For more than a year, Star Trek fans have been waiting patiently for the return of Strange New Worlds for a resolution to the cliffhanger finale of Season 2. While the third season of the hit show is finally set to premiere sometime this year, CBS Studios and Paramount are wasting no time getting the jump on Season 4.
Earlier this month, it was announced that production on Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially underway. The announcement was accompanied by a set photo featuring Ethan Peck (Spock), Celia Rose Gooding (Uhura), and Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike).
Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds aired on Paramount+ from June 2023 to August 2023. The season finale ended on a cliffhanger that evoked emotions similar to what we felt during the iconic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" from Star Trek: The Next Generation. But whereas the wait between seasons of The Next Generation was just a few months, fans have been waiting for well over a year for the third season of Strange New Worlds.
To be fair, not all of the blame can be pinned on CBS or Paramount. Filming on Season 3 was supposed to begin in March 2023 but was delayed to the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes that year. Pre-production on the Season 3 didn't begin until November 2023 after both strikes ended.
Season 3 will presumably pick right up where we left off with Captain Pike forced to make a decision between following orders and retreating or staying to rescue his captured crew from the Gorn. We're not sure exactly when Strange New Worlds will return, though we do know it will be sometime this year.
With production already started on the fourth season of the show, it hopefully means the wait between Season 3 and Season 4 won't be nearly as long as the wait we've had to endure between Seasons 2 and 3.
A spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds chronicles the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series primarily follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock, Number One and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the starship, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
The series stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One Una Chin-Riley, Ethan Peck as Spock, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’An Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M'Benga. It was recently confirmed that Season 3 will feature guest stars Cillian O'Sullivan (In From The Cold) as Dr. Roger Korby and Rhys Darby (Jumanji: The Next Level).