| Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Showrunners |
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| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Paramount+ |
| Original release | June 15 (2023-06-15) – August 10, 2023 (2023-08-10) |
| Season chronology | |
← Previous Season 1 Next → Season 3 | |
| List of episodes | |
The second season of the American television seriesStar Trek: Strange New Worlds follows CaptainChristopher Pike and the crew of thestarshipEnterprise in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds and carry out missions during the decade beforeStar Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969). The season was produced byCBS Studios in association withSecret Hideout,Weed Road Pictures, H M R X Productions, andRoddenberry Entertainment, withAkiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers asshowrunners.
Anson Mount,Ethan Peck, andRebecca Romijn respectively star as Pike,Spock, andNumber One, along withJess Bush,Christina Chong,Celia Rose Gooding,Melissa Navia, andBabs Olusanmokun. Many of the regular actors and several guest stars portray younger versions of characters fromThe Original Series. A second season ofStrange New Worlds was confirmed in January 2022, prior to the release of thefirst season. Filming took place at CBS Stages Canada inMississauga,Ontario, from February to July 2022. The showrunners continued the series' episodic storytelling approach, giving each episode a different genre and tone. This includes "Those Old Scientists", acrossover with the animated comedy seriesStar Trek: Lower Decks (2020–2024); and "Subspace Rhapsody", the franchise's first musical episode which features original songs by Tom Polce andKay Hanley.
The season premiered on the streaming serviceParamount+ on June 15, 2023, and ran for 10 episodes until August 10. It was estimated to have high viewership and audience demand, and was met with critical acclaim for its "genre-bending" episodes. The season received several accolades, including aPrimetime Creative Arts Emmy Award nomination,Hugo Award nominations for "Those Old Scientists" and "Subspace Rhapsody", and aSaturn Award win. Athird season was announced in March 2023.[1]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "The Broken Circle" | Chris Fisher | Henry Alonso Myers &Akiva Goldsman | June 15, 2023 (2023-06-15) | |
While undergoing upgrades under the supervision of long-lived engineer Pelia, the starshipUSSEnterprise receives a distress call from security chief La'An Noonien-Singh on the mining planet Cajitar IV. With first officerUna Chin-Riley / Number One arrested and CaptainChristopher Pike recruiting her defense counsel,Vulcan science officerSpock disobeys AdmiralRobert April and steals theEnterprise. Spock and the crew find La'An on Cajitar IV and she explains that a cabal of ex-Starfleet andKlingon soldiers are plotting to restart the recently ended Klingon–Federation war. Dr.Joseph M'Benga and nurseChristine Chapel are captured and taken to a ship that has been cobbled together from Starfleet technology. The cabal plans to use it to fire on a Klingon ship and frame Starfleet. M'Benga and Chapel fight their way off thefalse flag ship just as Spock orders its destruction, saving the arriving Klingons. Spock bonds with the Klingon captain over drinks, impressing Pelia. April reprimands Spock, but is privately grateful that war with the Klingons was avoided considering the impending threat of theGorn. | ||||||
| 12 | 2 | "Ad Astra per Aspera" | Valerie Weiss | Dana Horgan | June 22, 2023 (2023-06-22) | |
Pike recruitsIllyrian civil rights attorney Neera Ketoul as defense counsel for Number One. The prosecution, led by Pike's girlfriend Captain Marie Batel, easily builds a case that Number One violated Starfleet's anti–genetic modification laws by hiding her identity as a genetically modified Illyrian; Ketoul argues that the law is unjust and inconsistently applied, and points out that Admiral April has violated thePrime Directive when he believed it was the right thing to do. La'An—a descendant of the genetically modified warlordKhan Noonien Singh—investigates how Starfleet learned of Number One's status, worried that the information was taken from her own personal logs. Number One testifies about the oppression and marginalization Illyrians faced in her childhood, explains that she joined Starfleet because she believed it celebrated diversity, and reveals that she provided her own genetic status to Starfleet once it was known to the crew. Ketoul argues that Number One can be construed to have been seeking asylum when she joined Starfleet; the judges accept this interpretation and acquit Number One. | ||||||
| 13 | 3 | "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" | Amanda Row | David Reed | June 29, 2023 (2023-06-29) | |
A mysterious wounded man appears on theEnterprise, gives atime travel device to La'An, and dies. La'An finds herself in an alternate timeline where Earth is ravaged by war and theEnterprise is captained byJames T. Kirk. The device transports her and Kirk to 2020sToronto, where the pair form a romantic bond. They search for thepoint of divergence that caused the alternate timeline with help from a younger Pelia, and find aeugenics lab where a young Khan Noonien Singh is being raised. ARomulan time traveler named Sera intends to change human history by killing Khan and preventing theEugenics Wars, which would keep humanity from the path that led to unity and the Federation. Sera kills Kirk and fights La'An, who kills Sera and saves Khan. La'An returns to theEnterprise in her own timeline and is thanked by a time-traveling investigator from the future, a colleague of the mysterious man, who confiscates the time travel device and swears La'An to secrecy. La'An contacts her timeline's Kirk, but he has no memory of her. She keeps a 20th-century watch that they used to find the eugenics lab. | ||||||
