strange new worlds season 4 – Trekking with Dennis

2026 Predictions…

Spoiler Warning: Beware of minor spoilers for some of the franchises discussed below.

I thought it could be a bit of fun to mark the start of the year by making a few predictions! This isn’t something that I usually do here on the website, but if it proves to be enjoyable, maybe I’ll make it an annual thing… who knows? For now, though, I wanted to look ahead to 2026 and share some of my predictions for what may happen in the wide world of geeky entertainment.

I’ll give a couple of important caveats, and then I’ll explain the format I’m going to use.

Firstly, I have no “insider information,” and I’m not trying to claim that anything discussed below can, will, or must happen in 2026. These are my own predictions based on… I dunno. Vibes, I guess? And, as always, all of this is the *subjective, not objective* opinion of just one person. If I miss something that you think is obvious, or I predict something you think sounds utterly ridiculous… that’s okay! This is just for fun, and I share my predictions with you in that spirit.

Still frame from a 1995 National Lottery broadcast showing Mystic Meg. — Do you remember Mystic Meg?

Okay, let’s talk format! I’ve got four categories into which my predictions will fall: Films, Games, Television, and the Star Trek Franchise. And within each category, I’m going to make three predictions using the 90/50/10 format: that’s one thing I’m 90% sure will happen, one that I’m 50/50 on, and an outlier that I think has a remote 10% chance of happening – but probably won’t!

So… have we got all that? Four categories, three predictions in each! I’ll briefly explain my prediction, discuss why I think it may or may not happen, and just generally share my thoughts on why I think it’s likely or plausible.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started and try to predict what 2026 will look like!

Film – 90% Prediction:
A KPop Demon Hunters sequel will be announced.

Still frame from KPop Demon Hunters showing Zoey, Rumi, and Mira at the climax of the film. — Huntr/x.

KPop Demon Hunters was one of the most successful films of 2025 – and I don’t just say that because it won the highly-coveted End-of-Year Award here at Trekking with Dennis! The film topped the charts for weeks on end, becoming Netflix’s most popular original animated film ever, earned itself a sell-out theatrical release, and even saw its soundtrack reach the top of the charts, dethroning the likes of Taylor Swift in the process.

So it’s a shoo-in, then, surely, that Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation will announce a sequel within the next twelve months.

I’m not someone who believes that every successful film should – or even *can* – be turned into an ongoing franchise, and I think there’s merit in the idea of one-off, complete stories that don’t need to be revisited. But I also recognise that, in the modern entertainment landscape, big corporations don’t behave like that! Any successful film is bound to see a sequel; to Netflix and Sony, it would be like leaving guaranteed money on the table. Rumours of a KPop Demon Hunters sequel are already beginning to swirl, and I’d expect the companies involved to want to get a formal announcement out while the film is still popular to capitalise on that momentum to the highest possible degree.

Film – 50% Prediction:
The Mandalorian and Grogu will be a box office bomb.

Promo image (cropped) for The Mandalorian and Grogu showing the title characters on a sand dune. — The title characters.

Star Wars is in a weird place right now. The brand is oversaturated, with Disney having produced so much content just since 2019 that it’s hard for even big fans of the franchise to keep up. The Mandalorian and Grogu is supposed to be the final chapter of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, but the show’s third season received mixed reviews, as did The Book of Boba Fett spin-off. I’m not sure that the fanbase is there for The Mandalorian in 2026 in the way it was in 2019, and given how Star Wars as a whole has been mishandled, I could easily see this one flopping hard at the box office.

However, this is Star Wars’ first trip to the cinema since 2019, and it’s possible that a more casual audience – folks who haven’t been trying to keep up with everything Star Wars on Disney+ – will show up for that. I don’t think it’s a guaranteed failure, hence its position on this list. But if I were an executive at Disney, I’d be concerned.

Film – 10% Prediction:
The first film with a digitally-recreated dead actor in a leading role will be announced.

Still frame from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showing Tarkin (a digital model based on actor Peter Cushing). — A digital recreation of Peter Cushing in *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*.

I’ve believed for a long time now – even since before “generative A.I.” was a big deal – that we weren’t far off a snooty director deciding that the leading role in their magnum opus could *only* be played by someone like James Dean or Marilyn Monroe. And with today’s technology – motion capture, voice cloning, facial animations, etc. – it’s technologically feasible to bring back long-dead actors in films. As far back as 2016, we saw this, when the Star Wars franchise digitally recreated both Peter Cushing and a young Carrie Fisher in Rogue One. And the technology has only improved over the last decade.

What we still haven’t seen, though, is a film where the *lead* role is “played” by a long-dead performer. That’s different from using a lookalike or recreating an actor for just a couple of scenes, and I think it would be incredibly controversial. There’d be arguments over who owns the rights to the performer’s likeness and image… but that’s something a project could clear. Whether a film like this would be any good, and whether a digital performance (perhaps assisted by A.I.) would actually be worth watching… the jury’s out, I guess. But as I’ve said before: people care more about the finished product than the process that went into it, so if a film that was created using this method was good, and the result was basically indistinguishable… it could start a whole new trend!

Video Games – 90% Prediction:
Prices will rise even further.

Promo/concept art of Wario for the Nintendo game Wario Ware. — Gaming is already too expensive…

Sorry, everyone. I’m not happy about it, but after several years of price hikes across the games industry, I don’t see this unfortunate trend stopping. Grand Theft Auto VI could legitimately launch with a base price of $100, which would almost certainly see other publishers raise their prices to match. And with component shortages thanks to A.I. datacentres buying up large volumes of stock – as well as major manufacturers “pivoting” to an A.I.-first strategy – hardware prices may very well rise, too.

2025 saw the Switch 2 launch at an inflated price, as well as the first $80 game. It also saw price hikes from Sony and Microsoft, as well as a rise in the price of the Game Pass subscription service. Much of this isn’t actually a reaction to events – it’s plain and simple greed. These things are a cause of, not a consequence of, inflation. But, regrettably, I don’t see it stopping anytime soon, especially if sales remain weak. Games companies will try to wring more money out of existing players to compensate for a lack of new ones.

Video Games – 50% Prediction:
Microsoft and Xbox will announce a new Fallout game… which is not being developed by Bethesda.

Promo screenshot for Fallout 76 featuring a playable ghoul character wearing headphones. — Is a new Fallout game close to being announced?

With The Elder Scrolls VI still years away, and the Fallout TV series riding high on Amazon Prime Video, it’s not exactly a secret that Microsoft and Xbox want a new Fallout game for fans to sink their teeth into. But because of Bethesda’s absolutely idiotic and outdated approach to making video games, their hypothetical version of Fallout 5 may not even *begin* development until 2029, and likely won’t see the light of day until, say, 2034 or beyond.

