With the phenomenal first season finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds landing in July 2022, fans don't have to wait long to watch an equally incredible project from the franchise. In terms of its big-screen intentions, the Star Trek brand may be taking a short break, but streaming activity is still bustling along. One specific animated series has quietly built itself as one of the finest and most enjoyable additions to the popular franchise, even though live-action programs like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard invariably garner the largest headlines and the most viewers. Emmy Award winner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) created the hit animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks for Paramount+. The show debuted in 2020 as the ninth installment of the extended Star Trek Universe created by executive producer Alex Kurtzman. Since Star Trek: The Animated Series aired in the 1970s, Lower Decks is the franchise's first animated series, as well as its first comedic show with numerous references and parallels to earlier Star Trek series. The show is produced by CBS Eye Animation Productions in collaboration with Secret Hideout, Important Science, Roddenberry Entertainment, and the animation studio Titmouse.
From its tone and comedy to its basic aesthetics, Lower Decks has proudly taken the badge of honor for playing the role of Star Trek's peculiar cousin. Lower Decks can be compared more to Rick and Morty than Star Treks: The Animated Series, thanks to its creator that gives the series its comedic distinct edge. Lower Decks takes its name from a famous episode from 1987's Star Trek: The Next Generation and is running simultaneously with the events of 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, offering a fresh look at the utopia of the 24th century, primarily through the viewpoint of those who have the worst jobs on a cutting-edge spaceship.
With Lower Decks, fans have the chance to examine this expansive brand via the frequently disregarded prism of humor thanks to the cheeky and funny antics of the lower deckers as they deal with all the difficulties that come with their lowly positions. The series is guaranteed to make you smile and here's everything we know about Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3.
When and Where Is Star Trek: Lower Decks Coming Out?
The third season of the original Star Trek half-hour animated comedy series will launch on Thursday, August 25, 2022, exclusively on Paramount+. The remaining nine episodes of the 10-episode season will then be released weekly on Thursdays.
Together with the release date, Paramount+ also presented a brand-new poster with the striking visual of Ensign Rutherford's head shooting blue and pink light. Our boisterous bunch of lower deckers is positioned below Rutherford, with Beckett Mariner in the lead and Brad Boimler and Ensign Tendi on either side of her. Above all else, it looks like the U.S.S. Cerritos is engaged in combat with a Klingon Bird of Prey. The season's key art pays homage to the poster for the 1984 movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, much like Season 2's key art did for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Is There a Trailer For Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3?
Paramount+ premiered the new trailer for Lower Decks Season 3 at the Star Trek Universe panel during the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. Things were looking a little grim for the U.S.S. Cerritos crew on Lower Decks when we last saw them with the startling arrest of Captain Freeman for a crime she didn’t commit marking the shocking conclusion of Season 2. As we enter Season 3, Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, and Tendi must figure out how to prove Captain Freeman's innocence while upsetting as little of Starfleet as possible, even as they continue to look for adventure.
The recently released trailer hints at a ton of bizarre and amazing events to follow when Lower Decks returns and like always, the lower deck crew members are engaged in some rather hysterical antics while completing the tedious duties and grunt work that come with being an Ensign in Starfleet. The most intriguing connection to an unexpected chapter of Star Trek history, Deep Space Nine, is hinted at in the trailer's ending, much to the delight of many fans.
Who Is in the Cast of Star Trek: Lower Decks?
The Star Trek: Lower Decks cast includes the U.S.S. Cerritos lower deckers, with Tawny Newsome (Space Force) voicing Ensign Beckett Mariner, Jack Quaid (The Boys) playing Ensign Brad Boimler, Noel Wells (Craig of the Creek) voicing Ensign Tendi, and Eugene Cordero (Loki) voicing Ensign Rutherford. Captain Carol Freeman is voiced by Dawnn Lewis (Carmen Sandiego), Commander Jack Ransom is voiced by Jerry O'Connell (Justice League: Thorne of Atlantis), and Doctor T'Ana is portrayed by Gillian Vigman (Roswell, New Mexico), making up the ship's bridge staff.
What Is Star Trek: Lower Decks About?
In the Star Trek world, Star Trek: Lower Decks is set during the late 24th century when Earth is a member of the multi-species United Federation of Planets. Starfleet is the military and exploration branch of the Federation. Star Trek: Lower Decks centers on one of Starfleet's least significant starships, the USS Cerritos, which travels the galaxy making contact with alien races. Lower Decks concentrates on the quests and adventures of the lower deckers - low-ranking officers with menial jobs - as opposed to other Star Trek series, whose primary protagonists are starship captains or other senior officers. In Lower Decks, the captain and other senior staff only appear as supporting characters. Beginning with a stunning conclusion to the dramatic cliffhanger finale of Season 2, the U.S.S. Cerritos ensigns are put to the test in amusing ways in Season 3 of Star Trek: Lower Decks as they continue to travel the universe, aiding civilizations and new life, and maintaining their aesthetics without completely embarrassing themselves along the process.
The third season, according to McMahan, would make the first moves toward promoting the lower deckers, illustrating how they all follow different paths to develop into the characters he intended for them to be by the end of the show. The third season will carry on the ongoing Pakled narrative from the earlier seasons. With Beckett Mariner and Captain Freeman having grown closer throughout the second season, the Captain's arrest would result in a new dynamic in their relationship. In the initial episodes of the season, new personal quests for the main protagonists are introduced. D'Vana Tendi begins a new position in the sciences division, Brad Boimler's experiences from the first two seasons will guide him down a new route, and the mystery surrounding Sam Rutherford's cyborg implant will continue.
What About the Crossover With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?
Another major revelation made during the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con was Paramount+ announcing a significant crossover in the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with Star Trek: Lower Decks. This crossover will aptly combine the world of live-action and animation, as recently seen in The Boys' episode "Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed". Anson Mount, who plays Captain Christopher Pike in Strange New Worlds, revealed that Tawny Newsome's Beckett Mariner and Jack Quaid's Brad Boimler will accompany the U.S.S. Enterprise in this special episode.
Henry Alonso Myers, co-showrunner of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, discussed how this unforeseen crossover occurred. The entire Strange New Worlds writing staff, according to Alonso Myers, are great Lower Decks fans. The idea for the crossover came from one of the writers who also writes for The Boys and surprisingly soon after, Alex Kurtzman reached out to Myers and suggested that they collaborate with Lower Decks, resulting in one of the most exciting crossovers fans can eagerly look forward to.
Are Deep Space Nine Characters Appearing in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3?
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will finally see its long-overdue revival with the release of the third season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Deep Space Nine was the fourth installment of the Star Trek television series and had its premiere in 1993. The trailer revealed that the renowned deep-space station will be visited once more by the animated series, and it will involve more than just a cameo.
In the words of Mike McMahan, “…and then we go into Deep Space Nine, where we walk the promenade, we will enjoy the Cardassian architecture ... and you might see some friendly faces in there." McMahan also added, "It feels to me like one last walk around Deep Space Nine. It's a really good episode. I can't wait for you guys to see it"
Despite McMahan's announcement that a few iconic Deep Space Nine characters will feature in Lower Decks, the teaser only gives viewers a brief sight of the station, leaving some room for surprise appearances.
Is Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 the Final Season?
No, Lower Decks' fourth season was announced in January 2022 and is expected to premiere in 2023. By April, the writing had begun, and voice recording started in June, with Newsome recording voiceovers for the season while she was undertaking extra dialogue recording (ADR) for the third season. The fourth season, which will also have 10 episodes, will debut on the streaming platform Paramount+, just like all the other seasons. According to McMahan, after the popularity of the second-season episode "wej Duj," which had a different structure than earlier episodes of the series, the writers attempted to apply those kinds of concepts to the fourth season.