| 14 | 4 | "Among the Lotus Eaters" | Eduardo Sánchez | Kirsten Beyer & Davy Perez | July 6, 2023 (2023-07-06) | |
Pike upsets Batel by suggesting that their relationship has harmed her career. TheEnterprise is sent to the planet Rigel VII, the site of an earlier unsuccessful mission.Asteroids surrounding the planet emit radiation that makes people forget who they are. Pike, La'An, and M'Benga discover that Zac Nguyen, a yeoman presumed dead on the previous mission, has become a despotic ruler; he enforces a caste system where laborers lose their memories every night but he and his guards do not. The away team lose their memories and become laborers. Hearing a legend that their memories are stored in Nguyen's castle, Pike fights his way inside, defeats Nguyen, and learns that the castle itself blocks the radiation. The crew on theEnterprise also lose their memories, but pilot Erica Ortegas learns what her job is from the ship's computer and instinctively navigates away from the asteroids. The away team recover their memories and return to theEnterprise. They pull the main asteroid out of orbit, ridding Rigel VII of the radiation and restoring the laborers' memories. Pike apologizes to Batel and they resume their relationship. | ||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Charades" | Jordan Canning | Kathryn Lyn & Henry Alonso Myers | July 13, 2023 (2023-07-13) | |
Spock and Chapel are nearly killed when they encounter a portal created by a higher-dimensional race, the Kerkhovians, who heal Chapel but accidentally reconfigure Spock's half-human, half-Vulcan physiology to that of a full-blooded human. This happens as Spock is preparing for an engagement ritual with his fiancéeT'Pring and her bigoted parents T'Pril and Sevek. Spock's human motherAmanda Grayson boards theEnterprise to help Spock prepare. Spock does not tell T'Pring of his condition, hoping not to worry her, and relies on the crew to help disguise himself as Vulcan and stall the ritual until a cure is found. Chapel convinces the Kerkhovians to return Spock to normal by confessing to them her feelings for him. Spock is able to complete the ritual, which ends with him making a telepathic connection to his mother that shows him how difficult it is for a human to love a Vulcan. Spock then reveals the ruse to call out T'Pril's bigotry. Offended that Spock hid his condition from her, T'Pring asks to take a break from their relationship. Spock later admits to Chapel that he also has feelings for her and they kiss. | ||||||
| 16 | 6 | "Lost in Translation" | Dan Liu | Onitra Johnson & David Reed | July 20, 2023 (2023-07-20) | |
TheEnterprise joins the USSFarragut to repair adeuterium refinery. EnsignNyota Uhura begins experiencing hallucinations of strange noises and frightening images, including the deaths of her parents and of formerEnterprise engineer Hemmer. Pelia discovers that the refinery has been sabotaged. Saul Ramon, the officer responsible for the sabotage, is taken to sickbay; he exhibits symptoms similar to Uhura's. Ramon escapes sickbay and attempts to sabotage theEnterprise. Uhura pursues him and unsuccessfully attempts to calm him down; James Kirk, visiting from theFarragut, rescues her before Ramon is blown into space by an explosion. Uhura discusses her hallucinations with Kirk and he helps her realize that she needs to confront her grief about her parents and Hemmer rather than ignoring it. With the help of Kirk and his brotherSam, a xenoanthropologist, Uhura realizes that her hallucinations are messages from aliens who live in the deuterium and are being killed by the refinery. She reports her theory to Pike and he orders the refinery destroyed. Uhura later introduces James Kirk to Spock. | ||||||
| 17 | 7 | "Those Old Scientists" | Jonathan Frakes | Kathryn Lyn & Bill Wolkoff | July 22, 2023 (2023-07-22) | |
In the 24th century, EnsignBrad Boimler of the USSCerritos is assigned to investigate an ancient portal. The portal, which is powered by the rare substance horonium, sends him back in time 120 years where he is taken aboard theEnterprise. Boimler struggles to contain his excitement at meeting his heroes and also to prevent polluting the timeline with his knowledge of the future. The portal is stolen by an Orion ship and Pike trades grain supplies to retrieve it. They attempt to return Boimler to the future with the last remaining horonium, but EnsignBeckett Mariner comes through the portal instead in a rescue attempt. Spock and Boimler unsuccessfully try to synthesize horonium so they can use the portal again while Mariner and Uhura work to translate engravings on the portal. Boimler realizes that horonium from the hull ofthe previous starshipEnterprise was incorporated into Pike'sEnterprise. They use this to send Boimler and Mariner back to their own time, while the Orions agree to accept credit for discovering the portal in exchange for allowing theEnterprise to continue peacefully. This episode is a crossover withStar Trek: Lower Decks. | ||||||
| 18 | 8 | "Under the Cloak of War" | Jeff W. Byrd | Davy Perez | July 27, 2023 (2023-07-27) | |
TheEnterprise hosts Ambassador Dak'Rah, a Klingon general who defected to the Federation and is said to have killed his own officers when he learned that they had ordered attacks on civilians while fighting on the moon of J'Gal. Veterans of the Federation–Klingon war, including Ortegas, M'Benga, and Chapel, are uncomfortable with his presence. M'Benga and Chapel served at afield hospital on J'Gal and witnessed the brutality of the Klingon forces under Dak'Rah's command. Dak'Rah invites M'Benga to join his campaign for peace, citing the symbolic power of a partnership between two men who were on opposing sides at J'Gal, and offers to help M'Benga find healing from the trauma he experienced. M'Benga rejects Dak'Rah's offer and eventually reveals that he knows it was Dak'Rah who ordered the attacks on civilians. It was M'Benga who killed the Klingon officers whose deaths Dak'Rah is taking credit for. A fight breaks out and M'Benga kills Dak'Rah with the same dagger with which he killed his officers. M'Benga tells Pike that he did not intend to kill Dak'Rah but he does not regret it. | ||||||
