Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending, but at least Strange New Worlds will journey on

Star Trek: Lower Decks is, depending on how you look at it, the most ambitious TV show that Star Trek has ever done. Informed by an incredibly deep love for (and knowledge of) the vast universe of Star Trek lore, the animated series proves that “Star Trek comedy” is something that can actually exist (beyond episodes of Deep Space Nine where Quark runs around in a dress, anyways), showing the up-until-now only ambiguously demonstrated fact that it’s possible for Trek to have a genuine sense of humor about itself. And now, sadly, it’s ending, as Variety reports that the show’s upcoming fifth season will be its last.

Created by Rick & Morty writer Mike McMahan, Lower Decks last aired new episodes last October, continuing to tell the story of the U.S.S. Cerritos, one of those Starfleet ships that’s usually doing the other jobs while vessels like the Enterprise are out saving the universe. The series stars Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero, playing four lower-ranking members of the Cerritos crew who end up bonding as friends. The show’s fifth (and now final) season is expected to air before the end of 2024.

It’s not all grim news in Star Trek land, though: Lower Decks’ Paramount+ sibling, Strange New Worlds, has been renewed for a fourth season, ensuring that the other most joyful Star Trek show currently running will get at least one more run of shows. Starring Anson Mount as Trek pilot character Christopher Pike, and Ethan Peck as a younger version of Spock, the show is a deliberate throwback to the early days of the franchise. It’s also a genuine blast: Quick-moving, smart, and fun, it’s the kind of show that can, say, accommodate a bona fide crossover with Lower Decks, showing that the two series’ loving but reverential attitudes toward Trek canon are pleasantly simpatico.