TV Talk: ‘Strange New Worlds’ treks to mostly familiar terrain

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.

Is the “Star Trek” franchise running out of steam on Paramount+?

“Star Trek: Discovery” got unceremoniously canceled after five seasons without an opportunity to wrap its story in a satisfactory fashion.

Animated comedy “Lower Decks” also ended after five seasons.

Proposed spinoff series “Section 31” got downgraded to a TV movie and received a critical drubbing.

Last month, Paramount+ announced that “Strange New Worlds,” the most accessible “Trek” of the streaming era with the broadest potential appeal, will end after an abbreviated fifth season. (It appears five is the new seven: ‘80s-‘90s era “Trek” shows — “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager” — each lasted seven seasons until 2001’s “Enterprise,” which got canceled after four seasons.)

Yes, there’s a new series, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” coming in early 2026, but with the success of Taylor Sheridan shows outpacing “Trek” series in viewership, perhaps Paramount is preparing to rest this franchise again as it did for the 12 years after “Enterprise.”

Paramount will plug both “SNW” and “Starfleet Academy” in panels this month at San Diego Comic-Con, but it may be tough to churn up much excitement for “SNW” based on the mixed quality of the first five episodes of the new season made available for review.

After an outstanding second season of “SNW” capped by an entertaining, toe-tapping musical episode — a “Trek” first — and a Gorn-filled cliffhanger, the new season, now streaming its first two episodes (new episodes drop Thursdays), picks up from that cliffhanger as Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) must find a way to save the ship and the crew members abducted by those green-skinned, lizard-like Gorn adversaries. It’s an OK, if predictably pat resolution.

Episode two borrows a character and an alternate reality story showcased repeatedly on “TNG” while advancing the relationship between Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Spock (Ethan Peck) in a way that comports with the original series’ established canon. For “Trek” aficionados, hewing to canon is important and necessary, but the episode’s A story is something “Trek” fans have seen too many times before.

Episodes three and five are episodic away team missions, a welcome return to the show’s roots. (“SNW” proves least convincing when the focus is on the saga that’s become Spock’s love life, given the character’s portrayal in every iteration of “Trek” set chronologically after “SNW.”)

The third episode is essentially “Star Trek” meets “The Walking Dead,” but it offers some welcome character development for Pike (Anson Mount) and Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) while also resolving a storyline from a previous season. Episode five follows an away team on an archeological mission that goes sideways.

The best story so far is found in episode four, an offbeat outing directed by Jonathan Frakes (“ST: TNG”) that leans into comedy from its opening moments, a scene from a fictional, “Star Trek”-like ‘60s sci-fi show called “The Last Frontier.” Everything is pitch perfect: The music (bongos!), costumes, hair design, rudimentary set and effects. Turns out it’s all part of testing early holodeck technology that won’t be installed on Starfleet ships until the “Next Generation” era.

La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) gets recruited to test drive the holodeck, appearing as a ‘60s detective trying to solve the murder of the “Last Frontier” creator.

Paul Wesley, who recurs on “SNW” as Capt. Kirk, plays the actor who’s the “Last Frontier” captain, totally aping/mocking William Shatner’s acting/speaking cadence in the original ‘60s “Star Trek.” Mount plays a network executive wearing a fright wig that approximates the hairstyle of current streaming “Trek” impresario Alex Kurtzman. Fans have seen holodeck stories plenty of times, but this is the most meta, self-referential, surprising and comedic entry yet.

Season four of “SNW” is now in production, with season five filming later this year and streaming who knows when.

With “Starfleet Academy’ set for early 2026 and season four of “SNW” likely due in late 2026, it might be 2027 by the time the show’s final season drops.

After that, what will become of this era of “Trek”? That will likely depend on how the expected new owner of Paramount Global decides to program Paramount+ and whether “Star Trek” on streaming fits into the new executives’ plans.