Paramount+ Series ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ to End With Fifth Season
March 2, 2023
The Paramount+ streaming service March 2 announced that its original series “Star Trek: Discovery” will conclude with its upcoming fifth season in early 2024.
“Discovery” premiered on CBS in 2017, the first “Star Trek” series in 12 years since the end of “Star Trek: Enterprise” in 2005. Subsequent episodes debuted on the CBS All Access streaming service, where it become one of flagship shows of the service before it was relaunched as Paramount+ in 2021.
“’Star Trek: Discovery’ is a perennial favorite on the service, near and dear to the hearts of legions of ‘Star Trek’ fans as well as all of us here at Paramount+,” Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at Paramount Streaming, said in a statement. “The series and its incredible cast and creatives ushered in a new era for ‘Star Trek’ when it debuted over six years ago, embracing the future of streaming with serialized storytelling, bringing to life deep and complex characters that honor Gene Roddenberry’s legacy of representing diversity and inclusion, and pushing the envelope with award-winning world-building. This final season will see our beloved crew take on a new adventure and we can’t wait to celebrate the series’ impact on the franchise leading up to its final season early next year.”
The series, set in the 2250s, a decade prior to the adventures of Capt. Kirk in the original 1960s “Star Trek” series, focused on the adventures of the U.S.S. Discovery, a prototype starship with an experimental engine that allowed it to jump anywhere in the galaxy. Using a serialized format to tell one main story a season, “Discovery” focused on Starfleet officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the first “Star Trek” series not to feature the commanding officer as the main character.
Though the series was billed as a prequel to the original “Star Trek,” it drew criticism from some fans for the portrayal of future technology compared to other shows, and perceived contradictions in the established “Star Trek” timeline, such as making Burnham an adopted sister of the iconic character of Mr. Spock. The second season introduced additional elements from the original series, such as the U.S.S. Enterprise and Capt. Pike (Anson Mount), a character from Gene Roddenberry’s original “Star Trek” pilot “The Cage” that was rejected by NBC in the 1960s.
Following the second season, the Discovery and her crew were sent to the 32nd century, where they became instrumental in rebuilding the Federation, and Burnham finally became captain.
The adventures of Pike’s Enterprise went on to headline the spinoff series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” which debuted in 2022 using more of more of the episodic formula of traditional “Star Trek,” and was generally better received by fans.
The fifth and final season of “Star Trek: Discovery” will find Capt. Burnham and the crew of the Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.
“I can hardly believe that this mind-blowing journey with ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is ending,” Martin-Green said in a statement. “I’m astoundingly blessed by God to have played Capt. Michael Burnham and to have taken part in a legacy alongside an extraordinary cast, phenomenal crew and remarkable writing team. To our most supportive partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+, who insisted on making television history, I’m deeply grateful. I’m also deeply grateful for the creative collaboration with our showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Olatunde Osunsanmi and the incomparable team of executive producers. I will never forget how it felt to stand together as a show family, cradling the heirloom of ‘Trek’ with all those from the franchise at large and with the fans. The fans welcomed us into their hearts as we launched a new iteration of ‘Trek’ and an entire entertainment platform, and we’ll never forget it. 65 episodes later, here’s to the entire company of ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ to the show and its fifth and final season, to its beloved fans and to all those who envision a better future. Let’s fly …”
Produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, the show’s cast includes Doug Jones as Saru, Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira, and Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner.
“When we first started talking about the return of ‘Star Trek’ eight years ago, we never could have imagined the indelible impact ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ would have,” David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, said in a statement. “The series brought back a beloved global franchise, and just like its predecessors, ‘Discovery’ honored ‘Star Trek’s’ legacy of ‘infinite diversity in infinite combinations,’ representing the best of what we could be as humans when we celebrate our differences. I’d like to thank Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise, who have led this show with heart, passion, and as fans themselves with vivid storytelling — always ready to push boundaries like those before them. And finally, I’d like to thank this talented cast, led by the brilliant Sonequa Martin-Green, whose leadership both onscreen and off has helped guide the way from day one.”
Leading up to the final season, Paramount+ will honor “Star Trek: Discovery” with year-long celebrations and appearances at key events in markets around the world. The first four seasons of “Star Trek: Discovery” are now streaming on Paramount+ and are available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.
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“As lifelong fans of ‘Star Trek,’ it has been an immense honor and privilege to help bring “Star Trek: Discovery” to the world. The ‘Trek’ universe means so much to so many — including us — and we couldn’t be prouder of everything “Discovery” has contributed to its legacy, particularly with representation,” executive producers and co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise said in a statement. “If just one person sees themselves, or the possibilities for their future, in a new way because of “Discovery,” then we think we’d have made Gene Roddenberry very proud.
“Of course, there would be no ‘Discovery’ without Sonequa Martin-Green and the extraordinary team of artists, both in front of and behind the camera, who have brought this show to life. Their passion and determination to make every episode special has been deeply inspiring; so too has their love and support for one another and their genuine love for ‘Star Trek.’ ‘Discovery’ has truly become a family over the years — and we couldn’t be more grateful to be part of it.
“To the fans around the world, thank you for joining us on this incredible journey. Your love for these characters and your excitement for every episode, every season, has meant the world to us. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on for this final season; we appreciate your patience in the meantime and trust us when we say it’ll be worth the wait. We love you all! [Live long and prosper!]”
The conclusion of “Star Trek: Picard” this year and “Star Trek: Discovery” next year means Paramount+ is losing two of its five “Star Trek” series, leaving just “Strange New Worlds” and the animated “Star Trek: Lower Decks and “Star Trek: Prodigy.” Another “Discovery” spinoff focusing on the franchise’s covert Section 31 intelligence agency and starring Michelle Yeoh in a reprise of her “Discovery” role has been in development for several years, but is not yet in production.