Credit: Paramount+ via MovieStillsDB
Published Jun 5, 2026, 3:01 PM EDT
El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.
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Paramount's hit five-part sci-fi series is one of the few genre shows in the age of streaming that undeniably proves the value of episodic television. Since platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+, Disney+, HBO Max, and more have taken over the entertainment landscape, small-screen storytelling has changed dramatically. Episodic shows, which produce new largely self-contained stories in every installment, are mostly found on network TV, with sitcoms and procedurals like the ever-growing NCIS and Law & Order franchises continuing to produce lengthier seasons, week after week.
While streaming has given audiences more prestige television than anyone could ever hope to watch in a lifetime, much of it is serialized, compressed into seasons of eight, 10, or, in rare cases, 13 episodes. Though each platform has fiddled with release schedules, many of these original series reward audiences with overarching narratives they can eventually binge-watch within a few hours or over a handful of days. This is especially true for genre series within science fiction (and fantasy, of course).
Severance, Silo, Fallout, Pluribus, Dark, For All Mankind, Foundation, Stranger Things, Paradise, The Expanse, and even Disney's The Mandalorian; all of these shows have expanded their stories over multiple episodes and seasons, inviting and even demanding long-term commitment. While science fiction's themes and immense narrative possibilities certainly encourage that type of storytelling, there's something to be said for exploring those same concepts in more intimate scenarios and settings, using an established world to experiment with new perspectives and sub-genres. This is exactly what Paramount+ is doing with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score |
|
Average |
94% |
|
Season 1 |
98% |
|
Season 2 |
97% |
|
Season 3 |
88% |
Set up as a spinoff of the more divisive Star Trek: Discovery and a canonical prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, Strange New Worlds honors Gene Roddenberry's original vision for the Star Trek universe by embracing the franchise's classic episodic structure. Though Strange New Worlds is undoubtedly a streaming series, producing 10 episodes per season (though the final season will consist of fewer), it still manages to strike that perfect balance between continuous character development and fun, creative, and immersive one-off storytelling.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Episodic Format Makes It More Accessible
In just 30 episodes, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has covered a wide variety of genres and storytelling tropes, including hard sci-fi thrillers, space exploration, time-travel stories, alien invasions, romantic comedies, musicals, murder mysteries, documentary filmmaking, and more. No two episodes are the same, even when they do deal with returning and overarching villains like the terrifying Gorn or the mysterious Vezda. As such, audiences never fully know what to expect, even though Strange New Worlds functions as a prequel to one of the most iconic science fiction shows ever created.
Not only does this kind of narrative approach give the show more room to play with different characters and storylines — one especially memorable season 3 episode involves Captain Christopher Pike, Nurse Chapel, communications specialist Nyota Uhura, and security chief La'an Noonien-Singh being turned into incredibly arrogant Vulcans — it also makes the show more accessible to a wider audience. Strange New Worlds is undoubtedly a Trek show and caters to die-hard Trekkies. Still, it also functions as a perfect gateway for brand-new and casual fans alike to bask in the hopeful nature of Starfleet and the wider Star Trek universe.
Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment
The Final Frontier
Trivia Challenge
🚀ShipsEnterprise!
⭐CrewMake it so
☠EnemiesResistance is…
⚡TechWarp speed!
📖LoreLive long…
ENGAGE →
01
The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?
ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656
✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.
✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.
NEXT →
02
Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?
AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek
✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.
NEXT →
03
Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?
AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive
✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.
NEXT →
04
“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?
AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472
✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”
NEXT →
05
Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?
AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula
✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
NEXT →
06
Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?
ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive
✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.
NEXT →
07
At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?
AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru
✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
NEXT →
08
In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?
AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat
✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.
REVEAL MY SCORE →
Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record
/ 8
Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?
↻ RE-ENGAGE
There's something for everyone in Strange New Worlds, yet the show never loses sight of its main mission or its ethos. Every episode, no matter how far out there, has a role to play in character development and James T. Kirk's eventual captaincy of the Enterprise. What's so admirable about Strange New Worlds is that it isn't afraid to take risks; not everyone will have enjoyed the show's musical chapter, and not everyone will be a fan of the felt puppet episode that's been teased for the upcoming season.
That's the beauty of episodic television, however. Even if one episode doesn't necessarily work for a viewer, the next installment could become their favorite hour of television ever made. That's an aspect of small-screen storytelling that has arguably been lost in the serialized streaming age. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the perfect weekly release.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Will Return For Two More Seasons
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is set to premiere on Paramount+ in July this year and will consist of the usual 10 episodes, while the confirmed fifth and final season will have six episodes, leading straight into Kirk's tenure as the Enterprise's captain. Previously, executive producer and co-showrunner Akiva Goldsmith confirmed that Strange New Worlds season 4 will be even more episodic than the show's previous outings, as it focuses on explaining why certain members of Pike's crew don't transfer over to Kirk's team in Star Trek: The Original Series rather than introducing another long-term villain.
Again, this is a genuinely brave and commendable move for the show. Working towards a pre-determined ending can make it so much easier to fall into a continuous, serialized storytelling trap, a misguided desire to produce a final bombastic and indulgent sci-fi hurrah for one of the franchise's best modern shows. Clearly, though, the showrunners recognize that Star Trek: Strange New World's episodic storytelling is its greatest strength. After all, the Enterprise's mission is to "boldly go where no one has gone before," and in this age of streaming, sticking to an episodic format in a major science fiction series is certainly "bold."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 premieres on July 23, exclusively on Paramount+.
Release Date May 5, 2022
Network Paramount+
Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman
Writers Onitra Johnson
English (US) ·