So could Microsoft hit the nuclear button (pun very much intended) and take Fallout away from Bethesda? If it were to happen, there’d surely be a ton of PR-speak about how this new game is a spin-off, the license is still Bethesda’s, Microsoft still has full confidence in Bethesda… blah, blah, blah. But it would also speak volumes about how far Bethesda has fallen since their 2000s heyday, and how their approach to creating games needs to change if they still want to tell stories in multiple franchises.

Video Games – 10% Prediction:
Grand Theft Auto VI fails to meet its sales targets and is considered an expensive failure.

Still frame from the second GTA 6 trailer showing the protagonists riding on a jet ski. — Protagonists Jason and Lucia on a jet ski.

No video game is a “guaranteed” hit. Not even the sequel to the most successful video game of all-time. So I consider it an outside possibility that, for any one of a number of reasons, Grand Theft Auto VI fails to convince fans of GTA 5 that they need to switch to the new game, with its online mode in particular struggling to gain traction. Players who do buy the game and try out the online mode could even drift back to GTA 5 if it isn’t what they’re hoping for. The result? GTA 6 could go down in history as one of the most expensive video game flops.

To be clear, while I can conceive of a world in which something like this happens, it feels very unlikely – hence its place on this list! But there are reasons to be concerned if you’re a Take-Two executive. Slow hardware sales for the PS5 and Xbox Series, combined with GTA 6 not getting a PC release, mean there’s a smaller potential audience for the game. Price rises for the game itself and the hardware it plays on in a difficult economy could price people out. And if GTA 5 is still fun and enjoyable for its online players, convincing them to switch to a new game – especially if it means an investment of £650-700 to buy the game and a new console to play it on – won’t be a walk in the park.

Television – 90% Prediction:
Either 3 Body Problem or Strange New Worlds will be my “TV Series of the Year” in December.

Cropped promo posters for 3 Body Problem S1 (left) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S1 (right). — *3 Body Problem* (left) and *Strange New Worlds*.

I dish out my annual “End-of-Year Awards” every December – in fact, I just did the awards for 2025 a couple of days ago; click or tap here to check them out! But when I look ahead to 2026, there are really only a couple of shows that I think (at this early stage) could be in contention for the top award. Those are 3 Body Problem and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I’d be very surprised if something else comes along this year and eclipses *both* of these productions; the only one I could see even possibly doing so would be Silo.

Strange New Worlds is far and away the best modern Star Trek series, and even one of the best parts of the franchise as a whole. I was very disappointed to learn it would be cancelled after a cut-down fifth season. And 3 Body Problem’s first season was one of the best, most grown-up sci-fi shows I’ve seen in a long time. I’m genuinely looking forward to both shows’ continuations – and unless, for some reason, neither debuts in 2026, I’m almost positive they’ll be competing for my “TV Series of the Year” award in eleven-and-a-bit months from now!

Television – 50% Prediction:
A big, long-running series will finally be cancelled.

Still frame from The Simpsons depicting a "ratings graph" showing a steep decline. — It might be some kind of visual metaphor…

There are quite a few shows floating around that have been running for fifteen years or more. Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy, Law and Order, Doctor Who, SpongeBob SquarePants, Criminal Minds, The Simpsons… the list goes on. But some of these shows are almost unrecognisable from their original incarnations, or worse, feel like they’re just going through the motions and coasting on past success. I tried for years to keep up with The Simpsons, for example, even though I could feel the quality declining. But I haven’t watched any new episodes for several seasons at this point, and it just feels like the show has well and truly run its course.

The Simpsons has been renewed for several more seasons and – inexplicably – another movie. But could we learn in 2026 that the show will eventually end? Or could another long-running programme, like Doctor Who’s revival, SpongeBob SquarePants, or Grey’s Anatomy, finally find themselves on the chopping block? I’d always rather a show end too soon, leaving me wanting more and lamenting that we didn’t get “just one more episode,” instead of running too long and becoming a joke. Maybe 2026 will finally be the year that one or more of these long-running television institutions kicks the bucket.

Television – 10% Prediction:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be cancelled after Season 3.

Promo still for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showing Elrond on horseback. — It’s Elrond!

The Rings of Power hasn’t been everyone’s favourite show, to put it mildly. And with long breaks in between seasons – Season 3 is not guaranteed to land in 2026, despite Season 2 wrapping up in the autumn of 2024 – even the folks who did tune in have begun to find other things to watch. Although Amazon and the Tolkien Estate had an agreement to make five seasons of The Rings of Power… are we sure the series will hit that mark?

According to some reports, The Rings of Power shed boatloads of viewers across its first season, with barely one-third of the people who watched the premiere making it to the finale. And Season 2 didn’t bring them back. No TV show is going to be worth making if no one’s turning up to watch it, let alone the most expensive TV series ever made. And with middling reviews from audiences, and a baked-in hate campaign from some folks online… The Rings of Power could, hypothetically, be more vulnerable than we thought. Amazon has done this before with another high fantasy show: The Wheel of Time was cancelled before its story could be wrapped up.

Star Trek – 90% Prediction:
Starfleet Academy will be confirmed to run for just two seasons.

Cropped promo poster for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing the main characters. — Will there be more *Starfleet Academy* after Season 2?

Unless Starfleet Academy can do something extraordinary that no other Star Trek show of the current streaming era has done, I think we’ll learn that there won’t be a third season. The series would, in my view, need to go viral and become a phenomenon – particularly with its younger target audience. If Starfleet Academy can genuinely compete with the likes of Stranger Things and Wednesday in terms of review scores and audience numbers, and also drive a massive, unprecedented number of new subscribers to Paramount+, then – and only then – would Skydance consider renewing the show.

But… do we really think that’s gonna happen?

I’ve said a few times now that I’m not particularly hyped for Starfleet Academy. The show, with its serialised story and teen focus, just doesn’t seem like it’ll be my thing. But that’s not why it’s part of this discussion. I’d love nothing more than to see Starfleet Academy succeed at bringing in legions of new fans to the franchise. I just struggle to see how it’ll manage to do so. And given Skydance’s obvious preference for films over TV, and the cancellations of all other Star Trek shows, I just get the sense that the two seasons which have already entered production will be all the series will get.

Star Trek – 50% Prediction:
Paramount-Skydance will do very little to celebrate the franchise’s 60th anniversary.

Star Trek turns 60 years old in 2026.

With the exception of soap operas, how many TV shows reach their 60th anniversary with new episodes still being created and aired? Star Trek is practically unique amongst big sci-fi properties – heck, amongst entertainment franchises in general. Yet I don’t think that this new incarnation of Paramount really intends to do anything major to acknowledge the milestone. We’ve heard talk of a float at some parade in the United States. And Star Trek’s god-awful online shop will probably release some crappy A.I.-generated merch, like tote bags and beanies, featuring the new “Star Trek 60” logo. But will there be a crossover episode? Some kind of unannounced project that really leans into what Star Trek means and goes all-in?

