Strange New Worlds S3: Genre-hopping boldly into chaos, comedy and cosmic murder (trailer).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the series that dares to ask, “What if we made Star Trek fun again, but with hair mousse and murder mysteries?” Season 3 is nearly upon us, landing on Paramount+ this July 17th, and by the looks of the full trailer, character posters and leaked holodeck controversies, it’s not just boldly going—it’s boldly going a bit bonkers.

For those who’ve missed the previous mission logs, Strange New Worlds is the prequel series following Captain Pike (Anson Mount, hair practically a character in itself), Spock (Ethan Peck, still wrestling with logic and lashes), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn, now fully vindicated after that whole “genetic tampering” kerfuffle), on their adventures aboard the good ol’ USS Enterprise in the heady days before Kirk started bedding green women and blowing up supercomputers with logic paradoxes.

Season 3 picks up directly after the cliffhanger of last season’s finale, “Hegemony,” and opens with the charmingly titled “Hegemony, Part II” (which boldly goes where many sequels have gone before). The trailer promises explosive battles, intimate character drama, and at least one Vulcan staring awkwardly at a cake. Because nothing says Starfleet like birthday-themed diplomacy.

The showrunners—Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers—have once again embraced the deliciously bonkers remit of giving each episode its own genre. Expect a wedding farce, a murder mystery aboard the Enterprise (Jonathan Frakes directs, so bring popcorn and Riker faces), a possibly canon-wrecking holodeck appearance, and a delightfully ominous-sounding episode titled The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail. Is it a metaphor? A children’s story? Or a rogue CGI bear-cat hybrid with a taste for junior officers? We genuinely hope it’s all three.

The full cast returns, including Christina Chong’s ice-cool La’An Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding’s ever-improving Uhura, and Melissa Navia’s wise-cracking helmswoman Erica Ortegas. Babs Olusanmokun remains deeply watchable as M’Benga, a doctor with more trauma than most therapists would touch with a ten-foot hypospray.

New series regular Martin Quinn is back as Montgomery Scott—yes, that Scotty—delivering his Scottish brogue and improbably precise technobabble with charm. Paul Wesley continues his recurring turn as the young Captain Kirk, still navigating that tricky middle ground between Shatnerian swagger and charming frat boy. We also get guest turns from Rhys Darby (presumably playing someone half-mad and very Kiwi), and Patton Oswalt, because… why not? He’s already voiced robots and raccoons. It was only a matter of time before he showed up in a Starfleet uniform or as a sentient tricorder.

Production was, of course, heavily delayed by the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023—ironic, really, given that Pike’s main personality trait is “deeply anxious about the future.” But the team returned to Toronto’s CBS Stages Canada with full warp, and even gave us a new science lab set with a see-through floor and a CGI water feature that would make any spa jealous.

Despite a few raised eyebrows from fans over continuity-nudging moments (Holodeck? In this century? You’re having a laugh), it looks like Strange New Worlds continues to play delightfully fast and loose with canon—just like classic Trek did before the internet ruined everyone’s suspension of disbelief.

Here at SFcrowsnest, we’re all for a Trek series that gleefully bounces between comedy, tragedy, pulpy action, and philosophical chin-stroking. It’s what Gene Roddenberry would have wanted—especially if it meant an excuse for a costume party and a jazzy trumpet score.

Strange New Worlds Season 3 will stream weekly from July 17th to September 11th. Set phasers to “entertain me.”