Summary
- 2023 was a mixed year for Star Trek, with great episodes but also uncertainty due to strikes and production disruptions.
- The season 4 finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks marks the end of new episodes for the year.
- Despite the setbacks, there are still exciting plans for Star Trek in 2024, with three confirmed series and the potential for more.
The season 4 finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks marks the end of new Star Trek episodes in 2023 – so now what? There's no denying Star Trek had an excellent year with tremendous highs. 30 new Star Trek episodes streamed on Paramount+ (pushing the overall series count to over 900 episodes) that featured some of the most innovative and crowd-pleasing moments Trekkers have enjoyed in many years. Yet Star Trek in 2023 was also marred by uncertainty that extends into 2024.
The Writer's Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood TV and movie production to a standstill, and Star Trek was certainly affected. However, even before the writers hit the picket lines in May and the actors joined them in July, Star Trek on Paramount+ changed their expected plans. In March, Star Trek: Discovery season 5 was announced as the final season of the flagship series starring Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham. This was followed by the April announcements of new made-for-streaming movies, starting with Star Trek: Section 31 starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, and a new, YA-targeted series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. In June, however, Paramount+ announced Star Trek: Prodigy was canceled, and the strikes then threw the rest of the year – as well as the plans going into 2024 – into tumult. Looking ahead, there is reason for optimism when Star Trek enters the coming year.
The WGA strike is now resolved, but with the actors still on strike after this writing, Star Trek is still going into 2024 without key details of next year's plans in place.
