Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 is a triumph, with each of its ten episodes offering something compelling and exciting. Technically a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, SNW chronicles the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) aboard the USS Enterprise in the years before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) took command of the vessel as seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. Pike is accompanied by younger versions of TOS icons Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), as well as a robust supporting cast headlined by Pike's First Officer Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), commonly referred to as Number One.
While the new era of live action Star Trek had previously been defined by the serialized, thematically darker Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, Strange New Worlds has been hailed for its back-to-basics approach. The stories are largely self-contained, with the exploratory USS Enterprise visiting a new planet each week. It's a winning formula, with compelling character work and exciting plots making it one of the easiest Star Trek shows to like in a long time.
