Star Trek 60th Anniversary Reflecting on the Franchise Trek at 60: Current Series and the Franchises' Future
Star Trek 60th Anniversary
Reflecting on the Franchise
Trek at 60:
Current Series and the Franchises' Future
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Spinning off of Discoverys second season and created in no small part because of the fan response to Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows the adventures of the USS Enterprise (as previously seen in Discovery) on the second five year mission under Captain Pike, in the years leading up to the events of the Original Series. Joining Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley (Number One) are Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet/Ensign/Lieutenant Uhura, Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel, Babs Olusunmokun as Dr. M'Benga, Christina Chong as Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia as Lieutenant Erica Ortegas, and in later seasons Carol Kane as Pelia, Martin Quinn as Montgomery Scott and Paul Wesley as Commander James T. Kirk. The first two seasons were produced back to back in 2021, with the show premiering in 2022. Season 2 would release a year later in 2023. The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 delayed the production of season 3 by a number of months, production would not begin until 2024, with the season releasing in 2025. Having recently concluded its 4th season the show has already been greenlit for and produced the 5th and final season, six episodes which will likely release in 2027. Fan opinion was been mixed, but overall much more positive than Discovery. Unlike previous shows Discovery and Picard, Strange New Worlds is (mostly) not serialized, consisting ofn standalone episodic stories, connected by character threads. Its story telling style often mirrors that of TOS and TNG, thus appealing to older Trek fans. I daresay Strange New Worlds is in many ways Trek getting back to its roots. Overall a pretty good (if sometimes uneven) series.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
For many years the idea of a series following cadets at Starfleet Academy had been bandied about, the academy itself being established in the Original Series and seen in the movies and TNG. Alex Kurtzman and Gaia Violo realized the idea with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a spinoff of Discovery set a year after the series finale and following the first class of Academy cadets at the newly reopened San Francisco campus. Starring Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir, Karim Diane as Jay-Den Kraag, the franchise first gay Klingon, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe, Gina Yashere as Commander Lura Thok, the half Klingon half Jem'Hadar cadet master and Robert Picardo again reprising his role as the Doctor. An interesting concept, though perhaps unnecessary, the show's first season premiered in 2026 to mixed reviews, many fans, including myself, not keen on returning to the 32nd century setting. Although a second season was greenlit at the same time as the first and has already been produced (and is set for a 2027 release), the second season will be the last. In 2027 the conclusion of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds will mark the end of Alex Kurtzman produced trek, in no small part due to the Skydance acquisition of Paramount.
The Future
On its 60th anniversary the Star Trek franchise, 12 series, 14 movies, nearly 1000 television episodes looks at an uncertain future. Sporadic talks of a new movie/movies in the works notwithstanding, for the first time in 9 years no new trek is in production. Perhaps the franchise needs a break. In 2005 following the cancellation of Enterprise the franchise sat in hiatus for 4 years until the release of Star Trek 2009. Perhaps another break would do the franchise good, to let new creative minds and new ideas take up the franchise at some point in the years to come and continue the tradition of boldly going. Or perhaps not. Perhaps this will be the end for the foreseeable future. I doubt it.
"What the future holds no one can know
but forward we look and forward we go"
-TNG "Second Chances"
Spinning off of Discoverys second season and created in no small part because of the fan response to Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows the adventures of the USS Enterprise (as previously seen in Discovery) on the second five year mission under Captain Pike, in the years leading up to the events of the Original Series. Joining Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley (Number One) are Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet/Ensign/Lieutenant Uhura, Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel, Babs Olusunmokun as Dr. M'Benga, Christina Chong as Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia as Lieutenant Erica Ortegas, and in later seasons Carol Kane as Pelia, Martin Quinn as Montgomery Scott and Paul Wesley as Commander James T. Kirk. The first two seasons were produced back to back in 2021, with the show premiering in 2022. Season 2 would release a year later in 2023. The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 delayed the production of season 3 by a number of months, production would not begin until 2024, with the season releasing in 2025. Having recently concluded its 4th season the show has already been greenlit for and produced the 5th and final season, six episodes which will likely release in 2027. Fan opinion was been mixed, but overall much more positive than Discovery. Unlike previous shows Discovery and Picard, Strange New Worlds is (mostly) not serialized, consisting ofn standalone episodic stories, connected by character threads. Its story telling style often mirrors that of TOS and TNG, thus appealing to older Trek fans. I daresay Strange New Worlds is in many ways Trek getting back to its roots. Overall a pretty good (if sometimes uneven) series.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
For many years the idea of a series following cadets at Starfleet Academy had been bandied about, the academy itself being established in the Original Series and seen in the movies and TNG. Alex Kurtzman and Gaia Violo realized the idea with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a spinoff of Discovery set a year after the series finale and following the first class of Academy cadets at the newly reopened San Francisco campus. Starring Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir, Karim Diane as Jay-Den Kraag, the franchise first gay Klingon, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe, Gina Yashere as Commander Lura Thok, the half Klingon half Jem'Hadar cadet master and Robert Picardo again reprising his role as the Doctor. An interesting concept, though perhaps unnecessary, the show's first season premiered in 2026 to mixed reviews, many fans, including myself, not keen on returning to the 32nd century setting. Although a second season was greenlit at the same time as the first and has already been produced (and is set for a 2027 release), the second season will be the last. In 2027 the conclusion of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds will mark the end of Alex Kurtzman produced trek, in no small part due to the Skydance acquisition of Paramount.
The Future
On its 60th anniversary the Star Trek franchise, 12 series, 14 movies, nearly 1000 television episodes looks at an uncertain future. Sporadic talks of a new movie/movies in the works notwithstanding, for the first time in 9 years no new trek is in production. Perhaps the franchise needs a break. In 2005 following the cancellation of Enterprise the franchise sat in hiatus for 4 years until the release of Star Trek 2009. Perhaps another break would do the franchise good, to let new creative minds and new ideas take up the franchise at some point in the years to come and continue the tradition of boldly going. Or perhaps not. Perhaps this will be the end for the foreseeable future. I doubt it.
"What the future holds no one can know
but forward we look and forward we go"
-TNG "Second Chances"
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