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Star Trek: Lower Decks just wrapped up its fifth and final season unless fans get their wish and the series finds a reprieve at another streaming channel. The animated series finished strong but left the door open for the adventures of the Cerritos crew to continue. One of the reasons for the series' strong finish is Dawnn Lewis who portrayed Captain Freeman on the animated show. And Lewis' talent is once again being recognized with a nomination for an NAACP Image Award. [via Trekmovie]

The NAACP Image Awards honors outstanding performances of people of color in film, television, theatre, music, and literature in over forty categories. Lewis was nominated for Outstanding Television Character Voice-Over Performance. This is Lewis' second nomination for the Image Award, as she also earned one for her work in the first season of Lower Decks. She also won a Women's Network Image Award as Outstanding Actress in an...

A great premise for a Star Trek movie about Section 31, Starfleet's clandestine black ops division, was already set up in Star Trek: Lower Decks, but that's not the Section 31 movie that Paramount+ is actually making. Coming January 24, Star Trek: Section 31 is the first feature-length movie in Star Trek's streaming era. Star Trek: Section 31 is a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery featuring Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, and directed by Discovery's Olatunde Osunsanmi, with the darker and edgier tone that earlier seasons of Star Trek: Discovery embraced.

In the season 5 finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "The New Next Generation", the crew of the USS Cerritos thwarts a barrage of soliton energy that threatens to destroy Star Trek's Prime Universe by turning the rift into a stable multiversal portal. Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and the crew of Section 31's Defiant-class Anaximander are poised to...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks' Series Finale - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced a new captain to the Star Trek franchise, and he has a hilarious reason for breaking Gene Roddenberry's infamous Star Trek: The Next Generation rule. After the USS Cerritos saves the universe in Star Trek: Lower Decks series finale, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) accepts a position overseeing missions to the multiverse at the newly relocated Starbase 80. With the Cerritos in need of a Captain, Starfleet promotes Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) and gives him command of the California-class ship.

When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, Gene Roddenberry was heavily involved in the show's production. As part of his Roddenberry's vision for a Utopian future, Gene insisted that there be no interpersonal conflict among the main crew members of the USS Enterprise-d. Roddenberry postulated that there would be...

Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale suggests that the Terran Empire of Star Trek's Mirror Universe could defeat the Prime Universe Starfleet. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks takes on the multiverse and puts the fate of the Prime Universe in the hands of the USS Cerritos. After spending Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 investigating mysterious quantum fissures, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her crew must come together to stabilize a massive wormhole (surrounded by a Schrödinger possibility field) that threatens to destroy the universe.

Introduced in the iconic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Mirror, Mirror," Star Trek's Mirror Universe presents a world in sharp contrast to Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. In the Mirror Universe, the brutal Terran Empire has conquered much of the Alpha Quadrant with its xenophobic and violent society. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

One alternate reality version of Star Trek: Lower Decks' Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is a brilliant callback to a version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Fissure Quest", sees Lieutenant Brad Boimler's (Jack Quaid) transporter clone, Captain William Boimler, leading a crew of doppelgängers from all over the Star Trek timeline. When the crew of Boimler's starship Anaximander rescue Ensign Beckett Mariner, clad in an operations gold Starfleet uniform, William finds that this Mariner's temperament is milder than he was expecting.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 15, "Tapestry", Q (John de Lancie) offers a dying Captain Picard the chance to go back to 2327 for a do-over of Picard's early Starfleet career. After avoiding the fight with a Nausicaan that necessitated Picard's artificial heart in the first place, Q returns Picard to the present-day...

Star Trek's Klingons are probably more like humans than you think, according to one scene from Star Trek: Lower Decks. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 5 finale, "The New Next Generation", the USS Cerritos and a small fleet of Klingon Birds of Prey are caught in a Schrödinger Field that transforms things into other versions of themselves from across Star Trek's vast multiverse. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) sends over schematics to protect against the Schrödinger Field's changes, but the vindictive Klingon Captain Relga (Roxana Ortega) tosses Freeman's help out of the proverbial airlock.

Only the USS Cerritos' hull is left vulnerable to the Schrödinger Field's transformations, so the California-class Federation starship turns into different classes of Federation vessels, like the Sovereign class. Klingon starship design has stayed fairly consistent over the centuries, so it isn't as obvious that the Relga's Klingon Birds of Prey are subject...

