4.E2 ∙ Anomaly

S4.E3 ∙ Choose to Live

S4.E4 ∙ All Is Possible

S4.E5 ∙ The Examples

S4.E6 ∙ Stormy Weather

S4.E7 ∙ ...But to Connect

S4.E8 ∙ All In

S4.E9 ∙ Rubicon

S4.E10 ∙ The Galactic Barrier

S4.E11 ∙ Rosetta

S4.E12 ∙ Species Ten-C

S4.E13 ∙ Coming Home

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Season 4 – Star Trek: Discovery

Where to watch, star trek: discovery — season 4.

Watch Star Trek: Discovery — Season 4 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Michael Burnham finally comes into her own -- and so does Discovery -- in a confident fourth season that embraces the series' more heartfelt take on the Star Trek mythos.

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Sonequa Martin-Green

Michael Burnham

Anthony Rapp

Paul Stamets

Mary Wiseman

Sylvia Tilly

Wilson Cruz

Dr. Hugh Culber

David Ajala

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S5 e10 - life, itself, s5 e9 - lagrange point, s5 e8 - labyrinths, star trek: discovery - watch online: streaming, buy or rent.

Currently you are able to watch "Star Trek: Discovery" streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Spectrum On Demand or buy it as download on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store.

Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

Where does Star Trek: Discovery rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Star Trek: Discovery is 258 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The TV show has moved up the charts by 61 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than The Gilded Age but less popular than Scavengers Reign.

Streaming charts last updated: 5:23:52 AM, 08/19/2024

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'Star Trek: Discovery' final season lands on DVD, Blu-ray and limited edition Steelbook

Set phasers to stoked! "Star Trek: Discovery" S5 beams onto home video Aug. 27.

"It has been a hell of a journey!"

Now that " Star Trek: Discovery " has wrapped up its last cosmic mission this past spring, it's time to clear some space in your video library for " Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season ." It will hit DVD, Blu-ray and have a limited edition Steelbook release when it arrives from Paramount Home Entertainment on Aug. 27, 2024. 

Sure, you can always still stream it on Paramount+ to your heart's content, but the allure of these deluxe 4-disk physical editions for " Discovery's " last run is the incredible array of behind-the-scenes goodies, gag reels, fun bloopers, illuminating featurettes, cast and crew interviews, promotional material, teasers and trailers, special audio commentaries, and plenty more added bonus content.

Here's the official synopsis:

"'Star Trek: Discovery' follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms. The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it."

"Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season" features the ensemble cast of Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland "Book" Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira), and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). This final season presents guest stars Elias Toufexis (L'ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Check out the wealth of special bonus features packed into this Final Season set:

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Audio Commentary (Exclusive to Home Entertainment)

Deleted Scene (Exclusive to Home Entertainment)

Being Michael Burnham (Exclusive to Home Entertainment)

Character Development (Exclusive to Home Entertainment)

Gag Reel (Exclusive to Home Entertainment)

Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 5    

A Team Effort            

Discovery's Creative Force

And if that's still not enough "Discovery" to satiate you, "Star Trek: Discovery - The Complete Series" box set will also be available on Aug. 27 featuring all 65 episodes on 21 disks, plus more than 15 hours of spacefaring special content including a bonus disk that transports fans on an emotional, never-before-seen galactic adventure through the events of all five seasons with the whole cast and crew.

In the U.K., the Final Season and Complete Series sets release a week earlier, on Aug. 19.

"Star Trek: Discovery" is produced by CBS Studios in partnership with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producers include Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Sonequa Martin-Green, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as co-showrunners.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery’s wilson cruz explains missing finale epilogue because of netflix movie.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Patrick stewart & star trek legends bring discovery’s sonequa martin-green to tears with touching tributes, star trek: ds9 pulled off a miracle recasting dax.

• Wilson Cruz missed filming Star Trek: Discovery's finale epilogue due to commitment to Mother of the Bride in Thailand.
• Paramount+ greenlit 3 days of filming a coda for Discovery's emotional series finale in Spring 2023.
• Dr. Hugh Culber still appeared in the final moments thanks to CGI, despite Wilson Cruz's absence.

