It’s been eight months since the official announcement that Captain Pike, Lieutenant Spock, and Number One would be helming the USS Enterprise in their own series, and now we’ve learned who else will be joining the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast!
As revealed today by Paramount+, the new Original Series prequel adventures of the Enterprise crew has officially begun production — and five new series regulars will be joining Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), and Rebecca Romijn (Number One) in their ongoing adventures to explore… well, you know.
Here’s the official press release from Pararmount+, which reveals little about the new cast’s roles on the series — not even character names.
March 12, 2021 – Paramount+, the new streaming service from ViacomCBS, today announced five new cast members joined the upcoming Original Series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. Babs Olusanmokun (“Black Mirror,” “Dune”), Christina Chong (“Tom and Jerry,” “Black Mirror”), Celia Rose Gooding (“Jagged Little Pill”), Jess Bush (“Skinford,” “Les Norton”) and Melissa Navia (“Dietland,” “Billions”) will join as series regulars. A teaser video featuring the series’ cast was also released today, announcing that production on the series is officially underway in Toronto, Canada.
“In a career, there is never enough work that is pure joy. I feel that my friend Alex Kurtzman along with David Stapf at CBS Studios and Julie McNamara at Paramount+ have given me just that by letting me haunt the stock rooms of my favorite candy store and I am grateful,” said Akiva Goldsman, co-showrunner and executive producer of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. “With a hell of a cast and undying love for the original series, we boldly go.”
“I’m incredibly grateful to be working alongside Akiva and our brilliant, multi-faceted cast to help bring the adventures of the Starship Enterprise to new life,” said Henry Alonso Myers, co-showrunner and executive producer of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. “For someone who’s been dreaming of spaceships and alien worlds since I was little, this show is a dream come true.”
Babs Olusanmokun’s notable television credits include his roles in Netflix’s “Black Mirror,” Marvel’s “The Defenders,” HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries “The Night Of” and History’s 2016 remake of the miniseries “Roots.” His film credits include the upcoming and highly anticipated “Dune” and “Wrath of Man.”
Christina Chong can currently be seen in the live-action adaption of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, “Tom and Jerry” and in The CW’s “Bulletproof.” Chong’s other television credits include “Black Mirror,” “Doctor Who,” the BBC’s “Ill Behaviour,” the ABC event mini-series “Of Kings and Prophets,” the hit BBC series “Line of Duty,” SYFY’s “Dominion,” “Halo: Nightfall” and Fox’s event `mini-series “24: Live Another Day.” Film credits include “Christmas Eve,” opposite Patrick Stewart, and “Johnny English: Reborn.”
Celia Rose Gooding starred as Frankie Healy in “Jagged Little Pill,” a musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s award-winning album, until the Broadway shutdown in 2021, and received a 2020 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her work. Past theater roles also include “Urinetown” and “Fame.”
Jess Bush starred as Helen in the indie feature “Skinford” and appeared in the recurring guest role of Kendall in the Channel 10 series “Playing for Keeps.” Bush also played the role of Bella in the Australian series “Halifax – Retribution.” In addition, Bush went on to guest star on the ABC series “Les Norton” opposite Rebel Wilson and David Wenham.
Melissa Navia’s recent television credits include a recurring role on AMC’s critically acclaimed series “Dietland” and guest roles on Showtime’s “Billions” and “Homeland.” In March 2020, she made her Off-Broadway debut in the much-applauded “Bundle of Sticks” at INTAR Theatre.
While there have been some rumors swirling about who some of the not-yet-revealed roles of Strange New Worlds may be, to date there has been no official word from Paramount+ about any additional character identities (outside of the three primary leads).
Also notable is that so far, none of the other Enterprise crew from Discovery Season 2 or the trio of Enterprise-centric Short Treks have been tapped as series regulars — such as Samora Smallwood’s Lt. Amin, or Amrit Kaur’s Cadet Sidhu — but, of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t make appearances in the new series.
In addition to today’s casting announcement, Paramount+ also released this new video, celebrating the kick-off of Season 1 production at the new CBS Studios facility outside of Toronto — of note, Ethan Peck has shaved the ends of his eyebrows for the makeup team to give him that perfect Vulcan look, and Rebecca Romijn has dyed her hair dark (rather than using a wig like in her Discovery guest spots).
The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiere episode is written by series co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman (the story by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet), who also directs the pilot.
We’ll continue to bring you all the latest news on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as it breaks.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for updates on all five currently-in-production shows, which along with Strange New Worlds includes Discovery Season 4, Picard Season 2, Lower Decks Season 2, and the first season of Prodigy!