'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' warps onto TV today on Paramount Plus

The "Star Trek: Discovery" spinoff "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" arrives on Paramount Plus today (May 5) with a retro flair and an old-fashioned style that harkens back to Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's vision for the iconic sci-fi series as an episodic "Wagon Train To The Stars."

There's a refreshing tone in all the Paramount Plus teasers, trailers and posters advertising the 10-episode salute to weekly expeditions to exotic planets and mysterious alien civilizations that shines like the optimism that's always been a hallmark of "Star Trek" in all its many iterations.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" kicks off its premiere chapter on May 5, 2022 and stars many original "Trek" series characters, including Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) as they engage their warp drive and visit extraterrestrial cultures and star systems galore in the name of Starfleet. 

Check out our Star Trek streaming guide to catch up on "Discovery" and meet the characters we'll see in "Strange New Worlds." 

The poster for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Paramount)

Set a decade prior to "Star Trek: The Original Series," "Strange New Worlds" also showcases recast versions of other legacy characters like Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) and Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun). New faces include the Andorian Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak); Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navias); and La'An Noonien Singh (Christina Chong).

Every episode intends on being a standalone story which should draw in even more loyal viewers with its classic "Star Trek" approach. Watch executive producers and co-showrunners Henry Alonso Meyers and Akiva Goldsman, alongside executive producer Alex Kurtzman and the main cast as they explain what avid fans will experience on "Strange New Worlds" in a flashy new featurette below.

After the more complicated and character-driven aspects of "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Picard," there's a stripped down, old-school approach to "Strange New Worlds" that has Trekkies of all stripes eager to climb aboard. Back are the throwback uniforms and original voice-over opening that recall simpler times. It’s light, fun, and agile in the best ways possible.

Academy Award winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") penned "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'" first installment, which was adapted from a story by Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers will act as co-showrunners, with Goldsman also in the director's chair for the pilot episode. "Strange New Worlds" is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

If you’re still not satiated after the premiere, check out more stimulating Star Trek content with our Star Trek movies ranked worst to first, and our complete guide to watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" arrives exclusively on Paramount Plus starting on May 5.

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Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.