Star Trek: Discovery 's Wilson Cruz explains how his commitment to Netflix's Mother of the Bride caused him to miss filming Discovery 's series finale epilogue. However, Dr. Hugh Culber did appear in Discovery 's finale coda. Following Paramount+'s announcement that Star Trek: Discovery would end with season 5, the streamer greenlit 3 days of filming a coda for the series in Toronto in Spring 2023. While the entire Star Trek: Discovery cast led by Sonequa Martin-Green returned for the emotional epilogue, Wilson Cruz had to bow out because his role as Scott in Mother of the Bride required him to be in Thailand at the same time.

Screen Rant exclusively interviewed Wilson Cruz and asked him about what happened that caused him to miss filming Star Trek: Discovery 's finale epilogue . Cruz describes the circumstances that required him to be in Thailand for Mother of the Bride , but he's grateful that, thanks to CGI, Dr. Hugh Culber joined Star Trek: Discovery' s cast for the emotional final moments. Read Wilson's quote below:

Wilson Cruz: True story. Yeah, because we didn't find out that we were canceled until I had already booked that job, and was actually getting ready to go. And it was impossible for me to fly back from Thailand to Toronto and shoot that and then go back. And it just didn't work schedule wise for either production. So, through the magic of television and special effects, Culber was there, but I was not. Screen Rant: I had no idea. I was totally fooled, I have to say. Wilson Cruz: Good, good, good. I'm so happy it happened. Because for a while there, I didn't know if he was going to make it in at all, which was incredibly disheartening to me. So I'm so grateful that he was.

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Will Wilson Cruz's Dr. Hugh Culber Return To Star Trek?

Cruz is open to appearing in star trek: starfleet academy.

Star Trek: Discovery is now over, but Wilson Cruz is open to reprising Dr. Hugh Culber in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The next Star Trek series is mounting production in Toronto. Along with a slew of new faces playing Starfleet Cadets, and Academy Award-caliber actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti leading the show, Starfleet Academy also announced three actors from Star Trek: Discovery joining Starfleet Academy 's cast . Regarding playing Culber again in Starfleet Academy, Cruz told Screen Rant :

They know where I am.

Star Trek: Discovery gave Wilson Cruz satisfying stories to play as Dr. Hugh Culber. Hugh died in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 and explored what it means to come back to life in season 2. Culber is also one half of Star Trek 's first gay married couple with Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) . Star Trek: Discovery season 5 also let Cruz explore Culber's spirituality and play a whole different character in Jinaal. Whatever Dr. Hugh Culber's Star Trek future entails, Wilson Cruz is ready for what's next.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Star Trek: Discovery

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I Thought Star Trek: Discovery Was Writing Doug Jones Off The Show In Season 5, But He Explained The Reasons Why Saru Wasn't Around Much

I think Doug Jones' role as Saru in Star Trek: Discovery is one of the best things he's done in his career, so imagine my disappointment when I saw him absent for a chunk of what would be the show's final season . The Kelpien was promoted off the ship to ambassador, while the demoted Captain Rayner took his place as Michael Burnham's First Officer. Given that, and the way the season ended with Saru's wedding, I'd wondered if Jones would've been written off the series had it returned for Season 6, but the actor shared the real story with me recently.

I had the honor of speaking to Doug Jones to promote the upcoming release of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season on digital August 26th and physical DVD and Blu-ray on August 27th. I noted to the acclaimed character actor that Saru's storyline felt like a goodbye to the character if it returned for Season 6, but the actor assured me that it was a creative decision he requested the writers and showrunner Michelle Paradise develop:

No, actually Rayner coming in was kind of a collaborative conversation with the writer's room and me and Michelle Paradise. Our show was very, very gracious in hearing me out when I was like, Saru has Captain status, but he's acting as a first officer. How long can that go on professionally for him?’ So his promotion to ambassador made sense, story-wise, for Saru. And that also gave me a chance to go off and do a mission throughout the galaxy whilst Discovery was doing its thing.