| 19 | 9 | "Subspace Rhapsody" | Dermott Downs | Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff | August 3, 2023 (2023-08-03) | |
James Kirk, recently promoted to executive officer of theFarragut, visits theEnterprise toshadow Number One. While conducting communications experiments, Uhura broadcasts a recording of the song "Anything Goes" into a mysterious "subspace fold". It produces an "improbability field" that causes theEnterprise crew to begin singing about their feelings like characters in amusical film. Pike has an argument with Batel, in song, in front of the crew. Chapel wins a prestigious research fellowship and reveals in song that she prioritizes it over her relationship with Spock. La'An confesses her feelings for Kirk before the musical can force her to, but he is already in a relationship withCarol Marcus. An affected Klingon ship intends to blow up the fold, but experiments reveal this will destroy all starships in the fleet. Uhura determines that singing an upbeatgrand finale will provide enough energy to close the improbability field before the Klingons arrive; she encourages theEnterprise crew to sing about the fulfillment they find in working together and exploring, and when the song concludes the improbability field dissipates. | ||||||
| 20 | 10 | "Hegemony" | Maja Vrvilo | Henry Alonso Myers | August 10, 2023 (2023-08-10) | |
Batel's ship, the USSCayuga, is ambushed by the Gorn while resupplying the human colony Parnassus Beta. Chapel is aboard theCayuga, en route to her fellowship, and survives the attack. TheEnterprise arrives to find the wreckage of theCayuga and a Gorn device jamming communications andtransporters. April orders them not to cross into Gorn-claimed space, but Pike secretly leads Ortegas, La'An, M'Benga, and Sam Kirk to the surface. They find Batel and other survivors, including Starfleet engineerMontgomery Scott who has built a device that imitates Gorntransponders. Pike learns that Batel is infected with Gorn eggs. Following a strategy suggested by Uhura and Pelia, Spock installs rockets on theCayuga's wreckage so they can crash it into the jammer. He kills an attacking Gorn with help from Chapel. The jammer is destroyed, allowing theEnterprise to transport up Pike, Scott, and Batel. The latter is taken straight to medical. The Gorn capture La'An, M'Benga, Ortegas, Sam, and the other survivors. Pike is forced to decide whether to follow orders and retreat or stay to rescue his captured crew. | ||||||
After beginning development onStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, a spin-off from the seriesStar Trek: Discovery (2017–2024), executive producerAlex Kurtzman said he wanted it to be an ongoing series rather than a miniseries, and said it could explore the seven years betweenDiscovery'ssecond season (2019) and the accident that seriously injuresChristopher Pike inStar Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969).[16] In November 2021, a second season ofStrange New Worlds was reported to be starting production in February 2022.[17] FrequentStar Trek directorJonathan Frakes confirmed the season order a month later,[18] beforeParamount+ officially announced it in January 2022.[19] The first episode is dedicated toNichelle Nichols, who portrayed the characterNyota Uhura inThe Original Series and otherStar Trek media, following her death in July 2022.[20]
Work on the second season began before the release of thefirst in May 2022. The first season was structured with standalone episodes and season-long character arcs, which was a departure from the more serialized style ofDiscovery. Unsure how the new style would be received by fans,showrunners Henry Alonso Myers andAkiva Goldsman chose to commit to it. Myers said the second season would "go for broke" in differentiating its episodes with unique genres, and Goldsman added that it would have some "creative stretches" and "big swings" that had not been seen in the franchise before.[21][22] The season includes the romantic time travel tragedy "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow";[23] the comedic "Charades";[10] "Those Old Scientists", acrossover with the animated comedy seriesStar Trek: Lower Decks (2020–2024);[11][24] the dark and morally complex war story "Under the Cloak of War";[14] and the franchise's first full musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody".[25] Kurtzman first discussed a potential musical episode for theStar Trek franchise in July 2020,[26] and he first said there was potential for the differentStar Trek series to crossover in December 2021.[27] The season'swriters' room included Dana Horgan, David Reed,Kirsten Beyer, Davy Perez, Kathryn Lyn, Onitra Johnson, and Bill Wolkoff.[28]
Myers said the second season would follow-up on the "serialized threads" left by the first season, including the arrest ofNumber One for being a genetically modifiedIllyrian, the death of chief engineer Hemmer, and La'An Noonien-Singh taking a leave of absence from theUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701).[21] The writers also developed new character arcs for the season, including relationships betweenSpock andChristine Chapel, Pike and Marie Batel, and La'An andJames T. Kirk. These all culminate in the ninth episode, "Subpsace Rhapsody", which was determined before the writers decided that it would be a musical.[29] Because Pike starAnson Mount expected to have a child around the start of filming, the first episode, "The Broken Circle", was written to focus on the rest of the cast. The explanation for Pike's absence is that he goes to recruit a defense counsel for Number One. This storyline continues in the second episode, "Ad Astra per Aspera", which features Number One's trial,[30] continuing aStar Trek tradition of courtroom-focused episodes.[31] Myers said he and Goldsman did not know how they would resolve the Number One story when they added it as a cliffhanger in the first-season finale, and they were glad when the writers came up with a "straight-down-the-middle classicTrek episode" to address it.[32]
On the series' approach toStar Trek canon, Myers said they were focused on creating interesting characters for the actors to perform and the audience to watch rather than referencing previous media. Goldsman said knowing the end point of the characters' stories in previous projects allowed the writers to come up with new and interesting ways to get there which they might otherwise have not thought of.[33][34] The episode "Lost in Translation" depicts the first canonical meetings between James Kirk, theEnterprise captain fromThe Original Series, and key characters such as Pike, Spock, and Uhura. InThe Original Series, Kirk says he met Pike when the latter was promoted to Fleet Captain; the episode depicts Pike being temporarily promoted to that rank, allowing the season to align withThe Original Series while moving the first meeting between Pike and Kirk to be earlier in the timeline than had previously been presumed.[7] After the first season referenced theEugenics Wars as taking place in the mid-21st century rather than the 1990s, which had been established inThe Original Series, the second-season episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" explains that those events have shifted in the timeline due to interference from time travelers during theTemporal Cold War inStar Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005). Goldsman said the real-world reasoning for this was so modern audiences could still believe that the franchise takes place in the future.[35]
The writers wanted to revisit the recurring threat of theGorn, a lizard-like alien species introduced inThe Original Series that were reimagined for modern audiences in the first season. They wanted to depict adult Gorn, which they avoided doing in the first season, and the time needed to complete the design work for this led to the species being saved for one of the later episodes. They ultimately appear in the second-season finale, which ends on a surprise cliffhanger ending inspired by theStar Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" (1990). Myers admitted that this was a risky decision considering athird season was not yet confirmed.[15]
Anson Mount,Ethan Peck, andRebecca Romijn star in the series as Captain Christopher Pike, science officer Spock, and first officer Una Chin-Riley / Number One, respectively. Also starring areJess Bush as nurse Christine Chapel,Christina Chong as chief security officer La'An Noonien-Singh,Celia Rose Gooding as Ensign Nyota Uhura,Melissa Navia as helmsman Erica Ortegas, andBabs Olusanmokun as Dr.Joseph M'Benga.[2]
In March 2022,Paul Wesley was revealed to have been cast for the season as James Kirk, who was portrayed inThe Original Series byWilliam Shatner.[5] Wesley's casting was announced before the premiere of the first season, after he was spotted filming for the second season on location inToronto. Myers cautioned fans about making assumptions regarding Kirk's involvement in the series since the science fiction genre allowed them to introduce the character in various ways. He added that they did not want to "leave a story on the table" and decided to explore a young Kirk in this time period after already exploring otherThe Original Series characters such as Spock, Uhura, and Chapel.[36] Following multiple unsuccessful auditions with other actors, Myers and Goldsman approached Wesley and hired him after just having a conversation.[37] The actor made a surprise first appearance as Kirk during the first-season finale where he played an alternate version from a potential future that Pike visits.[6] He played a different alternate version of the character in the second-season episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", one from a dark timeline who has never been to Earth.[38] Wesley did not want to imitate Shatner for his performances, but said his portrayal of a younger Kirk in the second season would be closer to Shatner's than his portrayal of the alternate versions.[6] Coincidentally, Wesley was once neighbors with Shatner,[38] and the pair happened to share a plane ride around the time Wesley's casting was announced; Shatner gave Wesley his blessing.[6] The second season explores the relationship between James Kirk and his brotherGeorge Samuel "Sam" Kirk, played by returning guest starDan Jeannotte.[6][37]
