Paramount has announced that the planned fifth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be the show’s final one. The news comes ahead of the show’s third season premier on the Paramount Plus streamer on July 17. The show’s fourth season is currently in production with the fifth season being targeted for a production start before the year’s end. That production schedule puts the airdate for that fifth season somewhere in 2027.
Whereas the previous four seasons ran or will run ten episodes each, Strange New Worlds‘ final season will be an abbreviated six episodes.
A prequel to the events of the original 1966 Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds follows the crew of the starship Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and sees some familiar characters who will eventually serve with Captain James T Kirk at an earlier part of their careers.
In a press release joint statement executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and Alex Kurtzman stated –
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. We’re deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew. 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.
A cancellation following a show’s fifth season has become something of the norm for Paramount Plus’s Star Trek multi-show franchise, with both Star Trek: Discovery and the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks getting their notices at the end of their respective fifth years despite strong ratings. This is, however, the first time that Paramount Plus has shortened that final year order from its previous usual length.
Strange New World‘s cancellation also leaves the Star Trek franchise on an even more unsure footing than before. It is the last of the longer running shows to get the axe, following Lower Deck‘s cancellation being announced in April 2024. A TV movie that could have conceivably served as a backdoor pilot for a series focusing on Starfleet’s secret black ops division, Section 31, debuted in January to nearly universal bad reviews. (You can read our review here.) As of right now, Paramount only has two new series on the horizon – Starfleet Academy, which is currently in production, and an unnamed live action action-comedy series being developed by Dear White People writer/director Justin Simien and Star Trek: Lower Decks actress-turned-Star Trek: Starfleet Academy writing staffer Tawny Newsome.
Via Hollywood Reporter.