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Finale - "The New Next Generation"

Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale creates a multiverse problem in Star Trek canon. Lower Decks came to a close with its fifth season, which sent the USS Cerritos on a mission to investigate quantum fissures to infinite Star Trek timelines. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' series ender, Starfleet Command informed the Cerritos that they were the only ship close enough to stabilize the massive wormhole before it destroyed the universe. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her crew then beautifully came together to save the day, resulting in the creation of a stable and permanently open portal to various quantum realities.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, "Fissure Quest," introduced the starship Anaximander and its crew of Star Trek legacy characters commanded by Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid). Consisting of T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Curzon Dax...

In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks took on the multiverse, giving Star Trek the opportunity to do a show like Marvel's What If...?. As Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 came to a close, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and the crew of the USS Cerritos saved Star Trek's entire Prime Universe by stabilizing a massive wormhole to various quantum realities. Starfleet then moved Starbase 80 to the wormhole's entrance and put Captain Freeman in charge of the missions sent to investigate these realities.

While Star Trek has no plans for any Lower Decks spin-offs, the creation of a portal to the multiverse gives the franchise the opportunity to do its own version of Marvel's What If...?. With nearly 60 years of history, Star Trek has hundreds of characters and storylines to explore. Based on the appearance of Star Trek legacy characters like T'Pol (Jolene Blalock...

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Finale - "The New Next Generation"

In one particular way, Star Trek: Lower Decks is more realistic than Star Trek: The Next Generation. The adventures of the USS Cerritos just came to an end with the series finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+, as Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and the eclectic crew of the USS Cerritos came together to save the universe from an unstable quantum fissure. After the Cerritos created a permanent portal to infinite Star Trek timelines, Starfleet moved Starbase 80 to the wormhole's entrance and put Captain Freeman in charge of the missions to other quantum realities.

Following Captain Freeman's exit, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) accepted a promotion to become the new Captain of the Cerritos. Several other characters have been promoted throughout Star Trek: Lower Decks' five seasons, including all of the lower deckers. Lieutenants...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 10 - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 came to an explosive and ultimately satisfying end, but three big opportunities were unfortunately missing from the series finale. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' climactic episode, the USS Cerritos is the only Starfleet ship that can stop a devastating soliton wave from obliterating Star Trek's Prime timeline. The Cerritos crew rises to the occasion, working together to save the universe. In the end, the unstable fissure becomes a stable wormhole that leads to various quantum realities, setting up a future full of fascinating possibilities.

When Starfleet first learns of the soliton wave, they admit they would rather not leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a California-class starship. However, while the USS Enterprise-e is on the way, it could not reach the wormhole in time. Despite at...

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Finale - "The New Next Generation"

Star Trek: Lower Decks just promoted its First Officer to Captain, something Star Trek: The Next Generation never did for Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). As Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth and final season comes to a close on Paramount+, the USS Cerritos gets the chance to save the entire universe. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her crew admirably rise to the occasion, stabilizing a wormhole to alternate Star Trek timelines. The wormhole becomes a permanently open gateway to the multiverse with Starbase 80 stationed at the rift's entrance.

With Starbase 80 now serving as the base of operations for the exploration of other quantum realities, Starfleet puts Captain Freeman in charge of supervising these missions. She and her husband, Admiral Alonzo Freeman (Phil Lamarr), move onto the station, and Starfleet promotes Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 10 - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale brings together the USS Enterprise-e and the USS Titan on screen for the first time in a low-key but historic meeting. Star Trek: Lower Decks' final season on Paramount+ involves the USS Cerritos investigating a series of quantum fissures opening up across the galaxy. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale, Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) receives a message from his transporter clone, Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid), that a devastating soliton wave is heading for Star Trek's Prime Universe.

Although Starfleet Command would usually not assign a California-class starship to take on a mission of this magnitude, they have no other choice but to rely on the Cerritos. Starfleet informs Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her crew that the USS Enterprise-e is on its way, but will not arrive in time.

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks Series Finale - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale ends with the animated comedy creating its own version of Deep Space Nine. The USS Cerritos was the only starship in the United Federation of Planets that could stop a deadly soliton wave from wiping out Star Trek's Prime timeline. In the end, a new stable portal to infinite Quantum Realities was opened, and only one starbase could guard this wormhole to the multiverse.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's original mission saw the space station led by Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) transported from Bajor to guard the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Known by the Bajorans as the Celestial Temple where their gods, the Prophets, reside, the wormhole was a conduit to an unexplored region of Star Trek's galaxy. Even after the Gamma Quadrants' rulers,...

Network: Paramount+

Episodes: 50 (half-hour)

Seasons: Five

TV show dates: August 6, 2020 -- December 19, 2024

Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman.

TV show description:

An animated sci-fi comedy series, Star Trek: Lower Decks is the latest TV show in the franchise based on the original Star Trek series created by Gene Roddenberry.