Saru serving as Michael's closest confidant was all well and good, but as Doug Jones said, he was also a Captain. As such, it made sense to move him away from the sidekick role and put him in another position that could help him find his way into future upcoming Star Trek shows that will be available with a Paramount+ subscription . So, for those who felt like I did and assumed Saru would've left had Season 6 happened, we got this one wrong!

Jones initially told the public that promotion for Hocus Pocus 2 impacted his availability for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, but that wasn't the whole story. The 64-year-old actor revealed that after the long process of filming Season 4, he needed a break and wanted to spend some time with his wife:

It gave me a few episodes off in Season 5 that I was kind of needing that year. Season 4 had been so brutal for all of us. With COVID stops and starts, it took us 11 months to film Season 4. Living away from from Mrs. Laurie [Jones was tough]. I was already in my sixties, and that's not how we envisioned our golden years playing out, being apart from each other for 11 months at a time. So, I asked if there was a way to lessen the load for me for Season 5.

As viewers at home, it's easy to forget that the characters on screen are actors with personal lives. I don't think anyone can fault Doug Jones for wanting to reduce his role in Season 5 so he could spend more time with his wife. A sweet sentiment, even if there were fans at home hoping to see more of Saru and T'Rina together.

Rest assured, however, that if Doug Jones had not found out on a cruise ship for Trekkies that the show was canceled , he would've been back in full force for future Star Trek: Discovery seasons. The actor shared he had a couple more seasons on his contract, so he was ready to do more:

Season 6 and 7 I was contracted for, so I would have come back for the full season in 6 and 7. I, I think I would have been after the rest that I had in season 5, and it worked out perfect because Hocus Pocus 2 came out in theater during Halloween season. And that was the time that I had off so I was able to do the promotion and premieres and all that for the press junkets and everything for that without obstacles, you know, it was, it was great. It was good, good timing. It was good timing all around.

Of course, being under contract for more seasons doesn't mean that they'll be granted, though it was interesting to hear that there was at least some hope Star Trek: Discovery would get that far. As Alex Kurtzman noted in a previous interview with CinemaBlend, five seasons in the modern age of streaming is a huge achievement all the same, but I would've loved to see it for a couple more years. At least we still have some of the characters joining the upcoming Starfleet Academy , and hopefully, Saru and others will pop up there in the future.

Star Trek: Discovery may be over, but it's still available to stream on Paramount+. I was just watching an episode on Pluto TV the other day and was thinking about how much fun it would be to rewatch, so I may just do that and fall in love with Saru all over again.

• August 16, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ To Wrap Up With “Gigantic” Finale Episode
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‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ To Wrap Up With “Gigantic” Finale Episode

| August 16, 2024 | By: Aaron Bossig 31 comments so far

As Star Trek fandom waits for the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks , the production team is starting the final editing and preparation of the last ten episodes of the animated comedy debuting on Paramount+ on October 24. In new post-SDCC panel interviews, the showrunner and cast offered some insights into what we can expect.

Finale to be something very special

After four strong seasons of Lower Decks , the creative team is determined finish the show with the same wit, including a memorable series finale episode. Without revealing the actual plotline, Mike McMahan is eager to talk about the creation of the finale itself. McMahan describes the last show as carrying through the same humorous tone as the rest of the series, though he admits to re-writing portions of the script when it became clear that Lower Decks would not be renewed. The changes made were bittersweet, as he explains in an interview with Collider :

“We kept adding and adding and adding to the finale because nothing was ever satisfying enough, and there weren’t enough goodbyes to tell in a funny way. Ultimately, what we ended up with was a gigantic episode that’s really fun.”

In order to accommodate the extra story pages needed to resolve all those plotlines (and possibly open a few new ones for the future) the crew recorded an extra-long, story-dense finale that Tawny Newsome described as “a double-stuffed Oreo of an episode.” Still in the editing stage, the runtime is currently eight minutes longer than a regular Lower Decks episode. While it is unlikely the final cut will stay that long, the last episode is being given extra care. It was suggested that other longer-than-typical episodes may occur in season 5.

