‘Star Trek’ Post SDCC 2024: How We Doing?
San Diego Comic Con 2024 is over. And with a week to settle our minds, let’s look at the state of Star Trek and its future.
Star Trek is in the most tumultuous state it’s been in since Star Trek: Discovery debuted on the then CBS All Access streaming network. Despite the complexity of that previous era, we’ve seen the likes Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, and a host of “Short Treks”.
But that time is over. By the end of 2024, the only remaining shows (as of now) will be SNW. However, there’s A LOT on the horizon. And thanks to San Diego Comic Con we have a better idea of what’s beyond that horizon.
To put it simply: the future is weird, y’all. That’s not a plus/minus value judgment, by the way. The future is weird for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it’s not cohesive yet. Each of the upcoming adventures is totally different from the others (in format as well as aesthetic) so it’s hard to tell if there’s a unifying vision just yet.
What we do know, however, is that there’s a lot of experimenting going on. They’re seeking out a lot of new life and new potential syndications over at Paramount. So, yeah, it’s a little weird. But weird is interesting, so let’s go through all the SDCC-related Trek updates from least to most interesting and talk about where we may be heading.
Star Trek and Doctor Who: Friendship is Magic(ish)
If there is one story going into SDCC 2024 that captures the imagination most, it’s the panel which pairs Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman and Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies together. The question, naturally, going into the panel is, “will Star Trek and Doctor Who cross over?” We even dedicated a whole article to that question.
The answer to the question is: not yet. Technically, the answer is that there’s a mobile game crossing the Lower Decks crew over with the 10th Doctor. But let’s be honest, that’s not what fans are hoping for.
It’s lovely seeing Kurtzman and Davies sharing their devotion for one another’s franchises. It makes sense! If you watch Star Trek the odds that you also watch Doctor Who are pretty high!
But it’s such a bummer that the whole thing winds up being one big hypothetical. Sure Davies and Kurtzman talk about their wish lists—what they would write in the other’s franchises, which villains they love, et cetera. After all that, it feels like something big is coming, like somehow Paramount and Disney did somehow ink a deal for a crossover movie. And that it just doesn’t happen.
There’s one, basic criticism and it’s this: stop saying “it’s up to the fans” (something Davies and Kurtzman say in their panel). In some small way, if everyone watches both series it’s good for business and that’s all. You can’t wish really hard and make a crossover happen. It’s business. That’s it.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
Star Trek Workplace Comedy is Ballin’ on a Budget
No one was expecting a new Star Trek show announcement. And yet. In addition to updates on the other upcoming Trek projects, there is also a live-action workplace comedy on the way. The series is being co-created by Dear White People creator Justin Simien and Lower Deck’s own Tawny Newsome (as well as EP Alex Kurtzman). The show is set on a resort planet and it’s going to have Parks and Recreation vibes.
To get it out of the way: Lower Decks is already a workplace comedy with Tawny Newsome. It’s still a bummer that it’s going away after this year’s fifthe and final season. But this all tracks. Shows lose viewership over time. Crews renegotiate for more money over time. And a workplace comedy set in one primary location likely means a low budget. So there’s nothing mystifying about replacing one comedy with another in this case. A little bit of a bummer? Yes. A surprise? No.
That being said, my lobes are tingling because this is an opportunity. In fact, a Ferengi bar (owned by Quark perhaps) feels like a gimme. But in general there’s a chance to re-explore the original Deep Space Nine dynamic where people come to a location and the ecosystem has to adapt. There was comedy mined out of that on DS9, there’s comedy to be mined here.
Sufficed to say, this has potential, but since all we have is an announcement let’s keep our expectations tempered.
Strange New Worlds and the Vulcan Hijinks Trifecta
Thus far, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has made a habit of placing a Vulcan comedy in the fifth episode slot of each of its first two seasons. At SDCC this year, we got a clip which suggests that trend will continue at least one more time. And that revelation is, to be honest, a mixed bag.
On the one hand, the SNW cast are great at comedy. And the idea of them all playing Vulcans for laughs is, admittedly, a good concept on paper. The clip shown at SDCC has some great bits: Pike’s even more enormous hair, the constant jokes at Spock’s expense, Carol Kane just being Carol Kane—it’s good stuff.
But the execution of the concept doesn’t make sense. And while Star Trek isn’t always great about internal logic, it feels egregious to throw deuces at internal logic, especially in an episode about Vulcans.
And yet the pitch is that Pike, Uhura, La’an, and Chapel basically take a Vulcan pill. They don’t just look like Vulcans—they are Vulcans replete with cold logic. If this was a situation where Spock made a monkey’s paw wish, I’d say fine, but that’s not how genetics works. It’s a funny concept to be sure. But it’s a disservice to Star Trek to ignore basic biological science altogether.
This is the complex line developing in the latest Trek incarnation—an inability to know the line between Star Trek as science and Star Trek as comedy. There’s room for both, but the measurement has to be right.
Section 31 Feels Very Now—Good?
Between strikes and Michelle Yeoh’s very successful career, it’s been a bit of a wait on Section 31. And we’ll be waiting a while longer, too, since the “Long Trek” will not debut until 2025. However, the teaser trailer gives us enough to whet the ol’ Trekkie whistle—and what we’ve seen looks cool!
The teaser trailer shows us a young Philippa Georgiou and introduces us to a number of characters including future Enterprise-C captain Rachel Garrett. There’s bleach blonde Vulcans, shape-shifters, and mech suits maybe? But the big take away (for me at least) is the look. The hairstyles, the makeup, the costumes all feel pulled from our current aesthetics. I wouldn’t call anything off-the-rack street wear, but it’s closer than we usually get on Star Trek.
And that’s actually interesting, right? In theory, those aesthetics will still feel current in 2025 giving Section 31 a very strong connection to the moment. The question is: how quickly does this present-inspired vibe start to feel dated.
Modern fashion in sci-fi is actually a bigger risk than I think most people realize. Because, yes, while, say, the uniforms and street wear created for Star Trek: The Next Generation always felt a little creaky, they felt then (and still feel now) like a vision of the 24th century and not an alternate version of the ’90s. By comparison look at the original Star Trek‘s mini skirts or the very ’70s fashion of Star Wars: A New Hope. Those choices will always feel like the ’60s and ’70s respectively.
The point is: there’s a risky choice being made in Section 31’s fashion design and I think that’s really exciting. You should, too.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is Really, Really Happening
When Starfleet Academy was first announced, there was good reason to be skeptical that it would happen. This idea comes up a lot in Star Trek history and it never happens. Also, given the state of all streaming media. Paramount Plus included, a show with that kind of budget is a gamble.
Slowly but surely, though, the good news keeps ramping up. First it was Hollywood legend Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti joining the cast. Then it was the introduction of our young cadets. But the big news comes at SDCC with the revelation that we’ve got loads more familiar faces joining up.
From Star Trek: Discovery there’s Tig Notaro’s character Jett Reno as a series regular as well as Mary Wiseman and Oded Fehr returning as Vance and Tilly respectively as recurring cast.
And then there’s biggest casting news of all: Robert Picardo returns as the Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager. This is massive news as Picardo’s Doctor is easily one of the franchise’s most beloved characters. He’s already seen a triumphant return in the animated world of Star Trek: Prodigy but having him in the flesh for Starfleet Academy is simply the stuff dreams are made of.
In short: this is Starfleet Academy‘s game to lose. Everything about the show at this moment is a perfect balance of old and new. Now they just need to make it happen. But undoubtedly, there’s nothing more exciting in the Star Tek universe right now than this. If there’s anything worth building all of the franchise around moving forward, it’s Starfleet Academy.
