Summary
Star Trekhas seen a lot of different new approaches to its content since it made the return to its original medium, and one star of the modern era has a pretty novel new idea for the franchise to try in light of their show’s most recent historical first.
While modernStar Trekstarted off as a primarily theatrical affair based on the whims of IP holders Paramount, the franchise has since returned to its TV roots with far more variety than ever before. With a plethora of shows running in tandem on the Paramount+ streaming service, different creatives have been able to put their own unique spin on the oft-formulaic nature of the older Star Trek shows. Some of this has come by way of animated shows, a medium that’s far more potent now than it ever could have been in the old days and is even geared to giveStar Trekits most unique project yet.
While it’s still early in the development of that promised animated series, the franchise has done some other interesting and unexpected things, such as taking on the musical genre with theStar Trek: Strange New WorldsepisodeSubspace Rhapsody.The episode, which saw the crew of the USS Enterprise compelled to sing their thoughts and feelings out loud after encountering a naturally occurring fold in subspace, was a massive hit with critics and fans. Celia Rose Gooding, who playsthe most culturally impactful role on theStar Trekshowas the face of Nyota Uhura in the same vein as original actress Nichelle Nichols and reboot film franchise choice Zoe Saldaña, recently gave her pick for what other genre the franchise could tackle next. “Reality. Like, very Abbott Elementary, St. Denis Medical, The Office, just something like that,” Gooding suggested during theStar Trek: Strange New Worldspanel at Emerald City Comic Con, perPopverse. When asked if she meant something along the lines of aStar Trekmockumentary, the actress replied, “Sure.”
The amount of diverse content that’s come out of the Paramount+ era ofStar Trekhas greatly expanded the franchise’s potential for storytelling in different styles and takes on different trends. With more than one show and no overarching narrative to be yoked to on streaming, there’s no reason why a mockumentary episode wouldn’t work, especially forStrange New World. Gooding’sStrange New Worldsco-star Anson Mount also recentlymade a pretty bold suggestion for the franchise, centering one of his character’s more unique traits to dream up an equally specialStar Trekcompanion project. While the show already has its own essence after three solid seasons on the streamer, there’s certainly room for more branching out, asSubspace Rhapsodyillustrated. The only real question left on the board is who Gooding thinks would be the Enterprise’s Michael Scott.
Withproduction on a fourthStrange New Worldsseason set to kick off this month, fans can look forward to more adventures with Gooding and the rest of the cast. Whether or not they’ll be getting up to any antics inspired byTheOfficeis still up in the air, but the idea certainly has a lot of potential. Fans will have to wait and see just how far the Paramount+ era will take the franchise off the beaten path to bring that idea to life.