Over the last few weeks, McMahan has expressed how proud he is of how Lower Decks turned out, and says season 5 will be a big part of that, right up until the end. While fans have embraced the quirky series, it’s still difficult to explain how showrunner Mike McMahan managed to fuse a science fiction universe with cartoon humor. McMahan explained how the humor works from an in-universe perspective, as he told Variety :

“The world of Star Trek is real for the characters that inhabit the show. And so they’re telling jokes in a way that they’re as familiar with these locations from other series as much as Tawny and I are. Because we’ve watched them, they’ve lived them.”

While at SDCC, Jerry O’Connell found it difficult to parse some fairly heavy feelings that came about as a result of the story from the final episode. Although he didn’t explicitly talk about anything that happens to his character, Jack Ransom, the finale did seem to affect him personally. During an interview with Comicbook.com , he struggled for words:

“You know what really surprised me? How emotional I got when we were doing our finale. I was amazed I was capable of those emotions.”

Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Mike McMahan, Tawny Newsome and Jerry O’Connell at Star Trek Menagerie Booth at SDCC 2024 (Paramount+)

The post-SDCC panel interviews also offered a couple of insights into what we can expect during season 5…

Mariner and Jennifer storyline to be resolved

Season 5 will bring other resolutions along the way, including adding some closure to the conflict between Beckett Mariner and Jennifer Sh’reyan. Although a popular character with fans, Jennifer has been used only sparingly since the close of season 3 . The reason for this, according to McMahan, is that he had felt satisfied with Jennifer’s story as it has been told. Fans, however, enjoy the chemistry between Mariner and Jennifer, and feedback convinced McMahan to revisit the pairing. He clarified in his chat with Comicbook.com:

“There’s this one episode this season with Mariner and Jennifer the Andorian. I felt like I had told a story with these characters that I really liked. And then I was seeing fan feedback being like, ‘We love these characters, it didn’t feel resolved.’ If they hadn’t said that, then I wouldn’t have been inspired to be like ‘Well, we need to do one more episode with these guys.’”

Tawny Newsome, also on hand for this revelation, chose to add “I really love the Jennifer episode.”

McMahan was tempted to leave this thread hanging, but listened to fans.

More depth added for Orions

Arguably, the most unexpected legacy of Lower Decks is how much detail the animated show has given the Orions, helped along by adding more character depth to Tendi. Though Orions date back to the earliest days of Star Trek, they’ve always been portrayed as dancing green women or weirdly-armored men . With an Orion character in the primary cast, Lower Decks took every opportunity to expand upon the culture, aesthetics, history, and philosophy of Orions. This will continue into season 5. What comes next, however, was teased by Mike McMahan during an SDCC interview with Variety :

“We pull in some Orion lore that’s been discarded over the decades.”

McMahan’s writing team has a talent for reviving details from previous Trek series in ways that enrich both the original episodes and Lower Decks . Whatever “lore” that will be uncovered, it’s likely to follow that pattern. McMahan credits a lot of the show’s success with Orion world-building to Noël Wells and her portrayal of Tendi. Wells opted against over-studying historical appearances of Orions and instead chose her own interpretation of Tendi, allowing the audience to compare and contrast the character with other Orions. McMahan expressed his gratitude to Wells:

“If you were focused on the old Orion episodes, then you wouldn’t be able to embody this character the way I love you doing. Because you would be full of all this arithmetic of Star Trek. Instead, you get to just play her as you would play her in the show as she exists.”

We can do better than this.

