Two years after the show was first announced, the long-awaited Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series is nearly here! Focused on the adventures of the USS Enterprise in the days before Captain Kirk, it’s been hard to dampen the excitement I think we’re all feeling.
It’s been almost three years since the last Short Trek centered around this Enterprise crew, so I’m more than ready for a return to the mid-23rd century. With its brightly-colored uniforms and unforgettable hairstyles, there’s a lot to get excited about — and here’s what I’m looking forward to seeing the most!
ENTERPRISE AESTHETICS, ENHANCED
Strange New Worlds is taking us back to the place it all began: the Constitution-class USS Enterprise, with no bloody A, B, C, D or E — and wow, does the updated NCC-1701 design look good.
While the ship’s exterior update remains relatively unchanged from its debut in in Star Trek: Discovery (with only a few minor tweaks since 2019), John Eaves’ take on the classic Enterprise design has become a favorite to many fans and I am really excited to see it take center stage.
As for the interior of the ship, the Strange New Worlds production team has taken Jeffries’ original designs and brought them into the 21st century, while still giving us all that wonderful 23rd century retro-future charm we know and love. Boiled-sweet buttons, big sirens, bold colors, and smooth lines — it’s all there, a wonderful mix of the original aesthetic and bold new ideas.
Originally designed for Discovery’s Season 2 finale, the Enterprise bridge has been modified and relit in several ways since that time to bring just the right amount of that TOS aesthetic into the new series. Main engineering has also been significantly redesign since the “Ask Not” Short Trek, taking advantage of the new AR wall technology now available to the two Toronto Trek productions.
The huge space, full of machinery, still has the same lines and look as Scotty’s original engine room — but now the enhanced visual effects allow for the inclusion of plasma manifolds and all the other tech needed to power the enormous starship.
Other set-design updates range from the larger sickbay compartment and transporter room — each featuring significant upgrades from the 1960s — to the Enterprise Jeffries tubes which retain their decades-old charm and are only slightly tweaked for modern film production.
These new takes on old designs extend well beyond the standing sets, and expand outward to Starfleet shuttlecraft, phasers, tricorders, communicators, and more. Thanks to the close look available to fans in Mission Chicago’s prop and costume exhibit, we can clearly see the care and attention that’s gone into these designs — all which speaks to how much this show is being made with a deep love of The Original Series.
We’re even seeing a return of some set dressings from “The Cage,” such as the fabulous landing party jackets! The new uniforms themselves are an innovative homage to the classic velour look of the 1960s, and have grown on me a lot since I first saw them. I can happily say my opinion has gone from a definite “meh” to a decisive “How do I get one!”
OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FACES
From what we’ve seen in the character trailers, the cast of Strange New Worlds is not going to disappoint at all. While we’ve been excited for the return of the Enterprise crew for for two years now, we’ve got a whole new set of characters to look forward to, as well as a trio of returning faces from the Original Series finally getting their chance in the spotlight.
The story of Captain Pike (Anson Mount) was already tragic before Discovery, and was made even more interesting with his discovery of his destiny. Strange New Worlds seems ready to tackle this head-on, and from what we’ve seen of him confiding in Spock, the question of his fate will haunt Pike for most of this series. How will it affect his command? His relationships? We certainly see him getting up to something in the bedroom. Whatever direction Anson Mount takes the captain in “act two” of the Christopher Pike story, I’m ready for it.
Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) — Number One’s full name, revealed for the first time — will finally be getting the deep development she deserves, with the excellent Rebecca Romijn bringing us a new version of the character that looks set to explore the difficulties of command on a Starship. Number One is very much a clean slate in many ways, so I’m interested to see how Strange New Worlds treats the stoic character.
Beyond our captain and first officer, I think we’re all excited to see the return of many fan favorites from the original series, who are finally getting the character development they truly deserve.
From what we’ve seen of Celia Rose Gooding’s take on Cadet Nyota Uhura, the actor is bringing all the charm, wit, and grace we would expect from the Enterprise’s communications officer. Getting to finally give Uhura the backstory she deserves is a real treat, and I’m looking forward to it.
The return of Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) was a pleasant surprise to me, and I’m very interested to see what they do with the character. With his television appearances limited to just two episodes — fifty-plus years ago — there’s a lot of room for development.
La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and Hemmer (Bruce Horak) look to be assured favorites from the start, and I’m certain already a big fan of all three. Bringing back the Aenar — the blind, telepathic Andorian subspecies from Star Trek: Enterprise — for more than just a small cameo is an inspired move, and the introduction of another engineering genius is always a delight.
I’m intrigued by the introduction of La’an, however: will there be a follow-up to the Augments arc from Enterprise, or will her tale be an entirely new story? Lt. Ortegas, the classic hotshot pilot, looks to be a lot of fun too (with Navia knocking it out of the part — quip-wise, that is).
And would it be Star Trek without Spock (Ethan Peck)? Peck’s stellar performance as the series icon continues from his time aboard Discovery, still a long way from the stoic Vulcan of Leonard Nimoy’s era — but he’s on his way, and I’m excited to see this part of the characters’ journey.
Alien Worlds: Possibly New, Definitely Strange
Star Trek has always been about the places it takes us, and Strange New Worlds is no exception.
From Pike beaming directly into a heated political argument, to the crew exploring an abandoned starship, from ancient ruins to the surface of a comet, this show is setting up an amazing collection of environments and adventures for us to enjoy. It looks like the writers have been taking advantage of the new AR set wall — put to such excellent use in Discovery Season 4 — to bring these worlds to life, but it also looks like we’re getting some fun outdoor set-pieces too.
Strange New Worlds also has the chance to follow up on threads that were last mentioned in the Enterprise prequel series.. The possibility of a return to the Denobulans, Tholians, or even the Orion Syndicate is exciting, but so is the introduction of new species, peoples, and characters. Strange New Worlds has the opportunity to expand and flesh out the Trek galaxy we first saw over half a century ago, and I’m hoping they take full advantage of the series’ setting.
Camp Nonsense
If there’s one thing that can be said of the Original Series, is that it’s not very serious — at least, not all of the time. Sure, we got those moral messages of the week, but with them came Tribbles, sex pollen, evil witches, gangster planets, and a dozen other outrageous things. While we’ve gotten a lot of weird and wacky storylines by way of Star Trek: Lower Decks, I for one am very excited to some of that classic camp nonsense to live action.
While the teaser trailers haven’t given away much about the week-to-week storylines, it’s pretty clear that the crew are in for some medieval fantasy hijinks of some kind, with the ships’ corridors adorned in vines — while the crew battle it out with swords and bows while wearing some fantastic outfits!
Even beyond this high-fantasy adventure, the quips and conversations we’ve seen show that Strange New Worlds isn’t going to keep a straight face the whole time. Getting to return to Vulcan — in some form or another — to watch Spock battle using lirpa weapons looks like it’ll be just as fun too.
With its return to episodic, planet-of-the-week-style storytelling, Strange New Worlds has the chance to give us adventures where the weight of the galaxy isn’t on our heroes’ shoulders… and hopefully, a fair few where the stakes are not just lower, but a little stranger, too. (Frankly, if Kirk is allowed to face off with the ghost of Jack the Ripper, I think Pike should be allowed a silly adversary or two along the way.)
There’s a lot to look forward to with Strange New Worlds — and I’m sure your list of hopes and wishes for the series is as long as mine — and May 5 can’t get here fast enough.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuts on Thursday, May 5 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada. Additional international distribution has not yet been announced.