Star Trek producers explain how Strange New Worlds "harkens back" to The Original Series

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
(Image credit: CBS)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will tell the tale of Captain Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise before The Original Series. That's a tall order, made only slightly easier by the fact the new cast already appeared in Star Trek Discovery.

Speaking to SFX Magazine for the new issue, featuring Stranger Things on the cover, executive producer Akiva Goldsman says that the writers of this series have tried to "harken back" to some of the values and styles that were synonymous with ’60s Trek. 

"In doing so, we’ve tried to look back and interpolate some parts of TOS that might not have made it to the screen, some things that might have happened just before Jim Kirk took over the Enterprise," he says. "And as such, some familiar faces are finding new life."

Specifically, he’s referring to The Original Series characters like Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), fresh-out-of-Starfleet cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and even James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), who we’re promised will appear in a second season. These familiar characters will populate Pike’s world and his bridge, and serve as an invitation to classic Trek fans who may not have connected to the other new series to give this one a try. 

Fellow executive producer Alex Kurtzman says Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a show concerned with exploring the final frontier when the concept is still at its infancy in the mythology of Star Trek. "It’s when the maiden voyages of the Enterprise were just starting," he says. "And there’s the sense of hope, the sense of optimism, the sense of exploration, and the spirit of adventure." 

That also means a return to episodic storytelling, which was the format for The Original Series. Despite being a fan of serialized storytelling in general, and having advocated for its introduction into Trek going back to Deep Space Nine, Goldsman says that returning to the self-contained stories was the right choice. 

"It’s allowed us to do a few things that we haven’t been able to do in serialized storytelling," he teases.

You can check out the full interview with the Star Trek team in the current issue of SFX Magazine, which features Stranger Things season 4 on the cover. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount Plus from May 5 in the US. Additional international availability will be announced at a later date. For more from SFX, make sure to sign up to the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

TOPICS
Freelance Writer

Tara is the NYT bestselling author (or co-author) of 30 movie and TV companion books including the upcoming official history of Marvel Studios. She's also a freelance journalist with bylines at print and online publications such as: SCI FI Magazine, Total Film, SYFY Wire, Today.com, Fandom, Fandango/Movies.com, Fancast, Newsarama, Star Wars: Insider, Walking Dead Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, LOST: The Official Magazine, Alias Magazine, 24 Magazine, and VFXWorld.com. She is also the U.S. Editor for the world’s premiere sci-fi/fantasy publication, SFX Magazine. She is the host and producer for SYFY Wire’s official podcasts for USA Network’s, Colony, HISTORY's Project Blue Book official podcast, and the Lost retrospective, Through the Looking Glass co-hosted with Maureen Ryan.

With contributions from
Read more
Michelle Yeoh as Georgiou in Section 31
Star Trek movie star is "terrified" about how new film Section 31 will be received by fans, as he feared it “might not feel like Trek at all"
Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Section 31
The director of Michelle Yeoh's new Star Trek movie details how it's gone through "seven different iterations" over five years, with everything changing but two character names
Star Trek Discovery
Star Trek timeline: Boldly go on a chronological journey through the Trek universe
William Shatner in Star Trek
William Shatner was "so impressed" by a Star Trek writer's idea for a new Captain Kirk return that he's ready to give them a shot: "I'm awaiting a pitch"
Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Section 31
Star Trek: Section 31 cameo explained – breaking down the A-list appearance no one saw coming
Neel in Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew is everything I never knew we needed from Star Wars
Latest in Action Movies
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
John Wick 4
John Wick 5 is still in the works, but Lionsgate isn't confirming Keanu Reeves' return just yet: "We're all on bated breath waiting to find out"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn on set of Joker 2
Lady Gaga jokingly celebrates Joker 2 reception and Razzie nominations: "Joke's on them. I love winning things"
Latest in News
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
The Witcher 3
Resident Evil and Witcher 3 mocap director says video game industry layoffs have made it so "nothing is guaranteed," but AI won’t be replacing real actors "anytime soon"
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Stardew Valley player bringing a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to ConcernedApe's farming sim, now with Larian's seal of approval, says they've played over 1,500 hours and will improve the mod
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series