Bruce Horak said the first-season death of his character, chief engineer Hemmer, would not be the end of his involvement in the series;[39] Horak returned as Hemmer for a recording that Uhura watches in "Lost in Translation",[7] and also guest starred as the Klingon General Garkog in "Subspace Rhapsody".[8] Myers said the second season would introduce a new engineer who would not beMontgomery Scott, the future chief engineer of theEnterprise as portrayed byJames Doohan inThe Original Series. Though Scott had a brief role in the first-season finale as part of a potential future that Pike visits, Myers explained that they were not ready to bring the character into the series' main events or cast a new actor in the role which is why that finalecameo was offscreen with a voice actor providing the lines.[32][40] In September 2022,Carol Kane was revealed to have a recurring role in the second season as the new engineer, Pelia.[4] The character is a Lanthanite, a new species created for the season that appears human but is very long-lived. Kane chose to create a new accent for the character that is different from all the other characters in the series, so the audience would not be able to work out where she comes from. She used this in a table read of the season premiere, held overZoom, and the producers responded positively.[41] Scott is introduced in the season finale as a junior officer and former student of Pelia, played by Scottish theater actorMartin Quinn.[15] Following the controversial Scottish accents used by Canadian actor Doohan and English actorSimon Pegg, who portrayed Scott inseveralStar Trek films,[42] Myers wanted to cast an actual Scottish actor in the role and looked at 30 to 50 different actors before Quinn was hired.[15]
With the announcement of theLower Decks crossover in July 2022,Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid were revealed to be reprising their respective roles as Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler from that series.[11] The characters appear in both live-action and animation, whileNoël Wells,Eugene Cordero, and Romijn's husbandJerry O'Connell reprise their voice roles asD'Vana Tendi,Sam Rutherford, andJack Ransom for animation.[12][13] Also returning from previousStar Trek series in the season areMia Kirshner as Spock's motherAmanda Grayson, anOriginal Series character who Kirshner first portrayed inDiscovery,[9] and frequentStar Trek actorClint Howard in a new guest role for the eighth episode.[14] Other guest stars returning from the first season includeAdrian Holmes as AdmiralRobert April,Melanie Scrofano as Pike's girlfriend Captain Marie Batel,[3] and Gia Sandhu as Spock's fiancéeT'Pring.[10] Additionally, Rong Fu returns as operations officer Jenna Mitchell; Noah Lamanna portraystransporter chief Jay, replacingAndré Dae Kim's transporter chief Kyle from the first season after Kim left to star in the seriesVampire Academy (2022);[43]Alex Kapp again provides the voice of theEnterprise's computer;[44] and Desmond Sivan portrays a young version ofRicardo Montalban'sStar Trek villainKhan Noonien Singh.[35]
Additional design work was required during pre-production for the series'virtual production technology, creating digital backgrounds to display on an LEDvideo wall during filming. Visual effects companyPixomondo worked with the art department to design these environments, and a dedicated "virtual art department" was created for the season.[45] In addition to the sets that production designer Jonathan Lee and his team built for the first season, the second season also features sets for theEnterprise's port galley, science lab, nacelle room, and shuttle bay.[46] Lee described the port galley, which is the ship's lounge and bar, as "our new baby". It was built for the kind of scenes that were filmed in the mess hall during season one. The change was made because the mess hall used virtual production technology and required digital space environments to be created for each scene. In contrast, the port galley has no windows.[47] The large, round shape of the courtroom set in "Ad Astra per Aspera" was inspired by theFederation command set fromDiscovery. Lee added hand-carved alien sculptures to the walls that were inspired by thefrieze panels inside theUnited States Supreme Court Building. The set also includes an updated version of the "verifier" orlie-detector chair from theOriginal Series episode "Court Martial" (1967).[48]
After establishing the characters andStarfleet uniforms in the first season, costume designer Bernadette Croft said the second season was about showing character development through costumes. Her team had around two weeks to prepare for each episode, which was a short amount of time for episodes that required drastically different costumes.[49] Updated versions of the dress uniforms from theOriginal Series episode "The Menagerie" (1966) were created for the courtroom scenes in "Ad Astra per Aspera". They were made from the same fabric as the normal uniforms and have the same silhouette, but with gold detailing around the collars and down the front to match the original designs. Ranks are shown on the shoulders as with admiral uniforms.[50] TheLower Decks uniforms were recreated in live action for the crossover episode, using the same fabric as the series' other uniforms but without microprint details to more closely match the simple, flat designs in the animated series.[51] The characters on the mining planet Cajitar IV in "The Broken Circle" wear rough and gritty costumes appropriate for a "down-and-dirty, gritty flea market scene". Croft wanted them to be covered in a "muted gray metallic residue".[49][51] She said the biggest episode for the costume team was "Among the Lotus Eaters", which required the medieval-style costumes to be broken down to look like the Rigel VII workers have been wearing them for years while exposed to the planet's extreme weather. The guards' costumes in the episode were inspired byMongolian armor.[51]