I would *love* to see Paramount/Skydance do something big. A live broadcast, maybe, reuiniting the stars of past shows to talk all things Trek. Or a documentary about the creation of those early episodes. I’d really love to see a crossover – like we got in 1996 for the 30th anniversary. Maybe we could see Starfleet Academy characters visiting Pike’s Enterprise, or even using the Strange New World sets and bringing back some of the performers to re-tell a classic TOS story. Because Star Trek had gone off the air, we couldn’t get anything like that for the 40th or the 50th. But there’s a window of opportunity right now, in 2026, that may not come again, to really celebrate Star Trek with some kind of big on-screen event. I really hope Skydance has already given it the green light.

Star Trek – 10% Prediction:
A brand-new series will be announced.

Concept art of the USS Enterprise created for Phase II/The Motion Picture. — Will there be more Star Trek to come?

This one… I mean, it’s not gonna happen, is it? Don’t get me wrong: I’d love nothing more than for Skydance to make the genuinely shocking announcement that they’re commissioning a brand-new, episodic, exploration-focused Star Trek series! But I think it’s a remote possibility right now, given the new corporation’s clear choice to prioritise the cinema over television and streaming. A new Star Trek film has been announced and is potentially targeting a 2028 release, so will we see a new show announced before then?

My view remains that Star Trek as a whole – save for the occasional film project – will be shutting down for the foreseeable future after 2027 or 2028, whenever the final episodes of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds air. But there’s still so much potential in this franchise, and it’s downright depressing to go into the big sixtieth anniversary year predicting cancellation and failure. So I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll get just one new series being announced.

So that’s it.

A render of the number 2026 in green. — 2026 is just beginning.

I’ve made a few predictions for 2026, so let’s revisit this piece together in late December to see how much I got wrong! This is my first year making predictions like these, but I really like the 90/50/10 format, so I might try to make it an annual thing… if I remember. And if, next year, I actually have more predictions to make!

In any case, I hope this has been interesting, or just a bit of fun. I’m hopeful for some enjoyable entertainment experiences this year, and I’ll be doing my best to keep up with some of the films, games, and TV shows that I’ve been looking forward to – so stay tuned for some reviews and commentary here on the website!

All titles discussed above are the copyright of their respective developer, publisher, broadcaster, studio, distributor, etc. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Trek at Comic-Con: A Teaser and a Trailer

Sun 12.10.25Dennis

Spoiler Warning: Beware of spoilers for upcoming seasons of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Undiscovered Country, Voyager, Discovery, Prodigy, and Picard.

The Star Trek franchise popped up at New York’s Comic-Con event this week, building up the hype for Starfleet Academy and the next season of Strange New Worlds. I thought we could take a look at them together, as we begin to get excited for next year’s Star Trek projects.

First of all, it does seem, based on the release of the teaser clip and Starfleet Academy’s mid-January premiere, that Strange New Worlds Season 4 is on the schedule for 2026. That’s good news! After the two-year gap in between Seasons 2 and 3, and with Starfleet Academy still in post-production, I wasn’t sure if Strange New Worlds would manage a 2026 broadcast, but it’s good news in my book that we don’t have to wait too long for the next instalment in what is still my favourite modern Star Trek series.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing the premiere date. — *Starfleet Academy* will be on our screens in just over three months!

Since we’re talking Strange New Worlds, let’s take a look at the teaser clip first.

Firstly, I’m not 100% sure if this was one continuous sequence, or if there wasn’t at least one cut somewhere in the middle. It kind of feels, to me, like a scene or two might be missing… but that could also be where the title sequence will appear in the finished episode, I guess! In any case, the Strange New Worlds teaser was taken from a single episode, and it shows Pike and the crew getting into trouble with what looked somewhat like a plasma storm or ion storm.

How, exactly, a plasma storm might’ve thrown the Enterprise to a different point in space is… debatable! But we’ve seen similar things happen before; I actually got a “Caretaker” vibe from that part of the clip, as the ship got caught in an expanding space storm and ended up somewhere different. I’m not saying this will be the Delta Quadrant, of course! But as I’ve said before, sometimes Star Trek stories kind of rhyme, and this clip was definitely reminiscent of Voyager’s premiere for me.

Side-by-side comparison of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 and Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, showing both starships caught in an orange-tinted region of space and being tossed around. — The USS Enterprise in the Season 4 teaser and the USS Voyager in *Caretaker*.

I’m glad that we got to see Ortegas back at the helm after her Gorn encounter. I think, having sat with it for a month or so, that Terrarium might be the best episode of Season 3, and I’m definitely excited to spend more time with Ortegas (and some of the show’s other original characters) before Strange New Worlds wraps up. Ortegas was also present on the shuttle mission at the end of the clip, and really seems to be back in her element in the pilot’s seat.

Another character I was pleased to see was Pelia! Pelia seemed to draw the short straw in Season 3, with Scotty taking over key engineering storylines in episodes like A Space Adventure Hour, but she’s at least going to be present in Season 4 and hasn’t just been unceremoniously shuffled off-stage. That makes me happy; Pelia is a great comic relief character and has had some of the best and funniest lines in Seasons 2 and 3. Getting the right balance between Pelia and Scotty – the chief engineer and the deputy – is something Strange New Worlds still needs to work on, but I think Pelia’s presence in the teaser clip is promising, at least.

Still frame from the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 promo clip showing Pelia. — Pelia.

Spock and La’an were seen together in the clip – though not in a romantic setting! La’an did seem to be looking at Spock, though, and I suspect that their relationship will continue at least at the beginning of Season 4. As I said, though, when Season 3 was on the air: I kind of need a break from that. I don’t want more “Spock comedy,” or “Spock romance,” not with only a few episodes remaining before Strange New Worlds will be over. So I hope the writers aren’t going to push for more of those things in Season 4. Hard to tell from just this one clip, of course!

We also caught a glimpse of a new Vulcan character – a cadet, who seems to be shadowing Uhura on the bridge. Giving Uhura a mentorship role could be a fun way to extend her character arc, so I’m on board with that! Part of me wonders if this character is intended to be someone familiar: perhaps Tuvok’s wife, T’Pel, who we saw briefly in Voyager, or even someone like Saavik or Valeris. Given Valeris’ later role in The Undiscovered Country, that could be interesting.

Still frame from the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 promo clip showing Uhura and a cadet. — Uhura with the Vulcan cadet.

Pike’s line to Una, asking her if she’d miss space exploration if she had to give it up, felt poignant – and could be related to Pike’s impending accident and disability. Perhaps his knowledge of the future is weighing on him during this mission, maybe he’s still mourning Captain Batel after losing her at the end of Season 3, or it could be connected to the fantasy life we saw in the Season 3 finale. In any case, the line stuck out to me, and clearly indicates that Pike has a lot on his mind beyond just the mission at hand.

This aspect of Pike’s characterisation – his knowledge of what lies in store for him – has made this iteration of the character incredibly impactful and relatable to me personally. I read his story through the lens of my own poor health; I’ve been Captain Pike, hearing bad news about my health and future prospects, knowing there isn’t anything I can do, and the way Anson Mount brings that to the screen has always been nothing short of fantastic. Given that it will probably be a big plot point in the cut-down fifth season, I’m not sure how important Pike’s imminent accident will be this time around, but this clip seems to hint at it being important for him in at least one episode.

Still frame from the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 promo clip showing Pike and Una on the bridge. — Pike’s line to Una really stood out to me.

I don’t remember the element iridium being mentioned a lot in previous Star Trek stories, but I like this little expansion of the lore of Star Trek. According to Scotty, iridium is necessary to “ignite” the warp engines – presumably meaning it’s important to the antimatter reaction along with dilithium. In any case, missing iridium seems like a suitable driving force for a story that looks set to take Una, La’an, and Ortegas to – as Captain Pike put it in a kind of too on-the-nose line – a “strange new world.”

Not sure what else to say about the Strange New Worlds clip. I think the episode looks like it’ll get off to a solid start, it was nice to see most of the crew getting a line of dialogue or something to do, and there were enough little teases to get me excited. Pike’s story looks like it could be complex, a new Vulcan cadet could be a fun addition to the bridge, even if she’s only present for an episode or two, and I’m genuinely curious to learn more about this mysterious storm in space and where it might’ve taken Pike and the Enterprise. Could I be about to get my “Pike versus the Borg” story that I’ve been harping on about for years? Erm… no!

Still frame from the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 promo clip showing Una, La'an, and Ortegas on a shuttlecraft. — Destination: unknown.

Next, let’s talk about Starfleet Academy.

In a frankly bizarre move, comedian and late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert was announced as having a voice-only role in the series. Apparently, Colbert is a bit of a Star Trek fan, and he’ll be providing the voice of the “Digital Dean of Students” at the Academy. Colbert treated us to what he said was one of the actual lines from the show – and it was… fine, I guess?

I’ll be honest: this feels like stunt casting; hiring a big-name star for no other reason than, well, they’re a big-name star. However… if it helps draw a few more eyes to Star Trek, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m just not convinced it’ll be as big of a deal as Paramount/Skydance would’ve liked, and I’m not sure it was the best possible way to close out the Comic-Con revelations and news. Maybe this is because I’m from the UK, and perhaps to an American audience, someone like Stephen Colbert is much more of a draw. I just wasn’t blown away by it, and my feelings toward the announcement were more like “erm, okay?” rather than “woah, what a great idea!”

Still frame from New York Comic-Con 2025 showing Stephen Colbert. — Stephen Colbert is joining *Starfleet Academy* for a voice role.

I’ve said this before, but I don’t think a show like Starfleet Academy benefits from having a main villain. I had hoped that Starfleet Academy could’ve adopted the Strange New Worlds model and done something a lot more episodic – that kind of thing feels like it’s well-suited to a show about younger characters learning about serving in Starfleet. It’s still my hope that we’ll get some of that, but it’s seemed for a while like the series is going down a serialised route similar to Discovery.

In fact, I felt echoes of Discovery in the connection between the villain, Nus Braka, and the young cadet Caleb. Every season of Discovery seemed to follow a very familiar pattern: there’s a villain who’s threatening the Federation or the entire galaxy, and somehow, that villain has a connection to one of our heroes. We had it with Lorca, Voq, and Tyler in Season 1, the Red Angel in Season 2, the Emerald Chain and the Burn in Season 3, the DMA and Tarka in Season 4, and the Breen and Moll in Season 5. Picard even got in on the action with Q and the Borg Queen in Season 2, and Vadic and Jack in Season 3, and so did Prodigy with Gwyn and the Diviner.

And I’m just so thoroughly burned out on that repetitive story concept at this point.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing Nus Braka, the main villain. — Nus Braka: *Starfleet Academy’*s villain.

However! It wasn’t all doom and gloom in the Starfleet Academy trailer. We caught a glimpse of Mary Wiseman’s Tilly for the first time in any Starfleet Academy material, which is great news. Tilly was a fun character in Discovery, and it seemed – for a time, at least – as if Starfleet Academy might be being constructed around her as a central character. There was even that backdoor pilot in Season 4 – though none of the cadet characters seem to have shown up in the new series, for some reason.

But with Tilly having been absent from all of Starfleet Academy’s marketing so far, I can’t’ve been the only one who was beginning to wonder whether she’d show up at all! Rumours suggest that Tilly may only be a guest-star for a single episode in the show’s first season, but I’m sure she’ll still be a welcome addition to the cast. It was great to catch sight of her for the first time, in any case.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing Tilly. — It’s Tilly!

The rest of the Starfleet Academy trailer looked… well, it looked “teenager-y.” Which makes sense, of course, given the show’s younger characters and target audience! Plenty of shows and films aimed at a younger audience or featuring younger characters still have a lot to offer to the rest of us – look at the likes of Wednesday or Stranger Things (neither of which I’ve actually seen, but they’re good examples nevertheless!) Some of the clips in the trailer seemed to show characters at the Academy falling in love, going on dates, and talking in that kind of angsty way you sometimes get in teen dramas. I’m not sure whether all of that (or any of it) will be to my taste, but I’m content to give the show and these characters a chance to impress me.

One thing I hadn’t clocked until recently was that Sam – one of the new cadets – is a hologram. I think this is really interesting given that Voyager’s Doctor is also going to be present in the series, and I can already see the two of them developing a connection over a shared (or similar) heritage. That’s something that could be really interesting, and I wonder if we’ll get an exploration of how holographic rights developed in the years after Voyager.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing Sam and the Doctor. — Sam and the Doctor.

Nahla Ake, the captain and Chancellor of the Academy, is sure to be one of the series’ breakout characters. She’s brought to life by Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter, and the Star Trek franchise really lucked out to land a performer of such calibre. Though I’m not sure her personal connection with Caleb is the right move narratively, I’m really excited to see what this new character will be like, how her style of command will be, and how the rest of the cadets will respond to her. I think there’s a ton of potential there.

It was a deliberate choice to make Starfleet Academy a spin-off from Discovery, set in that same far-future time period. I’ll be curious to see how the show will lean into that, and whether the “post-apocalyptic” setting caused by the Burn and its lingering aftershocks will be a big part of the main storyline. In a way, I hope that Starfleet Academy will be able to do something more meaningful with that idea than Discovery managed… but I won’t lie: a big part of me regrets that this show couldn’t have been set in the Picard era instead.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing Caleb looking disheveled. — Caleb.

It seems like Starfleet Academy is setting up Caleb, Captain Ake, and Nus Braka to be the principal characters, all tied up together in a “mystery box” type of story surrounding Caleb’s missing mother. I’m still not convinced that this was the right approach, but maybe if it’s a solid enough story it will at least be worth following to its conclusion. Based on what we saw of him in the trailer, I wasn’t actually wowed by veteran actor Paul Giamatti’s performance – he felt too over-the-top for my liking. And that’s a shame; Giamatti is a fine actor, and someone I’ve been looking forward to seeing in Star Trek. Hopefully it’s just a consequence of the way the trailer was cut; in context, those moments might feel better and make a lot more sense.

