Overall, Star Trek: Lower Decks stands out as one of the better modern Star Trek shows. Created by Mike McMahan, the animated series had a strong run, though it was cut short. While it did receive a proper ending, many fans, and even the writers, felt there were still countless stories left to explore beyond the fifth season.
While we may never get another new season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, series star Tawny Newsome believes a movie could be an easy sell to the studio. Appearing on the Talking Trek Starfleet Command podcast, Newsome praised the show's ability to bring in new fans and believes for a franchise desperately trying to reach new audiences, Lower Decks could help achieve that goal.
“I think that an animated movie is not that hard a sell.
Now I know how much s— costs, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, we could make a movie so easy and make fans so happy, and it would bring in even more new viewers,’ because Lower Decks brought in so many new folks to the franchise, and I feel that.
Even going to the [conventions], like, when I started going to the cons till now, like, there’s so many people that come up to me and are like, ‘My mom, my boyfriend, whoever was always trying to get me into Star Trek, and it wasn’t until Lower Decks [that I got hooked]’.
And now I’ve gone back and watched everything. I always call us the gateway Trek. So I’m just like, look, the industry is in a wild place, but for a franchise that’s trying to grow, and for a new corporation that’s trying to see how to keep bringing people in, it’s like, we’re cheap, we’re available.”
Star Trek: Lower Decks is an adult-focused animated comedy series, but it respected Star Trek canon, while also containing suprisingly deep character development and emotional arcs. The series set itself apart from other Star Trek shows by focusing on the lower deck crew members of the USS Cerritos. Newsome voiced ensign Beckett Mariner, one of the show's main characters. She also appeared in the Strange New Worlds crossover episode "Those Old Scientists," playing her character in live action, alongside co-star Jack Quaid.
Newsome has since become an increasingly influential figure in Star Trek, especially the modern era, where she has started to shift into writing. She currently contributes to writing on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
With Paramount+ undergoing a major transformation, the future of Star Trek remains uncertain. We already know that Strange New Worlds will continue through a fifth season, and Starfleet Academy has at least one more season confirmed. Beyond that, no new projects have been greenlit, suggesting the studio is taking time to assess the successes and challenges of modern Star Trek before moving forward.
Would you like to see a Star Trek: Lower Decks movie get made?