Legacy Effects provided alien prosthetics and animatronics for the season.[52] Though an adult Gorn is not seen until the second-season finale, the company designed the full Gorn life cycle for the first season so they could work back from the adult design to portray hatchlings and younglings. Legacy co-founder J. Alan Scott said they wanted to be respectful to the design fromThe Original Series while meeting the high expectations of how the Gorn should be portrayed.[53] Kurtzman was excited to elevate the Gorn from the original "guy in a rubber suit" and make them feel "vivid and scary".[54] Goldsman wanted to turn them into a "real monster" that seems irredeemable, to help with the lesson ofThe Original Series that "we start by seeing the other and often we end by engaging our empathy and understanding common ground".[55] Scott said it was a challenge to make the design monstrous but also show that this is a sentient and intelligent species with advanced technology. He compared the Gorn tothe portrayal of Velociraptors in theJurassic Park franchise, which he also worked on.[56] The Gorn in the finale is wearing anEV suit that hides a lot of the adult design, except for the face. After seeing the designs for the Gorn ships in the first season, Legacy redesigned the EV suit to match the ships' technology and "tumble and roll" movements.[53] The EV suit and Gorn head were built as acreature suit that was worn on set by stunt performer Warren Scherer. This was augmented with visual effects for movements that the practical suit could not do.[57] Scott was excited to reveal more of the Gorn design, without the EV suit, in future episodes,[56] and to explore more of the species' technology and potential language.[53]
Designs for theKlingons are closer to those of pastStar Trek series and films than the significant redesign that was done forDiscovery. The showrunners said they wanted the series to be closer to the original shows in all aspects and this decision was not made to avoid the controversialDiscovery changes. Myers added, "I like to imagine that Klingons are a diverse species, and that means there are many different looks the Klingons have."[58] The prosthetics are based on theNext Generation design but use modern techniques and materials,[59] and were easier to apply than theDiscovery ones.[58] Croft created updated versions of the black and gold Klingon costumes fromThe Original Series, but elevated with more details to avoid the original "dance costumes" look. The armor was hand-sculpted by special effects artist Alex Silberberg and includesexoskeleton detailing.[51]
Filming began on February 1, 2022, at CBS Stages Canada inMississauga,Ontario,[60][61] under the working titleLily and Isaac.[62] Glen Keenan returned as cinematographer from the first season and was joined by Benji Bakshi and Ian Alexander.[63] The season again usedArri Alexa LF cameras withCooke Optics'sAnamorphic/i Special Flare lenses.[64] Producing directorChris Fisher directed the first episode.[30] He and the producers encouraged the directors and cinematographers to approach each episode like a film and use theEnterprise as amood board that reflected the emotions of each genre.[64][65] Bakshi suggestedValerie Weiss, who he had worked with before, as a potential director, and she was chosen to direct the second episode. Weiss had worked on several courtroom-based series before, and watched the previousStar Trek trial episodes as research. Pike's visit to the Illyrian colony was filmed on location in Toronto.[66] Weiss and Bakshi ensured there was always something between Number One and the camera until she takes the stand, showing that she does not open up until then.[64]
By March 14, Amanda Row had begun directing the third episode,[67] with filming taking place over several weeks on location in Toronto;[38] Wesley's casting was revealed when he was spotted during filming.[36] The writers originally intended to film the episode on location in New York City, but realized that this would be too expensive. They then considered filming Toronto as if it was New York City, as had been done for many other films and series, before deciding to just set the episode in Toronto. Row and much of the crew were from Toronto and excited to have it depicted as itself in the episode.[33] Filming locations includedYonge-Dundas Square,Harbourfront, thePort Lands,David Pecaut Square, theRoyal Ontario Museum, andthe Royal Conservatory of Music's headquarters which stood-in for theeugenics lab at the end of the episode.[38]
Eduardo Sánchez was brought in "last minute" for the fourth episode after the planned director had to pull out, and had a month-and-a-half to prepare. A long-timeStar Trek fan, Sánchez was excited about the episode's "old-school"Original Series tone and avoided modern-style camera movements. Exterior scenes were filmed using the video wall, though the producers considered filming the quarry sequence on location. Sánchez decided against this afterscouting potential locations, as he felt they would not match the video wall and the weather would cause scheduling issues. He used ahand-held camera to show Ortegas's mental state in the scene where she loses her memories, inspired by thehorror genre.[68] Scenes inside the Rigel VII castle were filmed at the end of March in theMount Community Center inPeterborough, Ontario, which is a formerconvent.[62][69]Jordan Canning directed the fifth episode, and was drawn to the comedic elements. She watched the first season as research and said the episode "Spock Amok" was the "sister episode" to this one. Canning and Keenan planned many shots ahead of time, but an approach they discovered during filming was to frame Spock from behind to see the reactions of other characters; they found multiple places to use this framing, which Canning compared to the directing style of theCoen Brothers.[70][71]
