Star Trek: Strange New Worlds warped onto Paramount+ last year and took us back to the Enterprise before it was captained by Kirk. The fifth Star Trek series currently in production, Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew about seven years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. The series introduces new characters while also giving insight into the history of iconic Star Trek characters like Spock (Ethan Peck) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding).
While we do not yet have a release date for Season 2 of Strange New Worlds, the incredible first season is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on March 21 from Paramount+, CBS Home Entertainment, and Paramount Home Entertainment. You will also be able to pick it up in a gorgeous 4K UHD Steelbook on May 16. The physical release of Season 1 will feature over 90 minutes of special features including cast and crew interviews, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and more! To celebrate the physical release of Season 1 CBS and Paramount will be hosting a Strange New Worlds trivia night in LA. The one-night-only event will take place on March 24 at the Scum and Villainy Cantina, and will feature special guests, giveaways, a limited-time menu with Star Trek-themed food and drinks, and an exclusive Q&A with host Dr. Erin Macdonald and the to-be-announced special guests.
Ahead of the release, I got the opportunity to sit down with stars Celia Rose Gooding and Melissa Navia (Lt. Ortegas) to discuss the making of Season 1 and what we can expect from their characters in Season 2. During our conversation, Navia explained how she got to help create her character's look, Gooding spoke about getting to play an evil character in Season 1's fairytale episode, and they both discussed what we can expect from their characters in Season 2, including which dream-sci-fi scenarios they'd love to play out on Strange New Worlds.
COLLIDER: First of all, as a queer person, I just want to thank you both for infusing so much queer energy into Strange New Worlds. It really means a lot to me.
Celia Rose Gooding: Of course!
So we're celebrating the Blu-Ray release of Season 1. Is there a particular moment for both of you that stands out from creating the first wonderful season?
Gooding: I'll go first. A moment that stands out, I think there are two [that come to mind] specifically. Of course, those first initial days of our grand fantasy episode, where we just got to really try something completely new. It was really exciting to watch all of these, watch the cast who are incredible actors, just really flex their acting chops. It was just really impressive to see the grand opposites that we're all playing. And yeah, I'll say that was one of my favorite standouts. I can't wait for people to really see how much effort and energy and brain power it took to create something so fantastic, because while the actors are doing incredible jobs, I would say our set dressers and our costume team, and it was everyone really just put their heart and soul into it, and you can really tell. So I can't wait for our audiences to see just how incredibly gifted this team is.
That's awesome.
Melissa Navia: Yeah, I'd say, I mean, just so many moments during Season 1, but definitely meeting everybody for the first time and being like, "This is going to be the crew of the Enterprise." And I'm just thinking, we've been doing a few interviews now, but this is the first time I thought of this, this morning, was when I was able to choose the haircut for Ortegas. And that was a question that I was asked a lot.
Gooding: You got to choose?
Navia: Yeah, it was just like, and I remember our wonderful hair department sent me different options. And then I looked stuff up, but this idea of having this kind of a mix between cool casual, but she also has a military background. And the haircut that we decided on, I remember being in the hair trailer, and it was the first time I'd met Ethan, and he was sitting next to me. And I'm deciding, and I remember, I don't know if he remembers this, but I'm sure he does.
But me being like, "Which one do you think?" And I'm like, here's this guy I never met before. And I wanted the Ortegas that we got. And he also, he was just like, "Yeah. Do it. Do it." And I'm like, "Well, all right then." But just being able to [choose], and I saw immediately that I'm just like, they're letting me infuse what I want into this character and how I envision her. And then seeing it on the screen, and just seeing in general how all of who we are as actors and people informed our characters, and how the writers and the producers were so excited to allow us to do that. And that, I think, really is what made Season 1, I mean, the writing and everything. But what really jumped off the screen for everybody was just how much we all like each other and how well that's written into the world of Star Trek. So yeah, for me, when I got to choose my haircut, I was just like, "This is going to be good. This is going to work out."
I love that. Celia, you mentioned the fairytale episode, and that was just one of the most incredible episodes from the first Season.
Gooding: Agreed.
Do you guys want to speak a little bit about getting to play something totally against type? And can you tease anything about more Holodeck-style episodes in the future? Without the Holodeck, of course!
Gooding: I would say it's always fun to play the bad guy, just because I consider myself to be quite a sunshiny person, and Uhura is such a ball of joy when she's not grieving. But I was just really excited to play a bad guy. It seemed so small and simple, but it was just exciting to do something that was so different, especially when you're in such an established franchise that there's a theme amongst Star Trek that we even don't deviate from. It's very sci-fi, of course, very action-based. And even though there is a lot of comradery and levity amongst the crew, were dealing with a lot of life-or-death situations casually. And so to step away from that and to really, really lighten the stakes, but also keep it very serious, it was just really exciting. It's always fun to try something new but to go in the exact opposite direction of where you are in that present moment, it just keeps you flexible as an actor. It's exciting to make sure that you still have those mindsets you can inform yourself in.
Navia: Yeah. For me, I feel in the fantasy episode, I feel like Sir Adya was just an extension of who Ortegas is. And so it was almost just, I could continue to be Ortegas, but as a knight. And I'm like, "Of course, Ortegas would be a knight in a fantasy world." So that was a blast. And also for me as well, I would love to be a knight. And so the fact that it all happened still blows my mind.
So Ortegas is such a central part of the Bridge crew, but we haven't really gotten to see a lot of her backstory yet. Back on Star Trek Day, we got to see the tease of her first away mission. Can you tell us anything about what's coming up for Ortegas?
Navia: No. No, I can't. So next question. No, so we're going to get to see more of Ortegas, which is, I was so happy that we got to show that as a sneak peek of Season 2 with something great happening for her, and then also something being snatched away. But we get to see a lot more of what has made her this very competent pilot, and why she is so competent and why her crew is loyal to her, and why she's loyal to them. And we've said this before, this is such a fantastic ensemble show, but it's very difficult in 10 episodes to showcase every character and go into their backstory, and what makes them tick.
And I think what was really done—many, many things were done really well in Season 1—but for Ortegas, we saw relatively less of her than the other characters, but we still saw enough and so much that people wanted to see more. And I think what speaks better to a character and to writing is when people are like, "I want more. Tell me what makes her tick." And so we're going to see that in Season 2, and just, like you said, we're going to see what makes her such an integral part of the crew, and why she loves to do what she does.
Celia, can you tease anything about Season 2 for Uhura?
Gooding: Kind of, let's see...We see, I mean, Uhura went through a lot in Season 1. We saw her lose someone incredibly important to her. We saw her make a lot of big life decisions, and I think in Season 2, we just see the consequences of those decisions and of those experiences that she had. We're not going to pretend like Season 1 didn't happen, and well, we're just going to continue to watch her bloom and grow and learn more about the experiences that mold her and shape her into the iconic character we know and love.
And then just to wrap up, let's end with a fun one. Since you guys are on Strange New Worlds, what Star Trek planet, from any of the series or movies, would you like to visit?
Gooding: I can't think of any names of specific ones, but I remember there was one, I think it was a TOS episode that was so Tribble-heavy. I just want to make sure that Uhura gets to—I would love for Uhura's first interactions with a Tribble to be recorded and put in Strange New Worlds. I just want to watch her experience that deep, deep, cute obsession that she has with those cute little furballs.
I would love that.
Navia: Well, I want to, it's less of a planet, more of a genre, but I'm thinking Western or do you know the '20s. Just something like make-
Gooding: Flapper Uhura. I want to see it.
Navia: And I'm thinking Suspenders Ortegas and-
Gooding: Mob Boss Ortegas.
Navia: Yes. Yes.
Gooding: I need that. I need that for me.
Navia: Yes.
Those are both amazing answers. Thank you both so much.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 is expected to debut on Paramount+ sometime this year. You can bring home Strange New Worlds Season 1 on Blu-ray and DVD with over 90 minutes of bonus content on March 21, and in 4K UHD when the Steelbook arrives on May 16.