After traversing the mushroom highway, fleeing the Mirror Universe, and jumping centuries into the far future, Star Trek: Discovery’s story will come to an end next year.
 
Announced today through StarTrek.com and the official franchise social media channels, the upcoming fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery, currently in post-production, will be the show’s last adventure — and won’t be here until sometime in early 2024, nearly two years after the Season 4 finale in March 2022.
 

Here’s the official statement on Discovery’s conclusion, attributed to franchise boss Alex Kurtzman and showrunner Michelle Paradise.

“Dearest Disco Family,

 

You discovered the mycelial network with us. You were there when we greeted Georgiou, Spock, Pike and Una… as we jumped into the future… as our heroes restored the Federation, solved the DMA and left their home galaxy… as Michael Burnham, former mutineer, sat in the Captain’s chair for the very first time.

 

There is much adventure yet to come in season five – but today we share the bittersweet news that after 65 incredible episodes with Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, the upcoming season premiering in early 2024 will be our last. No series continues forever, of course, so this day was always going to come. We are forever grateful to have been able to share such an amazing journey with you.

 

Thank you for your love of DISCOVERY. Thank you for inviting us into your homes, and for trusting us with this show. Thank you for appreciating and supporting our incredible cast and crew. Thank you for the passion and excitement you’ve brought to this fandom – online, at conventions, and when we’ve seen you out in the world. We’ve loved meeting you, hearing what DISCOVERY means to you, and getting to share what it means to us, too. And rest assured, we’re not going anywhere just yet! There’s still work to be done to finish season five and we’re excited for you to see our exciting and satisfying conclusion.

 

We also have some very special fan events planned for the months ahead, so that we can all celebrate DISCOVERY and our incredible cast together. More details to come on that – and on our premiere date – very soon. Until then, as Burnham would say: Let’s fly!”

While Season 5 finished principal photography back in November, The Hollywood Reporter notes that “there will be additional filming to help craft a conclusion for the series,” indicating that the year wasn’t intended to be the show’s last when production began.

The extent of that additional filming — whether it be additional episodes or simply a re-do of the Season 5 finale’s ending to wrap the show — is yet to be known.

Series lead Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham) also shared a statement on Discovery’s announced conclusion (through the above-linked Hollywood Reporter article):

“I can hardly believe that this mind-blowing journey with Discovery is ending. I’m astoundingly blessed by God to have played Captain Michael Burnham and to have taken part in a legacy alongside an extraordinary cast, phenomenal crew and remarkable writing team.

 

To our most supportive partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+, who insisted on making television history, I’m deeply grateful. I’m also deeply grateful for the creative collaboration with our showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Olatunde Osunsanmi and the incomparable team of executive producers. I will never forget how it felt to stand together as a show family, cradling the heirloom of Trek with all those from the franchise at large and with the fans.

 

The fans welcomed us into their hearts as we launched a new iteration of Trek and an entire entertainment platform, and we’ll never forget it. 65 episodes later, here’s to the entire company of Star Trek: Discovery, to the show and its fifth and final season, to its beloved fans and to all those who envision a better future. Let’s fly…”

We’ve got a long wait until the end of Star Trek: Discovery’s journey, but in the meantime there’s still plenty of Trek to come in 2023, including the final episodes of Star Trek: Picard and additional seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Prodigy.

Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are expected to get additional season orders, and Prodigy’s second season is likely to be split into 10-episode runs in 2023 and 2024 (mirroring the show’s first two years on the air). Official news on these shows, however, has not yet been announced by Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery is currently in production on its fifth and final season, expected to debut on Paramount+ sometime in early 2024.