After being prevented from working on the first season when theCOVID-19 pandemic impacted his directing schedule onStar Trek: Picard (2020–2023), Jonathan Frakes travelled to Toronto during the week of April 4 to start production on the seventh episode.[72] Filming for the sixth episode, which was directed by Dan Liu, began by the week of April 11,[73][74] and was still underway at the end of the month.[74] The episode includes the first meeting between Spock and James Kirk, a significant moment considering the important relationship that they have in the franchise. Peck and Wesley discussed the moment a lot and chose to play it as meeting "just another Starfleet officer" because the characters do not know the significance of the meeting.[75] For the eighth episode, writer Davy Perez was inspired by theOriginal Series episode "A Private Little War" (1968) and theStar Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Siege of AR-558" (1998), and directorJeff W. Byrd wanted to bring those influences to the screen. He was also inspired bywar films and researched real-lifeblack ops teams. Byrd wanted to immerse the audience throughclose-ups. He worked closely with Perez, Bush, and Olusanmokun on the episode's war scenes, incorporating suggestions from Bush and Olusanmokun based on their own research intocombat medics. Byrd filmed the climactic fight between M'Benga and Dak'Rah in multiple ways, and the producers chose a version where the fight is obscured behind opaque glass.[76]Dermott Downs was hired to direct the musical episode after directinga similar musical episode forThe Flash (2014–2023). He began work two weeks before the normal preparation period began, giving him extra time to plan each musical sequence,[77] while the cast learned their songs and dance choreography during production on earlier episodes, including on weekends.[78] The season finale was directed by Maja Vrvilo.[79] Filmingwrapped on July 1.[80]
In addition to working on the virtual production technology, Pixomondo also provided traditional visual effects for the season.[81] Other visual effects vendors for the series included Crafty Apes, Ghost VFX, FX3X, Vineyard VFX, Boxel Studio, Barnstorm VFX, and Storm Studios.[82] Visual effects supervisor Jason Zimmerman said the approach forStrange New Worlds was to try find a "happy medium" between taking advantage of the latest visual effects technology while also staying true to the look and effects ofThe Original Series.[83]: 17:34–19:37 Ghost VFX worked on different alien environments and creatures during the season, including the Gorn for the finale.[84] Legacy's practical Gorn suit was augmented with digital facial animation, drool, and breath, and replaced entirely with a digital version for some shots. Zimmerman said the finale was a technical challenge but also came to be some of his favorite work for the series, noting that it features a zero gravity sequence with the Gorn inside the destroyed hull of a starship. Interior shots of this sequence required digital set extensions while the exterior of the damaged ship was completely digital.[81][85] TheAlien franchise was an especial reference for the episode, with Zimmerman wanting to match what the earlierAlien films managed to do without digital effects.[81]
Lower Decks showrunnerMike McMahan was involved in the crossover episode's animated scenes, which used the same animation team and style asLower Decks;[86] independent animation studioTitmouse provided the animation for that series.[87] The episode has a new version of the series' title sequence animated in the style ofLower Decks and featuring someEaster eggs that reference the animated series.[88]
ComposerNami Melumad began work on the season by late July 2022.[89] She recorded her music for the season with a 55-piece orchestra, an increase from the 37-piece orchestra used for the first season, and introduced a choir.[90] Tom Polce andKay Hanley of the bandLetters to Cleo were hired to write original songs for "Subspace Rhapsody".[8] They worked with the cast to determine each actor's vocal range.[91] Main theme composerJeff Russo arranged a new version of the theme, combininga cappella-style vocals with an orchestra, for the episode. Asoundtrack album for the episode was released digitally byLakeshore Records on August 4, 2023.[92] After announcing a full soundtrack album for the third season in November 2025, and having previously released one for the first season in April 2023, Lakeshore said there were no plans to do so for the second season.[93]
The series was discussed during theStar Trek Universe panel atSan Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, when the crossover withLower Decks was announced.[11] Kane's casting was announced at another panel for the series at a "Star Trek Day" event on September 8, where a clip from the season was shown.[4] The first teaser for the season was released in April 2023, ahead ofPicard's series finale. Commentary on the teaser focused on the return of Wesley's James Kirk, the appearance of Klingons with their updated designs, and on the lack of footage from theLower Decks crossover episode.[94] The next month, a full trailer was released alongside the key art poster and a clip from Number One's trial. Discussion of the trailer primarily highlighted the first look at theLower Decks crossover. Rotem Rusak atNerdist described the trailer as "short and to the point", and said it promised that "we're going to go deep into the crew's adventures" in the second season. Christian Blauvelt atIndieWire agreed that the series was "definitely delivering another character-based season of storytelling", based on the trailer, and he said theLower Decks crossover looked to be more ambitious thanKatee Sackhoff reprising her animatedStar Wars role ofBo-Katan Kryze in the live-action seriesThe Mandalorian (2019–2023).[95]
In June 2023, Bush participated in a panel discussion, titled "How Science Fiction Has Impacted Space Exploration and Policy", at theKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.The Next Generation andDeep Space Nine writerMorgan Gendel was also on the panel. A video was shown of Mount reading a message fromNASA to the series' cast and crew during filming.[96] Soon after that event, Gooding, Navia, Romijn, and Peck promoted the season atMCM Comic Con London. Technology from Canadian company ARHT was used to have the four appear as live "holograms" on the stage in London, despite Gooding and Navia being in New York and Romijn and Peck being in Los Angeles.[97] Another San Diego Comic-Con panel was held for the season in July, but members of the cast were unable to attend because of the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[98] The crossover episode "Those Old Scientists" was shown in full at the panel,[99] and the musical episode "Subspace Rhapsody" was officially announced with a trailer and poster. The latter was inspired by posters for classic Hollywoodmusical films.[25][100]
