"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" to End with Season Five

On June 12, 2025, Paramount+ officially announced that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for a fifth and final season. The farewell season will consist of six episodes, with production kicking off later this year.

That sentence hits a little harder than I expected, at least for me.

Strange New Pod was born because of this show. Back when Strange New Worlds was still just a glimmer of promise spun out of Discovery Season 2, we knew this crew, Pike, Spock, Number One, and eventually La’an, M’Benga, Ortegas, Chapel, Uhura, Hemmer, Pelia, and of course Scotty, had the potential to breath new life into the Star Trek universe. And wow, did they ever. As I write this, I feel like I'm talking about the show as if it's already off the air, but of course, that is far from the case.

With its third season set to premiere July 17 on Paramount+, kicking off with a two-episode drop, Strange New Worlds will soon enter its back half, with Season 4 currently in production and Season 5 on the horizon. So no, this isn’t the end right now; we still have three seasons left to enjoy. But it’s official: the Enterprise will complete her five-season mission under Captain Pike, just as the showrunners always intended.

And for that, I'm incredibly grateful.

From the jump, this series has delivered some of the most joyful, genre-bending, emotionally resonant Star Trek storytelling we've seen in decades. Where else could we have a courtroom drama, a screwball comedy, a full-blown musical, and a deeply existential war story all in one season? Strange New Worlds embraced the episodic roots of Trek while daring to evolve the format. The result was two critically-acclaimed seasons (both Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), a Saturn Award for Best Sci-Fi Series, and a much-deserved Critics Choice nomination for Best Drama.

But even more than accolades, it gave fans a reason to believe again.

It made us laugh, made us cry, made us scream when Kirk showed up early (and then won me over at least), and it introduced an entire generation of fans to the idea that Star Trek can still be about wonder, hope, and the power of found family. And yes, it gave us Ortegas, which, frankly, should be an award category of its own.

Executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers, and Alex Kurtzman shared in their statement today:

“From the very beginning, Strange New Worlds set out to honor what Star Trek has always stood for — boundless curiosity, hope and the belief that a better future is possible… To the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey — THANK YOU. With three more spectacular seasons ahead for you to see and enjoy, this adventure is far from over.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

So yes, the news is bittersweet. But how often do creators get to end a series on their terms, with a fully realized arc and the chance to stick the landing? That’s rare. That’s special. And yes, as Girafe pointed out to me this morning, it's more of a courtesy that any other new Trek series got, including Discovery, Lower Decks, and Prodigy.

We’ll have much more to say as Season 3 draws near, breakdowns, interviews, celebrations, and maybe even a few tears (I've already shed some this morning), but for now, from the team at Strange New Pod:

Thank you to the cast. Thank you to the crew. Thanks to those within this production that we're lucky enough to call friends. And thank you, Strange New Worlds, for helping us launch something truly special.