Star Trek: Lower Decks will return for season 5 on October 24th, which is also the animated comedy’s final season on Paramount+. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4’s finale, “Old Friends, New Planets” ended on a cliffhanger, as Lieutenant D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) sacrificed her Starfleet career so that the USS Cerritos’ crew could rescue Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome.) While Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) was sad about Tendi’s departure, the rest of the Lower Deckers were confident that the lovable Orion will return to Starfleet in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4’s ending resolved why Lieutenant Beckett Mariner is so intent on remaining a Lower Decker: the tragic death of her idol and friend from Starfleet Academy, Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) from Star Trek: The Next Generation, instilled a desire within Mariner to avoid a rank that could mean sending another Starfleet Officer to their death. The USS Cerritos crew worked together to save Mariner from disgraced ex-Starfleet Academy Cadet Nicholas Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill), and Beckett remains a Starfleet true believer. But what happens next in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5?
New Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Clip Revealed On Star Trek Day
Tendi is back as the Mistress of the Winter Constellations
On Star Trek Day, Paramount+ debuted a new scene from Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5. The 2-minute clip from Star Trek: Lower Decks’ season 5 premiere catches up with former Starfleet Officer D’Vana Tendi. who is undercover on a mission with the Orions. As the Mistress of the Winter Constellations, Tendi envisions a new future for the Orions where they drop their murderous ways and take a more peaceful approach. Although D’Vana tries to lead by example, the Orions’ old ways are hard to shake. Check out the clip below:
Paramount+’s official logline for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 also teases what’s to come for the crew of the USS Cerritos in the final season:
In season five of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes”—subspace rifts that are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Junior Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.
It’s logical to guess that the changes Tendi tries to make to the Orions in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 could spark the “Orion war” hinted at above.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Is Confirmed As The Final Season
Lower Decks season 5 is in production now
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 was confirmed as the final season by Paramount+. In April, Paramount+ announced the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks along with the simultaneous renewal of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for season 4. Lower Decks‘ showrunner Mike McMahan expressed his fears in 2023 that Star Trek‘s first animated comedy could be coming to an end, although he still has years of stories he could do about the crew of the USS Cerritos. With the announcement, McMahan and Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman issued a statement on social media about Lower Decks ending, and they thanked the fans:
Jack Quaid, who plays Lt. Brad Boimler, posted his own thanks to Star Trek: Lower Decks on Instagram, as did Noel Wells, who plays Lt. D’Vana Tendi. Check out Quaid’s post below:
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Release Date Is October 24 On Paramount+
Lower Decks season 5 will run into December
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will premiere with two episodes on October 24 on Paramount+, and the season 5 finale will premiere on December 19. As an animated series, Lower Decks‘ scripting and production weren’t affected by 2023’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and the show’s actors like Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid completed their voice-over work after the strikes were resolved. The actors finished their ADR and additional dialogue, and Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is on track to be Paramount+’s featured Star Trek event in the fall.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Cast
Everyone is Back and Lower Decks’ cast got bigger in season 4
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ entire cast will be back for season 5. Although D’Vana Tendi left the USS Cerritos to rejoin Star Trek‘s Orions, the other Lower Deckers seem confident that she’ll find a way back to Starfleet. Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ new addition, Lieutenant T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), fits like a glove with the Lower Deckers and will remain aboard the USS Cerritos in Lower Decks season 5.
|
Star Trek: Lower Decks Main Characters |
Voiced By |
|---|---|
|
Lt. Beckett Mariner |
Tawny Newsome |
|
Lt. Bradward Boimler |
Jack Quaid |
|
Lt. D’Vana Tendi |
Noel Wells |
|
Lt. Samanthan Rutherford |
Eugene Cordero |
|
Lt. T’Lyn |
Gabrielle Ruiz |
|
Captain Carol Freeman |
Dawnn Lewis |
|
Commander Jack Ransom |
Jerry O’Connell |
|
Lt. Shax |
Fred Tatasciore |
|
Dr. T’Ana |
Gillian Vigman |
After reconciling her issues with promotion, Lt. Mariner is back aboard the Cerritos, where she aims to be less self-destructive in Lower Decks season 5. Star Trek‘s Mark Twain-ing odd couple, Bradward Boimler and Sam Rutherford will also return alongside the rest of the Lower Decks supporting cast.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Story
Mike McMahan has dropped Lower Decks season 5 story hints
A return to Orion to continue Tendi’s story is a definite in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, and there’s some “love” for Scott Bakula’s Star Trek: Enterprise as well. After his brief stint as acting Captain, Boimler will likely be pursuing a career in command. However, his transporter clone William Boimler is still out there somewhere, potentially becoming Lower Decks season 5’s big bad.
Tawny Newsome is remaining in
Star Trek
as one of the writers of the next
Star Trek
series,
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,
and Tawny is developing
Star Trek’s
first live-action comedy with Justin Simien.
Mike McMahan has also teased a wedding and a trip to a planet he has always wanted the Cerritos to visit. Meanwhile, the reformed hologram Goodgey (Jack McBrayer) could provide some interesting new storylines for Rutherford and the crew of the USS Cerritos. Add to that the aforementioned Orion war, Klingons, murder mystery, and possible promotions for the Lower Deckers, and there is plenty to look forward to in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5.
Could Star Trek: Lower Decks Continue Beyond Paramount Plus?
Fan support got Star Trek: Prodigy to Netflix
MIke McMahan has been carefully using the verbiage that Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is the “final season on Paramount+,” and this implies that Star Trek‘s first animated comedy could continue on a different streaming service. Star Trek: Prodigy fans rallied to bring that series to Netflix. At San Diego Comic-Con, Alex Kurtzman urged fans to apply the same creativity and fervor to boost Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5’s numbers, which would make it more attractive to shop to other streamers. Whether Star Trek: Lower Decks could be revamped into a different format is another question, but the voyages of the USS Cerritos ending on Paramount+ may ultimately mark a new beginning.
