As the Star Trek franchise has evolved in the last few years, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has become this era's version of Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Pike and the Starship Enterprise return in Strange New Worlds season 2 to continue "the next great age of exploration" in the 23rd century. Also renewed for season 3, which is mounting production, Strange New Worlds is primed as the new flagship series of Star Trek on Paramount+.
Strange New Worlds has the distinction of being the first Star Trek series that fans actually demanded and received. Most other Star Trek shows were studio or producers' decisions, but Strange New Worlds is the result of how popular Anson Mount was when he played Captain Pike in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Pike, Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) won fans over on Discovery, and they received their own spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which was wildly acclaimed, with season 1 receiving a 99% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, with the end of Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek on Paramount+ continues to transition and make big changes to the franchise, which leaves Captain Pike in a position previously occupied by Captain Janeway in the 1990s.