I hope Starfleet Academy isn’t going to do the clichéd (and also played-out) trope of “everyone has a hidden secret backstory.” We seemed to get hints at at least two of the other cadets – Genesis and Darem – having some kind of issues with their families or in their past that are driving them to seek positions in Starfleet. I don’t think every character needs that kind of motivation – especially not young, school/university-aged characters. Isn’t it enough to say they’re looking to make something of themselves, or that Starfleet appealed to them because they wanted to be scientists or explorers? Complexity can make a character great in any work of fiction – but not every complex character needs to have some kind of mysterious or traumatising past to explain why they are the way they are. I’m just a little concerned that Starfleet Academy is leaning too much into that kind of storytelling.

Still frame from the second trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showing Genesis Lythe. — Why does Genesis say she “needs” to be a captain?

I hope this has been an interesting glimpse at both Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds. I still haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to review every Starfleet Academy episode or not – I think, at the very least, I’ll review the premiere, just to see how the series is starting off! But whether I do individual episode reviews or review the rest of the season in one hit, I hope you’ll join me for that in January. And I’m hopeful that Strange New Worlds Season 4 will debut later in 2026, too – and I will definitely write up individual episode reviews there, as I did for Season 3 earlier this year.

Obviously, Strange New Worlds remains the Star Trek project I’m most excited for; nothing in the Starfleet Academy trailer convinced me that I should change my mind about that! But, despite what I’d consider to be some narrative red flags, I’m still hopeful that Starfleet Academy will be fun. Even if it’s not “my thing,” perhaps it will finally be the series that reaches out to a new generation of viewers, turning them into Trekkies and kick-starting a renaissance for the franchise that the fan community arguably needs.

In any case… we don’t have much longer to wait!

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will premiere on Paramount+ in January 2026. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1-3 are available to stream now on Paramount+ and Season 4 looks set to premiere later in 2026. The Star Trek franchise – including all shows and properties discussed above – is the copyright of Skydance/Paramount. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Strange New Worlds: Taking Stock

Mon 22.09.25Mon 22.09.25Dennis

A Strange New Worlds-themed spoiler warning.

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1-3. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Original Series, Deep Space Nine, Discovery, and Picard.

At time of writing, Season 3 of Strange New Worlds has just concluded. With Starfleet Academy on the schedule for the first half of next year, and with Season 4 having only finished filming a few weeks ago, there’s gonna be a wait of a year-plus before we’ll see it – late 2026 or early 2027 is my guess, barring any strikes or similar disruptions! So it’s a bit early to look ahead – but Strange New Worlds is on my mind right now.

What I want to do this time is try to take stock of how the series has performed so far, as well as look ahead to a few things that I’d like to see in Seasons 4 and/or 5. This isn’t going to be a review or a recap of Season 3, though obviously we’ll talk about Season 3 along the way, but rather a broader overview of how I see Strange New Worlds now that we’re three seasons in – and, regrettably, past the halfway point of what will be a forty-six-episode run.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing the Enterprise at warp. — The final shot of Season 3.

As always, a couple of caveats before we get much further. Firstly, I have no “insider information,” so anything I say about possible future episodes and stories should be viewed through that lens! And secondly, all of this is the subjective, not objective, opinion of one old Trekkie. If you disagree with me about Strange New Worlds, hate my take, or want to see the series go in a completely different direction… that’s okay! There’s enough room in the Star Trek fan community for differences of opinion and polite disagreement.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way… let’s talk Strange New Worlds!

Season 3 was, on the whole, pretty good. There were a couple of dud episodes, but even those had some redeeming qualities. It felt a bit more serialised this time, thanks to the ongoing Batel-Gorn storyline, but still episodic enough that we got a diverse mix of stories. If I had to highlight two episodes for special praise, I’d pick Through the Lens of Time and Terrarium. I think Through the Lens of Time is, with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps somewhat let down by a weaker conclusion in the season finale, but on its own it’s still a solid episode. And Terrarium is just fantastic across the board.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing Ortegas on an away mission. — Ortegas in *Terrarium*.

In terms of characters, I’d like to see Strange New Worlds do more with some of its original creations, rather than leaning so heavily on the younger versions of TOS characters. Scotty seems to have taken precedence over Pelia for a lot of engineering storylines, such as in A Space Adventure Hour, and because Pelia is just a ton of fun… that doesn’t sit right. She’s the chief engineer, and he’s… what? A glorified assistant at best. And although sometimes lacking in confidence, this version of Scotty is still working engineering miracles. We’ve seen that before, and while there’s definitely fun to be had in seeing Scotty’s growth and the development of some of his friendships with folks like Uhura and Kirk… I don’t want that to overwhelm an original character like Pelia.

I’ve said this before, but if Star Trek had relied so heavily on legacy characters when considering spin-offs in the 1980s and 1990s, the franchise would feel a lot smaller today. We might never have met the likes of Picard, Sisko, or Janeway if the folks in charge had insisted on retaining characters from past iterations of Star Trek – and I’m just a little concerned that the attention dedicated to legacy characters is beginning to overshadow the rest of the cast. Spock was almost omnipresent this season, and we got stories heavily focused on Kirk, Chapel, Scotty, and Uhura, too. I’m glad that we finally got an Ortegas episode – and that it was so darn good! But with only sixteen episodes remaining, I’d really like to see Strange New Worlds strike more of a balance between characters who’ll go on to play big roles in TOS and the rest of the cast.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing Kirk in the captain's chair of the Farragut. — Kirk in command.

I mentioned this in one of my Season 3 episode reviews, but La’an being related to iconic Star Trek villain Khan has been a complete nothing-burger so far, and unless something major changes on that front… I’m gonna reach the end of the series wishing she’d been given a different last name. If you know me, you know I’m not a stickler for the tiniest minutiae of “canon,” but given how important Khan is to Kirk, Spock, and really to Star Trek as a whole… making La’an a direct relative of Khan kind of treads on the toes of what was established in Space Seed. If there’d been a big narrative payoff for that, it could’ve easily been worth it. But so far? I’m afraid it hasn’t been.

Think about it like this: what would change about La’an if her last name had been… Shellac-Wombat instead of Noonien-Singh? She could still have been a descendant of augments. She could still have survived the Gorn as a kid. She could still have felt shame about her ancestry. She could still have developed a friendship with Una, fallen for Kirk, and gotten into bed with Spock. Her iconic ancestor doesn’t matter one iota – and because of how important Khan still is to the franchise, I don’t think that’s good enough. There’s just no reason to have made her a member of Khan’s family – and right now, the name feels like little more than cheap nostalgia bait.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing La'an peeking out from a hiding place. — La’an in Season 2.

What appealed to me the most about “the Captain Pike show” in the aftermath of Discovery’s second season was spending more time with Anson Mount’s take on the character. Season 1 gave us a decent mix of Pike and other characters, but the captain seems to have stepped out of the limelight a little in Seasons 2 and 3. There were whole episodes this season where Pike got remarkably little to do, and one of his bigger roles – in Four-and-a-Half Vulcans – was far from his best. Anson Mount did a great job, by the way, in that kind of comedic role… but I just wasn’t thrilled about the end product.

So in Seasons 4 and 5, I hope we get to see a bit more of Pike. That doesn’t mean every story needs to put the captain front-and-centre, but there have been moments in some episodes which could’ve been perfect for Pike to step up and play a role – but where writing decisions meant other characters came to the fore. Maybe you think this contradicts my earlier wish to see more of Strange New Worlds’ original creations – but I kind of include Pike, Una, and Dr M’Benga along with the brand-new characters, as their roles prior to this series were much smaller.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing Pike holding a wine glass. — It’s still “the Captain Pike show” to me!

There are plenty of great characters on the show, and with only sixteen episodes left – and presumably at least one or two new recurring or secondary characters to be added – there are clearly gonna be constraints on how often Pike can be centre-stage… and I get that. But this is, for me, still “the Captain Pike show,” so when Pike is absent, relegated to a background role, or even mischaracterised – as I’d argue he was, to an extent, in episodes like Under the Cloak of War and Four-and-a-Half Vulcans – then a big part of Strange New Worlds is missing.

This leads into one of the concerns I have going into the remainder of the series: filming for Season 4 has already concluded, and Season 5 is currently underway. There’s no time for Skydance/Paramount to address feedback from Season 3; it’s too late to make any changes to the stories that have already been created. And given that Season 3 did have a couple of misfires and, I would argue, an over-use of characters like Kirk and Spock at the expense of Pike and some of Strange New Worlds’ original characters… that could be a problem. Feedback is important, especially in the modern streaming television landscape, and unfortunately, Strange New Worlds went ahead with producing Season 4 and 5 before there was a chance for any significant responses to Season 3 to be known. Hopefully, because the show is still pretty good, that won’t be too much of a problem. But I worry that the creative team may have doubled-down on some of the things that fans and viewers have been less keen on this time around.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing the Enterprise bridge. — Pike and the crew on the bridge.

Returning to Pike, I don’t think we need to see his accident and disability again at the end of the show. That story has already been told in Discovery, in The Original Series, and in a couple of Strange New Worlds episodes, so ending the show that way would, I would argue, be repetitive. If Kirk hadn’t been such a big presence this season, I’d probably have said that the series finale should show Pike handing over the Enterprise to Kirk – and a big part of me still believes that will be the final shot of the series. But given Kirk’s expanded role… I think some of the impact of that will be lost, even if the moment itself is handled well.

Instead, I think Strange New Worlds needs its very own Undiscovered Country-type of story. Perhaps Pike and the crew get word that the Enterprise is to undergo a major refit, and that Pike himself is to be promoted. The crew have one final mission to undertake – perhaps against the Klingons, the Gorn, or another well-known antagonist. The mission could be intense, explosive, and action-packed, but rather than the final moments of the show depicting the handover to Kirk… I’d like to see Pike on the bridge, setting course for parts unknown one final time.

Cropped comic book cover from the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds spin off series. — Ortegas, Una, Chapel, and Spock from one of the *Strange New Worlds* comic books.

We’ve had it confirmed in a recent interview that the creative team weren’t sure a renewal was coming after Season 3, which I think explains a few major decisions this time around. It explains why there was such a rush to do the “backdoor pilot” for their Year One idea, with Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Chapel, and Uhura all working together. It explains why some characters – like Chapel and Uhura – now feel like they’re coming to the ends of their arcs on the show. And it explains that epilogue in the season finale, which I said in my review felt like it was intended to serve as the ultimate ending to the show if it hadn’t been picked up for more episodes.

Some of those decisions could, if the creative team are aware of them, open up different possibilities in Seasons 4 and 5. We’ve already had the “Kirk in command” Year One spin-off episode. So check that one off the list – no need to do that again. Chapel’s relationship with Dr Korby has emerged, gone through a couple of bumps in the road, and gotten to a point where he doesn’t need to regularly reappear. Uhura’s grown in confidence and ability, taking her from a raw cadet unsure of her place in Starfleet to a confident officer who was even willing to bend the rules. Spock has just been all over the place… but even if we never got another Spock episode, I think we can safely say we’ve spent more than enough time with him, too!

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing Spock. — Spock.

So that should open up other opportunities. We haven’t had a major storyline for Una since the beginning of Season 2 (and no, getting horny for Patton Oswalt doesn’t count). We finally got our Ortegas episode, three seasons in, but there’s still scope to do more with her character. It would be nice to get a story for Dr M’Benga that doesn’t revolve around either his violent past or some other secret he’s keeping from his shipmates – perhaps one that could explain why, by the time of The Original Series, he’s no longer the chief medical officer.

Then there’s the secondary cast. Mitchell’s been a regular on the bridge – maybe the show could do something with her? Admiral April’s family was hinted at in the Season 3 finale, as was his friendship with Pike, so perhaps a story in which he’s in focus would be well-received. I’d also love to get one more story featuring Hemmer! Perhaps a time-travel story, of some kind, could see Hemmer getting some screen time with Scotty? That could be absolutely fantastic if handled well. And Sam Kirk has been rather overshadowed by Spock in the science department and his brother, but it would be lovely to get a story in which he’s in focus, for once.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing Sam Kirk holding a machine. — Sam Kirk in Season 2.

You’ll have heard me say this before (I often use it as a bit of a caveat when talking about episodes I didn’t like!) but I’m really glad to see Strange New Worlds remaining a mostly episodic show. Discovery and Picard both went for big, season-long serialised arcs… but for me, that’s not really what I’ve wanted from Star Trek. In past shows, where seasons were longer and there was more room for manoeuvre, arcs like the Dominion War worked pretty well. But in the modern television landscape, where there are fewer episodes and fewer seasons available, I think Star Trek really needs the diversity and options that only an episodic format can deliver.

So, as production gets underway on Season 5… please keep the episodic format! A two-part or even three-part finale could work, sure, but I hope that at least some of Season 5 can retain the episodic charm that has made Strange New Worlds feel like such a nostalgic throwback in the best possible way. It wasn’t until I started watching Strange New Worlds that I came to recognise how much I’ve missed episodic television – and how essential the format is to a franchise like Star Trek.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing zombies. — The zombies in *Shuttle to Kenfori*.

Star Trek shows need the freedom to explore strange new worlds… pretty much every week. The Enterprise needs to visit a planet, meet an alien, then warp away to a different destination next time. As Strange New Worlds has demonstrated, that doesn’t mean you have to lose character growth, personal relationships, and other modern television trappings. But it means that, for a franchise all about exploring the galaxy, spending too long in one place or having too narrow a focus isn’t what works best. And I’m not alone in feeling that way, I suspect.

