“Star Trek” returned to TV screens in 2017 after a decade-plus absence with a new series called “Star Trek: Discovery,” the first original series on the streaming service CBS All Access (which later became Paramount+). Though it wasn’t quite the show that Trekkies were expecting, “Discovery” did set the stage for arguably one of the best TV prequels ever made: “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
Spun out of a storyline from Season 2 of “Discovery,” “Strange New Worlds” finally explored the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), in the years before James T. Kirk piloted the ship. Beside him were franchise favorites Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), as well as new characters like helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and security chief La’An Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong).
Following its first two acclaimed seasons, Season 3 of “Strange New Worlds” was delayed by two full years thanks to Hollywood’s actor and writer strikes. Nevertheless, the show was renewed for a fourth and fifth season– although it was also announced that Season 5 would be its last, consisting of just six episodes instead of the usual 10. So did “Strange New Worlds” get canceled? Or was five seasons always the plan?
Strange New Worlds may have been meant as a five-year mission
Many “Star Trek” fans lamented the announcement that “Strange New Worlds” would end after its fifth season, but not just because they’d have to say goodbye. A common complaint among the fandom is that the series isn’t getting the full seven-season run that past “Trek” classics like “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” and “Voyager” received. But a five-season run may simply be the new reality for “Trek” on streaming.
Both “Star Trek: Discovery” and the adult animated sitcom “Star Trek: Lower Decks” concluded after five seasons, and now, with the declaration that “Strange New Worlds” will be ending after Season 5, it seems clear that five seasons is the new seven. In short, receiving five full seasons is the new normal for a successful “Star Trek” series. But what does it mean that “Strange New Worlds” is only going to get six episodes in its final season?
“We are really doing almost five — well four and a little more than half,” said producer Akiva Goldsman in a recent interview with TrekMovie, so it’s definitely not being considered a full five seasons. This seems to imply that, while “Strange New Worlds” wasn’t exactly canceled, it was indeed cut somewhat short.
Will we see more of Pike and the USS Enterprise crew?
Just because Paramount+ is closing out “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” doesn’t mean the franchise is taking another hiatus. In fact, there’s already a new show, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” scheduled to debut in 2026. It’s very possible that, if successful, that series will see its own five-season run. But what about Captain Pike, Mr. Spock, Number One, and the rest of the Enterprise crew?
According to canon, Captain Kirk should be taking command of the ship after Pike’s five-year mission ends. The show even seems to be setting that up, with Paul Wesley coming aboard as Lieutenant James T. Kirk in Season 2, and promoted to first officer (albeit on another vessel) in Season 3. It sounds like there’s an opportunity ahead to rebrand the series under a new name and continue the adventures of the USS Enterprise.
Goldsman hinted at just that very possibility in his interview with TrekMovie. Acknowleding that the fifth season takes place right before Kirk takes command, he added that after the show’s final season, “we run into [‘Star Trek: The Original Series’].” He also teased that the characters will still be there and the Enterprise stage sets are still standing, implying that they could smoothly move into production on a sequel series. Will it happen? Only time — and the continued popularity of “Star Trek” — will tell.