“Lower Decks” is a state of mind

Notably absent from any of McMahan’s commentary on the upcoming season is the need for more seasons to “finish” the story. Instead, he speaks only of the gratitude for having achieved five seasons in today’s television environment. When Variety did suggest that the crew of the Cerritos might outgrow the “newbie” storylines, Mike made it clear that Lower Decks was a mindset, not a lack of pips on your collar:

“It’s funny that, to me, there isn’t a natural end to being Lower Decks . Because, I feel like I’m still learning stuff all the time. Like, I still feel like every time you think you’ve left this place that you were, you’re finding out you didn’t know anything, again. And every time you go through one of those big changes, it starts all over again. The whole ship on Lower Decks is lower decks, and that’s kind of the fun of it.”

From the season 5 teaser trailer

ICYMI: SDCC Trailer

Check out the teaser trailer released at Comic-Con (and our full analysis of it and the panel discussion)…

The final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks is scheduled to premiere on October 24, 2024, on Paramount+. The first two episodes will be available on that day, with the remaining eight episodes following each Thursday.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Will they give Boimler something to do? He barely did anything for the latter half of the previous season. It was the Mariner show. Mariner solves every problem, as usual.

As for the “gigantic” series finale. Not exactly the hallmark of a top quality creator when his mantra is “just keep adding things, more is more”.

I expect a finale overflowing with fan service, and little else, like most of Lower Decks sadly.

I’m sure you’re clamoring for a Legacy series too? Something that only arose out of Picard S3’s abundant fan servicing.

Lower Decks does a lot of in-universe referencing – it’s a comedy after all – but it never just “overflows with fan service” unless it’s building more on the story. The previous 4 seasons have been tightly executed so if they feel the need to make an episode longer, it’s likely because there’s more for the characters to do. There’s a larger cast than just the main 4 we’ll be saying goodbye to.

The comments on this site make us all look like Star Wars fans.

I’m not clamouring for a legacy series in the slightest. That’s all modern day Trek is, fanservice, legacy characters and references to past Trek, so no, I don’t want just more excuse for legacy cameos.

I want them to push the franchise forward.

Not sure what your second paragraph is saying. It sounds like McMahon’s mantra for the finale was “throw everything in, more, more more”. Yes that might mean there’ll be lots for the characters to do, but I suspect it’ll be more a case of more references to past Trek (and then a few seconds at the end of Mariner saving the day once again)

I love that some fans were clamouring for the return of the TNG cast in Picard… only to complain about “fan service” when they were brought back. Some fans are just not happy unless they are complaining.

He got to command the ship…

For a 20 second scene

So? He commanded the Cerritos in a critical moment. It doesn’t matter how quick the scene was- it was a MAJOR milestone in his character development.

I think you are just looking for things to complain about.

If the show has had a single bad season finale maybe I’d take issue but First First Contact is still the best season finale in modern Trek so I’m not gonna make myself worried with no real evidence that I should be.

Cool. Five seasons is a good run. It’s the same number of seasons and episodes as Stranger Things, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Really bummed this is ending, but glad we’ll at least get this next season.

Hope we can see these characters show up more in future Trek (either animated or live-action).

Lower Decks helped me love Star Trek again.

I’m going to miss it so much.

Same. I think for me LDS was really the first Trek anything I fell in love with from the beginning since Voyager premiered. I didn’t really like Enterprise or Discovery out of the gate. Started off loving Picard only to be highly let down in the end. Thought the reboot movies were OK for what they were but never loved them or took them very seriously. Fun action movies but not Trek on the level I wanted personally. And never really wanted a TOS reboot movie either.

But yet this little animated comedy I was pretty certain would probably be canceled after season two ended up being one of my favorite Trek shows ever. It brought back a bit of old Trek I was really missing while doing something new and daring for the franchise.

I think it was Nick Meyer who said you shouldn’t worry about giving the audience what it wants and most probably would agree that would include LDS lol. But it ended up being a show that grabbed a lot of fans hearts and will surely be missed by me.

Just goes to show how a show fans are cringing at when it was first announced can be morphed into a favourite.

Well done to everyone on the show for changing their minds and turning people’s heads. Bravo.

It’s very, very easy to get fan appreciation when you absolutely flood a show with tons of nostalgia, cameos and fan service.

Picard S3 did it and Lower Decks too.So I’m not sure ‘bravo’ is in order.