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Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Series Finale - "The New Next Generation"

Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale promoted the USS Cerritos' First Officer to Captain, which elevates Jerry O'Connell's Star Trek character a rank above his wife, Rebecca Romijn. O'Connell and Romijn, who are happily married, held the unique distinction of both playing First Officers in Star Trek. Jerry voiced Commander Jack Ransom for all five seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, while Rebecca embodies Number One Aka Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Commander Ransom's rise to Captain has been a low-key story throughout Star Trek: Lower Decks' five seasons. Initially disliked as an uber jock Number One, Commander Ransom was seen through the eyes of his Lower Decker nemesis, Ensign (now Lieutenant) Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome). In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, however, Ransom's unorthodox style as a First Officer was proven to be effective.

Spoiler Warning: This story includes plot developments of the series finale of “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

When “Star Trek: Lower Decks” premiered during the height of the pandemic in August 2020, it was seen as a somewhat radical experiment: It was the first animated “Trek” show since the 1970s. It was the first “Trek” comedy ever. And it was the first time a “Trek” show focused on the junior officers aboard a Starfleet vessel: ne’er-do-well genius Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), anxious tryhard Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Orion science officer D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and cybernetically enhanced engineer Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), all serving aboard the minor league starship the U.S.S. Cerritos.

Five seasons later, “Lower Decks” has more than proven itself as a worthy addition to the vast “Star Trek” galaxy, by marrying fast-paced satire with the creative freedom of animation to pay...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 10 - "The New Next Generation"

Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale surprisingly introduced two new Captains, one for Starfleet and one for the Klingons. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 sent the USS Cerritos to close a series of quantum fissures that have mysteriously opened up across the galaxy. As part of the investigation, Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) visits her Klingon friend, Ma'ah (Jon Curry), on Qo'noS for help gaining access to a fissure that has appeared in Klingon space. Beckett's friend Ma'ah (Jon Curry) and his brother, Malor (Sam Witwer), ultimately help Mariner, and she learns that the rifts in spacetime are not natural phenomena.

Eventually, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and the Cerritos crew learn that they are the only ship able to save the universe from a devastating soliton wave. Although Captain Freeman has faith in her crew, she...

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Finale - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks' thrilling and resonant finale closes this chapter of the USS Cerritos' lower deckers' Starfleet careers, but not before the California Class starship saves Star Trek's Prime timeline. Written by series creator and showrunner Mike McMahan, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 10, "The New Next Generation" picks up from the cliffhanger of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, "Fissure Quest."

Lieutenant Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) piloting the Quantum Reality-jumping starship Beagle into a dimensional rift not only killed Kim, but it released soliton tachyon burst that could destroy the entire Star Trek multiverse. Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) sent the soliton beam into the Prime Universe with instructions to his Prime Universe counterpart, Lt. Brad Boimler, knowing the USS Cerritos could find a way to stop it. With the USS Enterprise-e unable to arrive in time,...

Nearly 70 years since the original series debuted, Star Trek remains one of the most durable franchises in pop culture, encompassing movies, books, comics, video games — and, of course, multiple TV spin-offs. Lately, Paramount+ has made it possible for Trek creators to try things out across timelines and phases. Bring back Picard for his own show? Why not? Reimagine a Starfleet captain as a parallel-universe villain, and cast Michelle Yeoh? Sure! Make a starship the backdrop for an animated workplace sitcom that honors Trek canon without being totally humorless about it? Yes.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, which premiered in August 2020, has a delightfully simple premise: The bridge crew of Starfleet’s USS Cerritos couldn’t get through their various medium-stakes adventures (they’re usually on “second contact” missions) if not for the unsung work of their dedicated ensigns; they’re known as “lower deckers” for the location of their quarters. In...

In a sea of science fiction series that take themselves far too seriously, “Star Trek Lower Decks” has been a sweet and funny balm, a loving parody of the iconic speculative fiction universe that celebrates and pisses on its history in equal measure. Like all good sitcoms, however, “Lower Decks” is coming to an end, and the finale promises to be…maybe, possibly, moderately serious?

The animated series will premiere the finale to its fifth and final season Thursday, December 19, on Paramount+. The episode, titled “The New Next Generation” in reference to the beloved ’80s-’90s “Star Trek” series starring Patrick Stewart, will have an extended running time, and bring back a few characters from the show’s past. Among them are Klingon brothers, Malor (voiced by Sam Witwer) and Ma’ah (Jon Curry), first seen in a previous Season 5 episode. In an exclusive clip shared with IndieWire, the duo...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 8, "Upper Decks."Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 8, "Upper Decks," gives viewers a sneak peek into what the show's main characters could experience as they venture deeper into their Star Trek timeline, but the animated comedy sadly doesn't have enough time to fully explore that particular era. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's cast is assembling for the last time, as the unconventional franchise spinoff show is set to end when the finale airs on December 19. While this may seem like wasted potential, at least Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending on a high.