The season premiered on the streaming service Paramount+ in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria on June 15, 2023. The rest of the season's 10 episodes were expected to be released weekly until August 17.[1] After the seventh episode, "Those Old Scientists", debuted early at Comic-Con on July 22, Paramount+ announced that it was also being released on the streaming service that same day. The season's remaining episodes were subsequently each moved up a week, bringing the release of the season finale forward to August 10.[99] The season was released in Canada byBell Media (broadcast onCTV Sci-Fi Channel before streaming onCrave),[101] in New Zealand onTVNZ, in India onVoot,[102] and in other European countries onSkyShowtime (a combination of Paramount+ and the streaming servicePeacock).[103] In August 2023,Star Trek content was removed from Crave and the season began streaming on Paramount+ in Canada. It would continue to be broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi and be available on CTV.ca and the CTV app.[104][105]
The season was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Limited Edition Steelbook formats in the US on December 5, 2023. The release includes over two hours of bonus features, including deleted and alternate scenes, and featurettes on the season's props, costumes, locations, and the Gorn. The Steelbook format includes a mini-poster for "Subspace Rhapsody" as well as character magnets.[106]
Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 19 million worldwide users of itsTV Time app, rankedStrange New Worlds in the top 10 original streaming series for US viewership each week an episode of the season was released. It was the top ranked series for the week ending August 6.[107]JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, includedStrange New Worlds on its list of top 10 streaming series in the US for the weeks ending June 25, July 2, and August 13.[108] Parrot Analytics determines audience "demand expressions" based on various data sources, and the company calculated thatStrange New Worlds was the 6th-most in demand US streaming series for the week ending June 16 (the season premiered on June 15). Parrot said the series was 33.4 times more in demand than the average US streaming series, which was a 53 percent rise from the previous week when the series was the 18th-most in demand. It remained in the top 5 of Parrot's weekly list until the week ending July 14, peaking at third-most in demand.[109]
Nielsen Media Research records streaming viewership on US television screens, and estimated thatStrange New Worlds was watched for nearly 1 billion minutes during June 2023. This helped Paramount+ get to one percent of the total streaming television viewership for that month.[110] Viewership for the season was high enough to enter Nielsen's list of the top 10 original streaming programs in the US for each week an episode of the season was released, except for the weeks ending July 2 and 16.[111] Nielsen reported that Paramount+ had the largest increase in viewership for a streaming service during August 2023 and partially attributed this to the season.[112]
The season was met with critical acclaim for its "genre-bending" episodes and for breathing new life into the franchise.[113][114][115] Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported that 97% of 98 critics reviews were positive and the average rating was 8.45 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Boldly going where this hallowed franchise has gone before with effervescent execution,Strange New Worlds's superb sophomore season continues to recapture classicTrek with modern verve."[116]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned a score of 88 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim" according to the site.[117]
Yetide Badaki and Rebecca Romijn were named honorable mentions forTVLine's "Performers of the Week" for the week of June 18, 2023, for their performances in the episode "Ad Astra per Aspera". The site praised Romijn's "subtle yet powerful" performance and Badaki's "otherworldly charm" as big wins for the series despite the episode's small victory.[118] The site also named Babs Olusanmokun as an honorable mention for his performance in "Under the Cloak of War", which they called a "stunning, tour-de-force performance" that added complex new layers to M'Benga,[119] as well as Celia Rose Gooding for her performance in "Subspace Rhapsody".[120]
In July 2023, critics atVanity Fair,Esquire, andVulture all included the season on their lists of best series of the year so far.[121][122][123] At the end of the year, the series was named on best television series lists for 2023 byDen of Geek (2nd),[124]USA Today (5th),[125]Esquire (6th),[126]Paste (13th),[127]TVLine (13th),[128] andPolygon (33rd),[129] as well as byGizmodo,[130]Nerdist,[131]Slant,[132] andVanity Fair on unranked lists.[133] Additionally, Scott D. Pierce ofThe Salt Lake Tribune included the season as "No. 1–A" on his list as part of his first-place entry forPicard.[134] Some episodes were named on lists of best television episodes for 2023: "Ad Astra per Aspera" byPolygon;[135] "Charades" by/Film (10th),[136]IndieWire (22nd),[137] andRolling Stone;[138] "Those Old Scientists" byMashable (16th);[139] and "Subspace Rhapsody" bySalon (7th)[140] andTV Insider.[141]