Star Trek: Strange New Worlds EPs Defend Genre Gimmick Episodes: “There’s Something To Love In Every Season”

Published Sep 17, 2026, 10:09 PM EDT

As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds heads into its season 4 finale, the fandom is split between those who enjoy the series' unpredictable explorations of different genres in each episode, and the vocal online detractors who demand more 'traditional Star Trek.' Strange New Worlds season 4's gimmick episodes, like the puppet and soap opera hours, have been review bombed and rated poorly on IMDb, although cast members like Rebecca Romijn love and stand behind Strange New Worlds' gimmicks.

Speaking to TV Line, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' executive producers and co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers explain that the gimmicks are inherent in their show, because the 'strange new worlds' they are exploring "are genres." Goldsman is aware of the fan complaint that 10 episodes isn't enough and are heavily skewed towards gimmick episodes, as opposed to how Star Trek: The Original Series had over 24 episodes per season. However, Akiva admits that "you can't really please all the people all the time." Read his quote below:

Akiva Goldsman: "I get it, and we love ['traditional Star Trek'], too, [but] that's not our show. It's in the title: Our worlds are genres. I really do respect and hear the criticism that: 'When you have 10 episodes [per season], should they be more homogenous?' For us, the answer was no, because the original series always jumped around in genre. Part of what 'Star Trek' did well was use genre for storytelling, and that was what we wanted to explore in this series. We are 'Star Trek' fans, deeply, and we try to respond to the fandom in us — and you can't really please all the people all the time.”

Henry Alonso Myers goes into more detail that their intent for Strange New Worlds is to create episodes to appeal to everyone, including potential audiences who "don't know Star Trek" but might sample the show because they "might find something that surprises or interests them." Myers says that "There's something to love in every season" of Strange New Worlds, with an episode to appeal to every type of fan. Read Henry's quote below:

Henry Alonso Myers: "We love classic 'Star Trek' episodes more than you can possibly imagine, but we also like trying new things… The goal is to make a 'Star Trek' at some point in our season that is for everyone, to reach out to people who don't know Star Trek and who might find something that surprises them or interests them… Not every 'Star Trek' is for everybody, but I guarantee that the bulk of the episodes that we do in our season will be for most people. There is something to love in every season, and that's what we were really going for.”

"I think people who love the Tribbles are probably going to love the puppet episode. I think people who love some of the more classic ones will love episode 6 because that is a straight fastball down the middle for what is a great classic 'Star Trek. The goal was to create a show that reached out to more people, but also pleased the people who love the show, to give them some surprise, a new version, a point of view about things that they hadn't gotten to see before, and also to win people over who never thought of 'Star Trek' and thought they'd check out a crazy show that would do something as insane as puppets. That's our goal."

At this point in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' five-season run, the intent of the show is clear. After the success and acclaim of season 2's comedy crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks and musical episode, Strange New Worlds went all-in on exploring different genres that would showcase the endless talent of the cast. In truth, however, Strange New Worlds was doing gimmicks even in season 1, such as "Spock Amok's" Vulcan body swap comedy.

Myers and Goldsman are also correct that Star Trek: The Original Series was just as wild and inventive 60 years ago. The original Star Trek had episodes like Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) fighting his evil twin, the Starship Enterprise going to a 1930s gangster planet and an ancient Rome planet, meeting Abraham Lincoln, the Greek god Apollo, and space hippies, Scotty (James Doohan) becoming Jack the Ripper, and Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) brain being stolen.

However, Strange New Worlds only having 10 episodes instead of 26 means the show is imbalanced by gimmicks, with episodes like season 4's intense, Enterprise-in-peril story, "Off-Hour," and the moral quandary of "Orders of Magnitude" feeling more like outliers than the norm. This is the root of many fans' complaints, as much of the fandom yearns for another of Star Trek's hallmarks: complex stories with thought-provoking problems when the USS Enterprise visits a strange new world and encounters new life and new civilizations.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' defense, the series is also deeply character-driven, and boasts a richer exploration of its huge cast of characters than the original Star Trek, which mainly focused on Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), ever did. Goldsman explains, "We do try to use the genre to move character forward," citing the ending of season 4's soap opera episode, which saw a powerful display of grief and emotion from Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) that "you might not [get away with] in a more standard and more typical story structure and tone."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' fifth and final season, which premieres on Paramount+ in 2027, will only be 6 episodes. Goldsman, Paul Wesley, and Rebecca Romijn have all hinted that the Strange New Worlds' final season will be more "serious" and will leave the gimmicks behind, as the series heads into its planned ending to "say goodbye" to Captain Pike's Enterprise and lead into the start of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Whether audiences are loving or griping about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the executive producers hear the fan response, good and bad. Goldsman says, "So you know, there is a method to our madness. Whether we land the plane each time or not, it's certainly not for lack of trying."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is streaming on Paramount+