The future is looking bright for Star Trek fans, as a raft of recommissions (including Strange New Worlds) have just been announced.
This means we’ll get to enjoy more seasons of favourites like Star Trek: Discovery and Picard, as well as shows we’ve not even seen yet like Strange New Worlds.
Here’s what you need to know about the recent announcements…
Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for Season 5, while it’s been confirmed that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will already get a second season – that is, before Season 1 has debuted! Then again, we’re certain that Strange New Worlds will be a massive hit, as we’ve seen these iterations of Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Spock (Ethan Peck), and co. in action, throughout Discovery Season 2.
Strange New Worlds‘ renewal is not entirely unexpected: we’ve seen hints across social media that production is gearing up once more. With Season 1 in the bag and set to premiere from Thursday 5th May 2022 on Paramount+, that can only mean the cast and crew are largely going to be back for Season 2.
That’s not all: on the animation side of things, Star Trek: Lower Decks will be back for Season 4, and we’ll get to enjoy a second season of Prodigy too (aimed at younger viewers but there’s plenty for older viewers as well, notably the return of Kate Mulgrew reprising her Voyager role as Captain Kathryn Janeway.)
These announcements come after it was confirmed that Season 2 of Picard, starring Patrick Stewart as the titular former captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), will begin airing on Paramount+ (in America) and Amazon Prime (in the UK) in March 2022.
While all these renewals are exciting, perhaps the most surprising is Discovery Season 5 – not because the show doesn’t deserve a long run, but because it’s set to drop to just 10 episodes. Season 1 was comprised of 15 episodes, Season 2 of 14, and Seasons 3 and 4 of 13 each. So why are there fewer episodes in Discovery Season 5? We don’t know just yet, but it’s likely due to it switching between streaming services. Indeed, this will be the first season made with Paramount+ in mind, not Netflix or CBS All Access.
Nonetheless, this brings it in line with the other live-action Star Trek shows, all of which consist of 10-episode seasons.
Yes, it’s disappointing that we’ll get fewer episodes with the Discovery crew, but at least the Trek universe is expanding exponentially, so we won’t feel short-changed. In fact, we can’t wait to explore Strange New Worlds, which will feel like a natural extension of Discovery.
It was also announced that Discovery Season 4 will resume from 10th February 2022 on Paramount+, after a mid-season break over the festive period. Of course, we don’t know which characters will make it through this run of episodes, but we expect the main cast (including Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Saru, and Mary Wiseman as Tilly) to come back for Discovery Season 5 too. Unless, that is, something shocking happens, like the death of a major character…
So what does the future look like for Star Trek fans? In a word: busy!
February 2022 will see three episodes of Discovery streaming on the 10th, 17th, and 24th in America, while the 10th episode of Prodigy Season 1 airs on the 3rd February, before taking a mid-series break.
Discovery Season 4 will continue into the following month, on the 3rd and 10th March 2022, concluding on the 17th March in America. Fortunately, Picard runs concurrently from the 3rd March (but beginning on the 19th March in the UK; Discovery Season 4’s UK return hasn’t been revealed yet). So even when Discovery has sailed into the murky depths of space, we’ll still have 10 episodes of Picard to enjoy, running into May 2022.
So when does Star Trek: Strange New Worlds begin?
American viewers will say goodbye to Picard Season 2 and welcome in Strange New Worlds Season 1 on the same day: 5th May 2022!
Sadly, no UK airdate has been announced for Strange New Worlds yet – nor a broadcaster! Chances are, it’ll go to the highest bidder, which could be Netflix, Amazon Prime, or another streaming service – at least until Paramount+ launches in the UK (reportedly later this year.)
Strange New Worlds will take us into July 2022, so fans will get their regular fill of Trek until at least the summer. And that’s not all.
Later this year, Prodigy Season 1 will resume with a further 10 episodes, and we’ll similarly get 10 episodes of Lower Decks Season 3.
Beyond that, we’re making educated guesses – presumptions based on how often shows have been airing and when pre-production has been kicking into gear. Still, we’re fairly certain that 2023 will see Picard Season 3, Discovery Season 5, Prodigy Season 2, Lower Decks Season 4, and Strange New Worlds Season 2. All of these will consist of 10 episodes each, except for Prodigy, which has an unknown episode count, although it’s a fair bet that it’ll follow Season 1’s example and feature 20 episodes, split into two runs of 10.
But that proposed schedule might leave the end of 2022 unusually empty, so we wouldn’t be surprised if Discovery Season 5 begins in Winter 2022.
Obviously, rough schedules could change depending on a number of factors, most prominently the situation with Covid-19. Numerous productions have been delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, including high-profile Marvel projects like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Either way, we’re sure the next couple of years (at least!) are going to be especially thrilling for Star Trek fans. Which series are you most looking forward to?
Star Trek: Discovery beanie hat – order now from the Lovarzi shop!
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