‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Kicks Off Production, Adds Five to Cast

Faster than you can shout “hit it,” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the new spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, has begun production in Toronto. And not only that, the prequel/sequel series has added five cast members, joining Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Science Office Spock, and Rebecca Romijn as Number One.

“In a career, there is never enough work that is pure joy. I feel that my friend Alex Kurtzman along with David Stapf at CBS Studios and Julie McNamara at Paramount+ have given me just that by letting me haunt the stock rooms of my favorite candy store and I am grateful,” said Akiva Goldsman, co-showrunner and executive producer of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds via a release provided to Decider. “With a hell of a cast and undying love for the original series, we boldly go.”

Set after Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, but before Captain Kirk (William Shatner) took over as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Strange New Worlds will feature essentially done in one adventures with overarching emotional character arcs, harking back to the original Star Trek series’ mission of planetary exploration.

“I’m incredibly grateful to be working alongside Akiva and our brilliant, multi-faceted cast to help bring the adventures of the Starship Enterprise to new life,” said Henry Alonso Myers, co-showrunner and executive producer of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. “For someone who’s been dreaming of spaceships and alien worlds since I was little, this show is a dream come true.”

The five series regulars joining Strange New Worlds, which will stream exclusively on Paramount+, are: Babs Olusanmokun, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush and Melissa Navia. No specific character details were offered at this time, but Paramount+ did release a teaser showing the cast getting psyched about the show — and repeating the classic Star Trek opening narration — in a video you can watch above. Here’s a picture of all their heads in a row:

Wondering where you might know the new cast from? Olusanmokun is probably best known for roles in Black Mirror, Marvel’s The Defenders, and HBO’s The Night Of, and will be in the cast of the highly anticipated new take on Dune. Chong recently appeared in HBO Max’s Tom and Jerry, and on The CW’s Bulletproof, as well as Black Mirror, Doctor Who and more. Gooding is a relative newcomer, having starred on Broadway in the musical Jagged Little Pill, so fingers crossed Strange New Worlds visits a musical planet. Bush is also a relative newcomer, having appeared in the indie feature Skinford, and on the Australian series Halifax – Retribution. And Navia has appeared on AMC’s Dietland, as well as Showtime’s Billions and Homeland.

The series premiere was written by Akiva Goldsman with the story by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers serve as co-showrunners, with Goldsman directing the premiere episode. Goldsman, Kurtzman and Lumet will serve as executive producers in addition to Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. Aaron Baiers, Akela Cooper and Davy Perez will serve as co-executive producers.

In addition to Strange New Worlds, Goldsman will continue on as EP and a part of the creative team on Star Trek: Picard, which has been picked up for Season 2. Other Paramount+ “Star Trek Universe” shows included Star Trek: Discovery, which is currently filming Season 4, and the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. No premiere date has been announced for Strange New Worlds.

Where to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds