The first official trailer of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 was released last week. The trailer continues the adventures of the Enterprise before Captain Kirk takes over in TOS. The show has been positively received by fans and critics alike since its first season, with many comparing it to the heyday of the franchise, which included Star Trek: TNG.
However, one qualm that everyone tends to have with the show is the amount of time it takes to produce and the low number of episodes delivered. Co-creator and showrunner Akiva Goldsman admitted to many storylines being discarded due to the 10-episode order from the studio.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds creator Akiva Goldsman laments about the smaller number of episodes
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently the only live-action show that seems to have survived after the studio’s revival of the series with Discovery. The rest of the shows of this era have ended after a three-to-five-season run, but Strange New Worlds, its latest show, seems to have gotten away from the axe.
With two seasons already aired and two more in different stages of production, Strange New Worlds is one of the highest-rated shows of the franchise. Some have even put it next to franchise legends like Star Trek: TNG and draw regular comparisons to TOS, as they have the same characters. However, one thing seems to stop it from true greatness.
With the advent of streaming, the episode count for a season has drastically reduced. While shows like TNG and others used to have 22 to 24 hour-long episodes in a season, produced each year, Strange New Worlds only has ten, and it took two years to come out. Co-creator Akiva Goldsman mentioned his own lament about the situation (via ScreenRant).
Strange New Worlds is the only show I’ve ever been on where I’ve yearned for double the episodes. When you’re in the writer’s room, breaking the season, we have 10 more good ones. We discard 10 that are as good as the 10 we keep because we just don’t have the space for it. You sort of wish it was back to the old 24-episodes-a-season with this show, because there’s so much you can do.
Though season 3 had the obstacle of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes during production, 10 episodes per season is a small number that has led to many exciting storylines being discarded due to a lack of time. Plenty of hour-long shows on streaming go beyond 10 episodes, but the Star Trek franchise seems to be sticking to 10.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer hints at a storyline on Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk
More than the most popular and successful show in the franchise, Star Trek: TNG, Akiva Goldsman’s Strange New Worlds has more in common with the original series with Captain Kirk, Spock, and more, as several of those characters make appearances. Though Anson Mount’s Captain Pike leads the Enterprise, there are many familiar characters.
Fans have been scared about this prequel for one reason: In the original series, Pike hands over the reins of the Enterprise to James Kirk, and it is established that he gets into a terrible accident later. Paul Wesley portrays Kirk in Strange New Worlds, and the season 3 trailer shows a key scene where Pike seems to be giving Kirk control of a nearly destroyed ship.
While Anson Mount is confirmed to appear in season 4 of the series, the moment seems to suggest that the baton passing may happen sooner or later. Fans have widely appreciated Anson Mount’s performance in the series and do not seem ready to let go of the incredible captain just yet.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will premiere on Paramount+ on July 17, 2025.
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