Lower Decks was my first Star Trek show and it made me love Star Trek, it’s good because it has good characters.

It’s kind of funny to see Lower Decks get the “cameos” take when it’s the show that relies on past characters the least. Every other modern show has a legacy character in a main role and Lower Decks sprinkles in a couple a season and never makes them take over the episode.

A. So happy to hear how much you love Lower Decks and it was your first entry into Star Trek!

B. I have been saying this since the first season and repated it a few days ago on another thread here that LDS relies on legacy characters the least out of all the modern shows. Not only does it not have any legacy characters it its cast it also doesn’t have any recurring characters either like the way DIS, PRO and definitely SNW does and certain characters keep popping up like T’Pring or Kirk does. I also mentioned none of the legacy characters drive the story either and most are usually part of the B story and not the A story like how Paris showed up in season 2. And a lot of fans were upset he didn’t have a bigger role.

I love the way the show handles them like how Kira and Quark were done where they had a huge part in the story but was simply part of it like any other character. The focus was still on the LDS characters first as it should be.

But yeah it really gets frustrating to have these arguments from people who think we only love the show because we want to see Picard show up and not because we love the characters and stories the show tells itself. If I just watched for the Easter eggs I would’ve got bored long ago. I truly love these characters and the world they inhabit. It puts a smile on my face every episode in a way most of the classic shows did.

I fully admit to initially cringing. It’s easily my favorite new Trek now. I’ll miss it.

I just hope they leave it open ended enough that the show can get renewed someday. I think it will get renewed once Skydance buys Paramount. They’d be crazy to leave such a valuable IP to gather dust. The great thing about a cartoon is that it can get canceled for years and then resumed as if no time has passed. Fingers crossed.

I read comments by McMahan that the Lower Decks finale will not be as “final” as, say, the Discovery finale. So we probably won’t fast-forward the characters to their retirement. Sounds like we will get the end of a chapter but they’ll keep it open enough to return to it later if an opportunity arises.

I’m going to really miss this show. I loved every season although I think season 3 was the weakest and only disliked 3 episodes in the entire series. That’s pretty crazy for a show that has 40 episodes so far.

It’s just so much fun, has a lot of heart and was a love letter to all things Star Trek. I’m still hoping it will continue on in some form.

I wonder if the series finale will be an hour.

You haven’t read the article, have you?

I have always been surprised how much i honestly LOVE Lower Decks. All of it just works, the characters are so likeable, and the way the stories are often SO over the top are lot of fun — and somehow, it always comes back to the four (now five) Lower Deckkers and their love of each other and the Starfleet dream. I find so much JOY in the show.

I’ve watched Disco, I’ve watched Picard, but only picked up the Disco season 2 DVDs, and the Picard Season 3 DVDs. But Lower Decks? Have every season on DVD and will watch them again — and again, because they made Star Trek joyful and FUN again.

Can’t wait for season 5.

I’m not sure why episode length matters. They aren’t on a broadcast network with a fixed schedule.

Every extra minute the episode budget gets more expensive.

I was a bit surprised how fixed the episode lengths were. But we have to keep in mind that every frame costs in animation. In live-action, once you have set up your shot, it probably doesn’t matter much if you film a 1-minute scene or a 5-minute scene (unless the scene requires VFX). But in animation, it all has to be created by the artists.

It’s just not the same when Christopher Plummer isn’t saying it lol

How did McMahan think Jennifer’s story was in any way, shape, or form, resolved?

Her betrayal of Beckett in not believing her about the interview in the s3 finale was super shitty. I can’t believe that Beckett just came back to the ship and never called her on it. I was waiting all of season 4 for something, anything, to happen there. Up until now I’d actually written it off to Jennifer requesting a transfer to another ship out of embarrassment.

Much like Gray on Discovery, I don’t think story-telling was the purpose of Jennifer’s inclusion.

well, all good things…

I’ll be amazed if the last scene isn’t a rip off of the poker scene from All Good Things. Again. Because god forbid these shows actually do anything original and fresh.