Star Trek: Lower Decks' Tawny Newsome is developing aStar Trekworkplace comedy, and Tawny’s project can exploreStar Trek’s new frontier in a more satisfying way thanStar Trek: Section 31did.Star Trek: Lower Decksended with season 5on Paramount+, but Newsome has become a creative force withinStar Trek.Along with joining the writers' room ofStar Trek: Starfleet Academy, Newsome and Justin Simien announced their in-development live-actionStar Trekcomedy at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.
Much ofStar Trekis concerned with expanding the borders and protecting theUnited Federation of Planets. The USS Enterprise’s missions throughoutStar Trekwere about seeking new civilizations that might eventually join the vast intergalactic coalition of worlds.Star Trek: Deep Space Ninebecame about the Dominion Warthat threatened the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant. As varied as the members of the Federation are,Star Trek’s galaxy is familiar and comforting to fans. Butwhat about everyone who lives outside the Federation?
Star Trek’s New Frontier Is Outside The Federation & Tawny Newsome’s Comedy Can Get It Right
Tawny’s Star Trek Comedy Is Looking Beyond The Federation
Speaking toTrekMovieon the red carpet at the opening night of Universal Studios Fan Fest, Tawny Newsome dropped some intel on the state of herStar Trekworkplace comedy. Noting that the original idea for Tawny’s show being set on a pleasure planet like Risa has changed somewhat during the development process, Tawny hinted that her series will look atwhat happens when"a world and a culture that is not in the Federation… decide[s] to be.“Check out Tawny’s quote below:
Those fundamentals are the same. But what I can tell you is what we’re really working on exploring, are the sort of overlooked sections of what happens when a world and a culture that is not in the Federation, what happens when they decide to be?… So Federation outsiders and what’s kind of the nitty gritty involved with joining the Federation and involved with… yeah, I’m really struggling [to avoid spoilers]
Tawny Newsome is writing herStar Trekseries for herself to star in, andshe also hopes to set it in the 25th century established byStar Trek: Picard. That would be Newsome’s"dream of dreams,“so that"all of our legacy actors, everyone who’s currently on a show, I want people to be able to show up with their real faces.“A 25th century setStar Trek workplace comedy could letactors fromStar Trek: Picard,Star Trek: Prodigy,andStar Trek: Lower Decksappear with the actors relatively age-appropriate to their characters.
Characters and settings outside the Federation allow for a new perspective.
Setting Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien’sStar Trekworkplace comedy outside the Federation is key.Star Trekhas thoroughly explored the Federation, time traveled to the past, and setStar Trek: Voyagerin the Delta Quadrantfor seven seasons.Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale set the stage for the exploration of the multiverse. Characters and settings outside the Federation allow for a new perspective, and even affirmation, of the tried-and-true beliefsStar Trekholds dear.
Why Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 Movie Failed Star Trek’s New Frontier
Section 31 Barely Resembles Star Trek
One of the most exciting aspects ofStar Trek: Section 31on the outset was that it was set in the early 24th century outside the United Federation of Planets. After exitingStar Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century, Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) was transported toStar Trek’s"lost era,“decades before the beginning ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.However,Section 31eschewedStar Trek’s aesthetics and iconography for a more generic sci-fi palette. Outside of a few fleeting references,Section 31hardly even resembledStar Trek.
EvenStar Trek: Section 31’s strongest link to established canon, the Mirror Universe, countered what was previously known.Section 31’s prologue established thatyoung Philppa Georgiou (Miku Martineau)became the Terran Emperor in a contest derivative ofThe Hunger Games. When the Mirror Universe attempted to invadeStar Trek’s Prime timeline, San’s (James Hiroyuki Liao) starship and weaponry was, again, generic-looking anddidn’t reflectStar Trek’s established aesthetic.
Star Trekfans hoped to, at least, see Starfleet Officers wearing the popular and distinctive"monster maroon"Starfleet uniforms introduced in theStar Trek: The Original Seriesmovies.
Tawny Newsome is a lifelongStar Trekfan who even served as the"continuity cop"inStar Trek: Starfleet Academy’s writers' room. It’s safe to bet that Tawny and Justin Simien’sStar Trekcomedy would celebrate the weird and wonderful aspects ofStar Trekwhile reveling in the differences of living outside the safe and cozy Federation. As expansive as the Federation is,Star Trek’s galaxy is even bigger, and life outside the Federation is a new frontier ripe for exploration, just asStar Trek: Lower Decks' hoped-for return one day will shed new light onStar Trek’s multiverse.