Lower Decks has a peculiar place among Star Trek TV shows. Although it's still canon, the parodical nature of the animated saga means its storytelling rules are perhaps a little looser than in other corners of the franchise. Plus, the focus on the ship's junior officers is a little unconventional,...

For many Star Trek fans, Jonathan Frakes will always be remembered as Commander William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and there's a reason why. For all seven seasons of Tng, Riker served as the first officer on the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Riker served as Picard's first officer for fifteen years, and Piker came to regard him as one of the finest officers in the fleet. Throughout Tng, Riker led numerous away missions and expertly commanded the Enterprise when Picard was occupied or incapacitated.

It was not until Star Trek: Nemesis that Riker finally accepted a promotion to captain, and he was given command of the USS Titan. Captain Riker and the Titan popped up in Star Trek: Lower Decks to help the USS Cerritos deal with the Pakleds. Subsequently, Riker later returned to live-action in Star Trek: Picard. Riker...

Warning: Set phasers to spoilers, because this article discusses plot details from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

Nearly five full seasons into "Lower Decks" and Trekkies might have noticed that some of its most integral characters have remained a bit of an enigma so far. No, we're not talking about our usual crew, all of whom have transformed from some of the franchise's biggest upstarts when the animated series first debuted to fan-favorite additions to the canon. We're not even referring to the simmering rivalry between the delta shift and beta shift on the USS Cerritos, which was first introduced way back in the season 1 episode "Terminal Provocations." No, this team has been hiding in plain sight all along, going about their duty on a daily basis while rarely ever receiving the credit they deserve. And, in an episode that couldn't possibly be more fitting for the show's final season,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 8 - "Upper Decks"Star Trek: Lower Decks just cleverly reversed the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that inspired it. As Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth and final season on Paramount+ nears the finish line, the crew of the USS Cerritos takes a break from its current mission of closing fissures in space that lead to alternate Star Trek timelines. Star Trek: Lower Decks' episodic format allows season 5, episode 8, "Upper Decks" to be a one-off that flips Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7's "Lower Decks."

The first half-hour animated Star Trek comedy series, Star Trek: Lower Decks is also the heir to Star Trek: The Next Generation's popular 24th century era. Star Trek: Lower Decks picks up a year after Star Trek: Nemesis ends, and the USS Cerritos voyages in the wake of the events of Tng, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated"

Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced an alternate universe where the USS Enterprise-d is purple, raising the question of why Starfleet ships are gray when purple is an option. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Lower Decks finds the USS Cerritos investigating a series of quantum fissures that have opened up throughout the galaxy. In Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated," the Cerritos sends Lts. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), and T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) to retrieve technology that an alternate universe USS Enterprise-d left on Dilmer III.

While on the planet, Mariner, Tendi, and T'Lyn find the purple disembodied head of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) among debris from a shuttlecraft crash. This version of Data comes from a universe that appears to be similar to Star Trek's Prime Universe, except that everything is purple.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 7, "Fully Dilated"

Since Lt. Commander Data's heroic sacrifice in Star Trek: Nemesis, Brent Spiner has only portrayed the beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation version of the android twice. As part of the original USS Enterprise-d crew on Tng, Data quickly became one of the show's most popular characters, thanks in no small part to Brent Spiner's compelling performance. Throughout Tng's seven seasons, Data's quest to discover his humanity became one of the show's best ongoing storylines, and his friendship with Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) remains one of Trek's best friendships.

Data's storylines in the Star Trek: The Next Generation films did not fair quite as well as his stories on the show, and the question of Data's age was also becoming a problem. As an android, Data did not age (although a line in the Tng...

The actress who portrayed Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) mother in Star Trek: The Next Generation had appeared as Star Trek's first Black female captain a few years before. Not much was revealed about Geordi's family throughout Tng's run and neither of his parents appeared on the show until season 7. As the Chief Engineer on the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Geordi's storylines typically involved him solving engineering problems with his best friend, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner).

