Star Trek: Discovery boldly going where many shows have gone before: A final season

Star Trek: Discovery is coming to an end. Per Variety, the show will close out with a fifth and final season in 2024, not 2023, as initially announced. The flagship show for, first, CBS’ streamer (CBS All Access) and, then, Paramount+, Discovery’s ability to outlast two streamers won’t soon be forgotten. That it did so while paving the way for a whole Star Trek revival is even more impressive.

“I can hardly believe that this mind-blowing journey with Star Trek: Discovery is ending,” said star and producer Sonequa Martin-Green. “I’m astoundingly blessed by God to have played Captain Michael Burnham and to have taken part in a legacy alongside an extraordinary cast, phenomenal crew, and remarkable writing team.”

“I will never forget how it felt to stand together as a show family, cradling the heirloom of Trek with all those from the franchise at large and with the fans. The fans welcomed us into their hearts as we launched a new iteration of Trek and an entire entertainment platform, and we’ll never forget it. 65 episodes later, here’s to the entire company of Star Trek: Discovery, to the show and its fifth and final season, to its beloved fans and to all those who envision a better future. Let’s fly… ”

However, the series isn’t quite over yet. The final season sees “Captain Burnham (Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries.”

One of the more divisive entries in the Star Trek canon, Discovery, nevertheless, rejuvenated the franchise in a way Chris Pine’s “cursed” (his words) series did. Since launching in 2017, Discovery began a wave of new Star Trek TV shows that opened the series into a wider universe. Animated programs like Star Trek: Lower Decks and Nickelodeon’s Star Trek: Prodigy helped recontextualize what a Trek could be, bringing in a modern comedic tone and adventures that could be. Of course, Star Trek: Picard has had a more mixed reaction, but now that the whole Next Generation is back aboard, there’s reason to get excited about the show again. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was the rare reboot that fans latched onto with gusto.

Star Trek: Discovery hasn’t aired since 2021’s fourth season. Maybe the three-year break will help deliver the final season worthy of the franchise.