It came as a nasty shock for many fans to hear that Star Trek Discovery Season 4 wouldn’t arrive in the UK until early 2022, while American Trekkies could enjoy the adventures of Michael Burnham, Tilly, Saru, and co. in weekly instalments from November and running across the Christmas period.
Aside from feeling left out and being behind on the action, the main problem is spoilers: how can you dodge social media and other online outlets who might not mean to give away important plot points and revelations, but will still want to share their thoughts on Discovery?
Fortunately, the Star Trek community heard fans’ cries and reacted by making it available in the UK more widely and earlier than expected. Nonetheless, some still don’t know how they can watch Star Trek Discovery Season 4 – so here are a few ways you can tune in.
But first, what can you actually expect from Star Trek Discovery Season 4?
Obviously, this run of stories picks up after Season 3, in which the crew of the USS Discovery found themselves in the far future; met new friends like Cleveland “Book” Booker (and his cat, Grudge) and the Trill, Adira; and discovered the secret of “The Burn”, a shocking event which effectively destroyed the United Federation of Planets after their ships’ warp cores exploded, causing mass destruction, death, and distrust.
The major new direction for Star Trek Discovery Season 4 is that the titular ship has a new captain: Michael Burnham, played by the returning Sonequa Martin-Green. In the time between seasons, the Federation has been reconnecting with distant planets, so it’s certainly in a healthier place than it was when we joined in Season 3.
But the USS Discovery still has a lot to worry about: in episode one, ‘Kobayashi Maru’ (named after the training course for cadets at the newly-reopened Starfleet Academy), they’re sent on a rescue mission to the Deep Space Repair Beta 6 space station, which has been hit by a gravitational anomaly. And in episode two, ‘Anomaly,’ Michael has to help Book cope with unimaginable grief, while the USS Discovery has to investigate the titular anomaly up-close – which is troubling, considering it appears to be a roving binary black hole.
Most of the regular cast members from Season 3 are back, including Doug Jones (Saru), Mary Wiseman (Tilly), David Ajala (Book), and Blu del Barrio (Adira).
They also have snazzy new costumes.
So now your appetite is sufficiently whetted, how can you enjoy Star Trek Discovery Season 4?
Wait for Star Trek Discovery Season 4 on Paramount +
The main reason Star Trek Discovery Season 4’s airdate was delayed in the UK (and other countries, like Germany, France, and Russia) is because a new streaming platform will be launching in early 2022 and will seemingly be the home of Star Trek for the foreseeable future. The service will also feature a whole host of other content from ViacomCBS Networks International.
Paramount + (essentially, the renamed CBS All Access) has already launched in the USA, as well as quite a few other countries including Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Sweden, and Uruguay. Those countries got to see the first two episodes of Star Trek Discovery Season 4 from Friday 26th November 2021.
The UK launch date for Paramount + hasn’t been announced yet, although it will certainly be in early next year. In August 2021, ViacomCBS reached a deal with Sky to give viewers access to Paramount +, i.e. anyone with Sky Cinema (and Sky Q.)
One option is to simply wait for Paramount +. But don’t worry: that’s definitely not your only option…
Watch Star Trek Discovery Season 4 on Pluto TV
You can watch Star Trek Discovery Season 4 on another streaming platform – one that’s completely free and easy to access!
Season 4 is playing on Pluto TV, which already hosts a lot of great TV shows and films like Hell’s Kitchen, Skins, Wild at Heart, Mythbusters, Baywatch, Tales from the Crypt, and Terminal.
You can download the Pluto TV app onto any smart device, including a Smart TV. And yep, it’s completely free.
Some content is available to watch through its On Demand subsection, but Star Trek Discovery Season 4 is airing like traditional terrestrial-like TV, i.e. on a channel at a given time.
New episodes air at 9pm (local time) on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel each Friday, then are repeated each Saturday and Sunday (a simulcast runs on the Star Trek channel in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany). That began with ‘Kobayashi Maru’ on Friday 26th November, but watch out for repeats and you still have time to catch the rest of the season.
Buy the whole season via streaming services
Pluto TV isn’t the only streaming service hosting Star Trek Discovery, but it is the only free one: you can watch Star Trek Discovery Season 4 using another digital service, notably Amazon Prime.
Costs will vary slightly, but let’s take Prime as an example. Each episode is just £1.89 in Standard Definition, or £2.49 in HD. Episodes are made available weekly, although you can also purchase a full season pass at a cheaper rate, so you can watch each as soon as they come to the UK market.
Wait for the DVD / Blu-ray
If you have the patience of a saint, you could simply wait until Star Trek Discovery Season 4 is released on DVD and Blu-ray (steelbooks have become customary too.) This is perfect for dedicated fans who prefer to have physical media to streaming content which can, let’s face it, disappear overnight. It guarantees longevity.
But you really will have a while to wait. For instance, Season 3 came out on DVD on 15th November 2021 in the UK, despite finishing airing in early January. Yep, you’ll have nearly a year to twiddle your thumbs.
Or if you have a region-free player, i.e. one that will play Region 1 discs (the UK and Europe are Region 2), you could have a slightly shorter wait on your hands: Season 3 was released in the USA in July 2021. Obviously, that means buying from an American distributor, incurring further shipping costs. It all depends on how desperate you are to own your own copy of Season 4.
How are you going to be watching Star Trek Discovery Season 4? Which is the right option for you? Let me know in the comments below.
Star Trek Discovery: Starfleet Academy scarf – order now from the Lovarzi shop!
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