‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Co-Creator Akiva Goldsman Discusses Immense Satisfaction Over Premiere Season, Teases “Bigger and Better” Season 2

[This story contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.] 

For Star Trek: Strange New Worlds co-creator Akiva Goldsman, the first season of the Paramount+ series was a dream come true from an idea had since he was 12 years old.

Along with co-creating the show with Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, and being the co-showrunner with Henry Alonso Myers, the Oscar-winning Goldsman directed and wrote the teleplay for the premiere episode, aptly titled “Strange New Worlds.” And if he were not busy enough, Goldsman also co-created Star Trek: Picard, which recently concluded its second season. The third and final season of Picard will be a sight to behold as most of the Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) main cast are joining for one last adventure.

Back to SNW: thanks to the success of Star Trek: Discovery and the overwhelming positive fan response to recurring legacy characters, Capt. Christopher Pike, played by Anson Mount; Spock played by Ethan Peck; and Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One, played by Rebecca Romijn, Goldsman and partners were given the green light for the SNW spin-off focusing on the U.S.S Enterprise a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS).

In an interview with The Hollywood Report to celebrate and discuss the entire first season of SNW, Goldsman revealed which episode was his favorite, the performances that blew his mind, and the unique balance between TNG and TOS when it comes to SNW stories. The show boss also teases (albeit barely) season two of the Paramount+ series.

Congratulations on a magnificent first season. Safe to assume it exceeded your expectations? 

It would be hard for me to say I could be more delighted. It’s been, in some ways, a dream come true, because I had been advocating for some kind of version of this since my first Star Trek convention when I was 12. It’s been really lovely. Part of what’s happened is the context of available entertainment has allowed us to do things that are wonderful for this moment in Star Trek, which is episodic storytelling with serialized characters. Dare I say, all puns intended: it’s the best of both worlds. (Laughs.)

I was always frustrated at the end of “City on the Edge of Forever,” where Jim Kirk would have to watch Edith Keeler [Joan Collins] die — and then be fine next week. So the idea that you could bring emotion from episode to episode, but still do that classic TOS genre jump, and you’re getting to do all the great things Star Trek can do in a show — that’s super fun for me.

Anson told me after the premiere episode the show was going to take “big swings” and he was proud of that. Of course, naturally, there was some criticism over those swings. I’d love to hear your perspective. 

I feel the job of this show is to take big swings. And by the way, season one will look like a lot of bunting compared to season two. Star Trek is, in my view, most useful when it is emotionally connecting, which includes joy, wonder and sentiment. I think big swings are how you get there — and by the way, “big swings” just means “not as expected.” A big swing can be small, it can be a small story. So, when we say big swings, I think we mean atypical. And that is our job right now.

I love the show for multiple reasons, but among the top is its fantastic balance of TOS campy fun and TNG emotion. Why is that balance important?

It’s funny, you’re the second person to comment on that. And it’s true, in some of the architecture, it is classic TOS, but it takes from TNG a confidence in its hard sci-fi. It takes from both shows an ability to steal deep emotion and not be embarrassed about it. And what we do, which is a little more covertly TNG than TOS, we switch protagonists a lot, unlike Discovery or Picard where we are serving everyone all the time. In this show, we clue you in with the log in the beginning about whose episode it is. That affords you deeper and more unique storytelling, and I think that’s very TNG.

I know this is a tough one, but did you have a favorite episode of the season and was there a performance that shone through that you took notice of among your stellar cast? 

I am partial to the one I directed, but I was close up in it. To that end, I thought Chrissy [Chong] just appeared out of nowhere to do this character of La’an [Noonien-Singh] in such a wholesome way. And for me, when she is talking to Pike at the end of that episode about how people are difficult for her, I find her to be so precise, real and heartbreaking. So, I am very moved by her work. I’m also constantly startled by Jess Bush and her [Nurse] Christine Chapel. Because, as you can see, these are both inventions of whole cloth. Historically [on TOS] there was so little there or nothing there. And now these characters are being brought to life so fully. As interpretations go, I am very partial to Ethan [Peck as Spock] and Celia [Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura]. These are surprising, unique views on classical characteristics — and that’s tough. You’ve got to be them — and not them. So, not to play favorites with all my favorites, but those stand out to me.

Khan Noonien Singh was teased in not one, but two of your Star Trek series this season: Picard and SNW. Might we be seeing Khan soon? 

The Paramount rep on the line has an electric staple in my tongue, and I give a wrong word — well, that’s bad for me.

Fair enough! Anything you can tease for season two of SNW?

Honestly, and I can’t believe I am going to say these words: bigger and better.

Excellent! Should this SNW continue, do you see in your mind’s eye where it evolves into a TOS iteration, meaning Kirk takes over the Enterprise?

Let that be the biggest problem we have, should it go that long, to figure out how that works. But nothing would make me happier than to continue through the TOS timelines and beyond.

Interview edited for length and clarity. 

The entire first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is streaming on Paramount+.