I think there’s room for something like a two-part finale to wrap up the show, or even a two-part cliffhanger in between Seasons 4 and 5, as we got with Seasons 2 and 3. One or both of those ideas could be great. But what I don’t want to see, really, is for Seasons 4 and 5 to go down the Discovery/Picard route of being fully serialised, as I think that would take away so much of what has made Strange New Worlds work. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the Strange New Worlds model – which I’d describe as episodic with character arcs – should be adopted by Starfleet Academy and by any other Star Trek project that might get greenlit in the years ahead. It’s absolutely the best choice for this franchise.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing La'an on the holodeck. — La’an on the holodeck.

At this stage, with Starfleet Academy on the schedule for early 2026, I’m not convinced that Strange New Worlds’ fourth season will be ready in time for the 60th anniversary, which is now less than a year away! But if I could be allowed one “wish,” it would be for Season 4 to contain some kind of celebratory episode, perhaps a story akin to my Cardassia Prime pitch, which would bring in characters and factions from elsewhere in the franchise.

The 60th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate a milestone that few franchises ever reach. And let’s be honest: with all the cancellations and Paramount+ struggling, being able to do anything big for the 70th or 75th seems unlikely! And speaking for myself… I might not be here by then! So I’d dearly love to see at least one Season 4 episode written as a “love letter” to Star Trek and to the fans, really leaning into the 60th anniversary and celebrating all things Star Trek.

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showing an illusion of Hemmer. — A 60th anniversary episode could really celebrate the franchise.

Before we wrap things up, I have a couple of much siller, almost-certain-never-to-be-made ideas. The first is one I’ve talked about a few times here on the website: rescuing Captain Lorca! Lorca appeared in Discovery’s first season, and the prime timeline version of the character is assumed to have died in the Mirror Universe… but what if he didn’t? Captain Pike could lead a rescue effort, stepping through the looking-glass to save a friend. I think that could be a ton of fun as an episode.

And finally… I still kinda want to see a “Captain Pike versus the Borg” story! Yes, there are timeline problems. Yes, it would tread on the toes of canon. And yes, the Borg have been overused in Picard in recent years. But still… I think you could write a script which sees Pike’s Enterprise catapulted to an alternate universe where the Borg are dominant, with Spock saying “it’s unlikely a cybernetic race like this exists in our universe,” and where La’an, Dr M’Benga, and the rest of the crew have to battle drones and figure out a way home. I just think it would be a really fun idea.

Still frame from Star Trek: First Contact showing a borg drone. — I know, I know… it ain’t gonna happen!

So that’s all for today!

We’ve talked about Strange New Worlds, the show’s first three seasons, some of its characters, and a few things I’d like to see going forward. I’m still disappointed that the show has been prematurely cancelled – especially because it happened before Season 3 had aired a single episode. But we are where we are, and there are now just sixteen episodes left. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some wonderful adventures before Captain Pike and co. have to hang up their uniforms for the final time.

I hope this has been interesting. I wanted to talk about the show more broadly now that Season 3 has ended. I still don’t think we’re gonna see Season 4 before next autumn at the earliest – and a 2027 release doesn’t seem impossible, either, given the lengthy post-production involved for modern shows. So… it could be a while before we rejoin Pike, Spock, Una, and the rest of the crew. Before then, I’d like to finally write up some Season 1 episodes, which I didn’t do at the time because Paramount cut off Strange New Worlds from an international audience! And if and when there’s a trailer, a teaser, or more information revealed about the upcoming season, I daresay I’ll take a look. Until then… Live Long and Prosper!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1-3 are available to stream now on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform exists. The first two seasons are also available on DVD/Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Strange New Worlds and all other properties discussed above – is the copyright of Skydance and/or Paramount. This review contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Bad News For Strange New Worlds…

Fri 13.06.25Dennis

Spoiler Warning: Beware of very minor spoilers for Strange New Worlds Seasons 1 and 2, Discovery Seasons 1 and 2, and Picard.

If you follow Star Trek on social media, or really any of the big Star Trek fansites or channels, you’ve probably already heard the news that Strange New Worlds is to be cancelled after a truncated fifth season. I find this to be an especially disappointing blow, as Strange New Worlds has been the best show – and by far the best live-action show – since Star Trek’s small-screen resurrection back in 2017. Captain Pike has been telling us in voiceover form that the Enterprise is on a “five-year mission,” of course, but I’m not gonna lie: a big part of me was hoping that this show would continue to go from strength to strength, pushing past that five-year mark.

This decision is quite clearly coming from the corporate side. Paramount’s finances have been bad for a long time, Paramount+ is on shaky ground as very much a second-tier streaming service, and the ongoing Skydance merger seems to be pretty convoluted, even by industry standards. So I’m not stunned at this news – just as Discovery’s cancellation, Lower Decks’ cancellation, and the lack of interest in Star Trek: Legacy didn’t shock me too much, either. But that doesn’t make it any more pleasant or easy to digest.

Skydance and Paramount are involved in a messy buyout/merger.

It seems odd to announce the cancellation at this stage: a few weeks before Season 3’s premiere, and potentially two, three, or even four years before the show’s fifth and final season will be broadcast. Is it not at least possible that high viewership and a strong fan reaction to Seasons 3, 4, and 5 could make the show a more intriguing business proposition? With the Skydance merger still ongoing and a new leadership team potentially coming in, mightn’t they be interested in the flagship series for one of Paramount’s biggest franchises? Or conversely, did Skydance insist on cancelling Strange New Worlds – and perhaps other Star Trek projects, too – ahead of the merger?

We may never learn exactly what happened or what the ins and outs of it all were. But it’s disappointing in more ways than one to learn that Strange New Worlds isn’t being given more of a chance. I don’t know what the show’s viewership has been like, but I would remind everyone that Season 1 wasn’t available internationally at first, so there’s only really been one full season that was available around the world on Paramount+ on broadcast day. It feels premature to cancel the show when you bear that fact in mind. And that’s not to mention that, historically speaking, Star Trek shows tend to improve as they go along, picking up more support and viewers from their second seasons onwards.

Behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Strange New Worlds Season 4 showing Adrian Holmes and Anson Mount in costume. — Adrian Holmes (Admiral April) with Anson Mount (Captain Pike) on the set of *Strange New Worlds* Season 4.

Then there’s the shortened fifth season. Season 5 will run to a mere six episodes instead of the usual ten. What, were those extra four episodes really fucking up the budget that badly? Is Paramount so broke that the corporation can’t stump up a few extra dollars for four episodes of a series that’s already in production, where the majority of its sets are already built, and the main roles are already cast? C’mon… that’s just pathetic.

Strange New Worlds has been the high-water mark of modern Star Trek. But, as with almost everything Paramount’s executive fuckwits have touched over the past decade, some appalling decision-making at the highest levels has worked against the show and its prospects. Oversaturation of the Star Trek brand is a major contributing factor, with Strange New Worlds having to compete for attention against four other Star Trek shows at various points, including episodes of Picard which were literally broadcast on the exact same day. Then there was the piss-poor decision to cut off the series from anyone outside of the United States during its critical first season. And even when Strange New Worlds was available and wasn’t being trodden all over by other Star Trek shows… it didn’t get much of a marketing budget, hardly any tie-in merchandise, and Paramount always seemed to treat the show as secondary to Discovery and Picard. Even as those shows came to the end of their runs, there wasn’t as much love for Strange New Worlds as there should’ve been.

