In something of a surprise, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has been renewed for a fifth and final season, Paramount+ announced on Thursday, over a month before the third season premieres on the streamer on July 17. The concluding season will run for six episodes, whereas the other four seasons are comprised of 10 episodes each.
In a joint statement, executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and Alex Kurtzman said they were “deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew.”
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“From the very beginning, ‘Strange New Worlds’ set out to honor what ‘Star Trek’ has always stood for — boundless curiosity, hope and the belief that a better future is possible,” the statement continued. “And to the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey — thank you. With three more spectacular seasons ahead for you to see and enjoy, this adventure is far from over.”
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As a prequel series, “Strange New Worlds” has never been coy about where it’s ultimately heading. The show takes place in the years when Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) led the USS Enterprise before James T. Kirk (played on “Strange New Worlds” by Paul Wesley) took command — as depicted on “Star Trek,” the original series in the 1960s. On TOS, Pike is introduced as a man who’s been horribly disfigured and paralyzed, and on “Strange New Worlds,” Pike knows of his eventual tragic fate even as he forges ahead as the Enterprise’s captain.
Goldsman, Myers and Kurtzman’s statement that the series is ending “just as we envisioned it” does suggest the show would deal with the full story of what caused Pike’s accident in some meaningful way. The question is when that event would occur on the show in relation to the series finale, especially considering the reduced episode count for Season 5.
Another major curiosity is whether the “Strange New Worlds” story would continue in a spin-off series set on the Kirk-era Enterprise. Several other actors on the show also play iconic “Trek” characters who debuted on TOS, including Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Chapel (Jess Bush) and the newest addition to the “Strange New Worlds” cast, Martin Quinn as Scotty. And the showrunners have not been shy about their desire to keep telling stories about those characters.
In 2022, after the Season 1 finale, Myers told Variety that he “would love nothing more” than to continue the story of the TOS-era Enterprise. The following year, Goldsman told Variety that “given our druthers — because Henry and I are both greedy and gluttons for punishment — we’d go right into the TOS era and see what happens.”
Whatever happens on the show, Season 5 won’t arrive on streaming for a least a couple of years. Season 4 is currently in production, and likely won’t premiere until mid-to-late 2026. The show is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Aaron Baiers, Dana Horgan, Alan McElroy, Robbie Thompson, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Chris Fisher, Anson Mount, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth all serve as executive producers.
