Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showrunners tease final seasons will move away from wacky “outlier” episodes
Over the past three seasons, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hasn’t shied away from taking big creative swings. From a crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks to full-on comedies and even a musical episode, the series has embraced experimentation. While those outlier installments have their devoted fans, others have been eager for a return to more classic Trek storytelling — and it sounds like they’ll get their wish… just in time for the series to come to an end.
Speaking with ScreenRant, co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman said we can expect fewer outliers in the show’s final two seasons.
“I think that it’s fair to say – as we come to the end of the show, because we’re making season 5 now – that we’re trending towards that, which is probably the center line of Star Trek,” he said. “We’re trending now, beginning with season 4 and through season 5 to a much more singular sci-fi, action-adventure with emotional storytelling. The outliers are getting fewer and fewer as we focus on saying goodbye to each other and the fans.“
That’s not to say season 4 will be all serious, as we already know a puppet-themed episode is on the way.
These episodes tend to split the fanbase, partly because they make up a significant portion of the season. With only ten episodes per year, even two or three experimental installments can feel like a lot — particularly if you’re not sold on the creative gamble the writers are making that week.
Before Star Trek: Discovery came along, most Star Trek seasons ran a hefty 26 episodes (give or take). That kind of schedule isn’t feasible in today’s TV landscape, but it did feel like you got more bang for your buck back then. With modern seasons capped at ten episodes, storylines have to move faster, and the slower, more organic development of relationships that defined the classic shows often gets lost.
The fourth season of Strange New Worlds will once again consist of ten episodes, but the fifth and final season will comprise only six episodes. That means that when Strange New Worlds does come to a close, the total count of the entire series will be just 46 episodes. Back in the day, that wasn’t even two full seasons, giving fans a reminder of just how much the streaming era has changed Star Trek.
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