Still frame from Strange New Worlds Season 1 showing Captain Pike on horseback. — Captain Pike in the series premiere.

I heaped praise on Paramount back in 2020 for commissioning Strange New Worlds. The show wouldn’t have come to exist without the incredibly positive reaction fans had to Pike and Spock’s roles in Discovery Season 2, and I think it’s worth acknowledging how at least some folks at Paramount had the basic business acumen to recognise that. Strange New Worlds was prioritised ahead of Section 31, arguably contributing to that series being put on hold and eventually re-worked into the TV movie we got earlier this year. And I stand by what I’ve said multiple times: that was the right decision. Fans were clamouring for more adventures with these versions of Pike and Spock, as well as for an episodic series that returned Star Trek to its roots. It’s no exaggeration to say that Strange New Worlds is the Star Trek show that I and many other Trekkies had been waiting for for a very long time.

There’ll be time in the months and years ahead to give Strange New Worlds a proper autopsy, discussing what went wrong, what went right, and what lessons the newly-formed Skydance-Paramount corporation can learn for Star Trek’s future… if Star Trek has a future beyond the next few years. But for now… I just feel like wallowing, to be honest with you. The timing of the news caught me off-guard, with Season 3’s marketing campaign ramping up, and while a five-season run is in keeping with modern Star Trek and with Pike’s “five-year mission,” I’m still disappointed to learn that the end is nigh for Strange New Worlds.

Still frame from Strange New Worlds Season 2 showing the USS Enterprise. — The USS Enterprise.

Let’s talk a little about the timing, because this really is a bit of an oddity, isn’t it?

We’re weeks away from Season 3’s premiere. A new trailer was released just a few days ago. The cast are soon gonna be out and about on the interview circuit. This is categorically not the time to announce that the show is being cancelled! It risks overshadowing the marketing push for Season 3, and it risks turning away potential viewers. What’s the point, after all, in tuning in for Season 3 if the show’s about to be canned? A lot of people won’t read the whole press release; they’ll hear “Strange New Worlds is being cancelled” and push the series out of their minds. Paramount has always struggled with timing – and with plenty of other incredibly basic things that practically every other entertainment corporation handles better – but even by their standards this is pretty bad.

The only thing I can think of to justify the announcement is this: the news was about to be leaked. Someone at Paramount got wind of an imminent leak and jumped in first, trying to head it off. Maybe that’s what happened… I don’t know. It seems to me to be the only logical justification for the timing of this announcement.

Promo photo from Strange New Worlds Season 2 showing Spock. — Spock.

So what does all of this mean for Star Trek’s future?

This might have to be the subject of a longer piece in the weeks ahead (when I’ve had more time to process things and get my thoughts in order) but I have a couple of things to say at this stage.

Firstly, I sincerely hope Strange New Worlds can be Star Trek’s last prequel series – at least for a good long while. There were fun moments in Enterprise, Discovery’s first couple of seasons, and the Kelvin films… but for a franchise that’s always been about looking to the future, prequels have never felt right to me. Strange New Worlds has, in my view, been outstanding… but if there is to be more Star Trek on our screens in the years ahead, let’s move the timeline along instead of re-treading old ground. Many Strange New Worlds episodes would’ve worked just as well – if not better – had they been set in the Picard era. A few small tweaks here and there and you’d be all set!

Still frame from the Strange New Worlds Season 3 teaser showing Captain Pike. — Star Trek doesn’t need another prequel series.

Secondly, I feel increasingly certain that, by the time we get to 2028 or 2029, Star Trek as a whole will cease production.

There are other projects in production right now: two seasons of Starfleet Academy and potentially at least one season of Tawny Newsome’s “workplace comedy” show. To me, a reasonably plausible timeline might see us get Starfleet Academy next year, Strange New Worlds Season 4 in 2027, Starfleet Academy and/or the comedy show in 2028, and Strange New Worlds’ finale in 2028 or 2029. But after that? Paramount’s merger will have fully concluded, and it’ll be up to the new executives to decide what – if anything – they want to do with Star Trek.

When Paramount+ was beginning its painfully slow rollout a few years ago, I said that I wouldn’t be surprised if the streaming platform doesn’t make it to the end of the decade. And despite talks of a potential merger of Paramount+ with another platform, I feel like that looks more and more likely, too. The future of streaming feels like it’s going to consolidate around a few large, profitable platforms, meaning second-tier, unprofitable ones like Paramount+ are on the way out. I don’t see the merger changing that, either.

Will Paramount+ survive the decade?

What that means for Star Trek is that, if the franchise survives, it’ll likely be licesned out to someone like Netflix or Amazon in the future, rather than being made for Paramount’s own platform. Even in the Paramount+ era we’ve seen this; Prodigy was recently licensed to Netflix, though that deal is shortly coming to an end. With Netflix having been burned before, though, with both Discovery and Prodigy… will they want to make another investment in this beleaguered brand? If Star Trek kind of fizzles out in the second half of the 2020s, will it be an appealing prospect to any big streaming platform in the future?

Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. It’s still possible that the remaining seasons of Strange New Worlds or Starfleet Academy will bring in new viewers, attracting new eyes to Star Trek at just the right time to greenlight more from the franchise! Maybe that’s a little too optimistic for this moment, but my point is that you never know. Strange New Worlds is fantastic with its episodic storytelling, and Starfleet Academy has the potential, at least, to appeal to younger folks. There are a couple of glimmers of hope there, I feel.

Still frame from the Strange New Worlds Season 3 trailer showing multiple main characters with wine glasses. — Here’s to *Strange New Worlds*…

But none of that can hide the disappointment of today. Strange New Worlds – the show spawned by a fan campaign and which quickly became the best thing Star Trek has done in years – is cancelled. And Season 5 won’t even manage a measly ten episodes.

I’m glad that Star Trek was resurrected in 2017, and there have been some fantastic, hilarious, and emotional episodes produced over the past eight years. But we’re seeing the effect of Paramount’s epic mismanagement now; shows failing to find an audience, being either cut off from the world or squashed up too tightly together, and ultimately the result is premature cancellation. I don’t know what the future might hold for Star Trek beyond Strange New Worlds’ finale… but I hope whoever’s in charge of the franchise by that point does a better job than the current crop of executive morons.

Despite this disappointing news, I still hope to watch and review Strange New Worlds Season 3 later this summer, so be sure to check back for that. Until then… well, I don’t really have any encouraging or optimistic words to end on, I’m afraid.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now on Paramount+ and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. Season 3 will premiere on the 17th of July. The Star Trek franchise – including Strange New Worlds and all other properties discussed above – remains the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.