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 3, "Interface," Geordi learns that the USS Hera has gone missing and that all of its crewmembers, including Captain Silva La Forge (Madge Sinclair), are presumed dead. Prior to learning this information, Geordi, Data, and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) had been testing an interface device that would allow Geordi to see through and pilot with his iconic Visor.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles"

Star Trek: Lower Decks incorporates countless references to past Star Trek shows, and its latest episode fixes two lackluster plotlines from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Following the adventures of the USS Cerritos and its zany crew, Lower Decks feels like a spiritual successor to Tng in many ways. In Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles," the Cerritos hosts two warring alien factions. These energy aliens known as the Orbs and the Cubes float around the ship, constantly arguing about every tiny thing.

When one of the cubes goes missing, Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) teams with the Cerritos' newest crewmember Ensign Olly (Saba Homayoon), who happens to be the demigod grandaughter of Zeus, to solve the mystery. The main storyline in "Of Gods and Angles" is reminiscent of two very similar plotlines from early...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles"In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced a new Starfleet ensign descended from the Greek gods. Lower Decks season 5, episode 6, "Of Gods and Angles," sees the USS Cerritos host peace talks between two warring civilizations. Referred to as the orbs and the cubes, these two factions of photonic beings float throughout the Cerritos, constantly at odds with one another. When the orb leader's child goes missing, Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) teams up with the Cerritos' newest crewmember, Ensign Olly (Saba Homayoon), to search for the orb.

In Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 2, "Who Mourns for Adonais?," a powerful being claiming to be the Greek god, Apollo (Michael Forest), holds Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew captive. Apollo wants Kirk and his crew to worship him,...

Dawnn Lewis has voiced Star Trek: Lower Decks' indomitable Captain Carol Freeman for five seasons. The mother of Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Freeman perpetually has her hands full captaining the USS Cerritos and corralling her rebellious daughter.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, the USS Cerritos investigates rifts in space that lead to alternate dimensions. Captain Freeman found out that her alternate reality self was sent to Starbase 80, the worst space station in the galaxy. Carol then travels to her own reality's Starbase 80 in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 5, "Starbase 80?!", where Captain Freeman finds out whether it's as bad as Mariner and everyone in Starfleet says it is.

Related Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Cast Guide: Who Voices Each Character In The Final Season

Meet the Lower Deckers and bridge crew of the USS Cerritos as Star Trek: Lower Decks warps into its fifth and final season on...

For a time, cartoon shows followed the same formula as comics. Each week you'd get a new adventure and for the most part, there'd be no carryover from episode to episode. In more recent years, that's changed, with storylines having long-lasting consequences that can be felt episodes if not seasons later. No longer did you have to hope for a multi-part set of episodes for a continuation of importance.

Now, cartoons were being treated similarly to other long-form storytelling mediums, and engaging in rich, impactful storytelling. This started as early as the 1990s with shows like X-Men and Spider-Man the animated series', but you could probably find older examples than them.

This is now a concept that more and more cartoons (and shows as a whole) follow. No longer confined to the weekly format of storytelling, more and more shows tell complicated and engaging narratives across multiple seasons. Star Trek: Lower Decks...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 - "Starbase 80?!"

Star Trek: Lower Decks has brought back numerous aliens from Star Trek: The Next Generation, including the tattooed Acamarians. In Lower Decks season 5, episode 5, "Starbase 80?!," the USS Cerritos is forced to travel to the infamous Starbase 80 when their navigational system malfunctions. When the Cerritos crew arrives, Station Commander Kassia Nox (Nicole Byer) greets them and shows them around the station. Because of its remote location, Starbase 80 has been neglected by Starfleet and is in desperate need of upgrades and repairs.

While Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) try to track down the parts they need to repair the Cerritos, Lts. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), D'Vana Tendi (Nol Wells), and Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) explore the station with Nox, helping with repairs. As they walk through the shopping area of the station,...

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5, episode 5, "Starbase 80?!," follows the U.S.S. Cerritos as it becomes stranded in space due to a mysterious navigational malfunction. With only impulse engines operational, the ship has no choice but to visit Starbase 80 for help. Starbase 80 had previously only been mentioned in hushed tones among the Cerritos' crew, as it is said to be cursed. At the very least, it's the worst place to work in all of Starfleet, even worse than the Cerritos.

When the crew arrives, they find the "Star Trek" equivalent of a long-ignored truck stop. Starbase 80's crew members wear uniforms that are two centuries out of date, while the station's diplomatic liaison, Cassia Knox (Nicole Byer), reveals that its technology hasn't been updated since the 2260s. That, Trekkies might instantly recognize, was the decade the original "Star Trek" series took place.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 - "Starbase 80?!"Star Trek: Lower Decks has its own version of Deep Space Nine, and it's the worst starbase in the United Federation of Planets - Starbase 80. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks sees the USS Cerritos investigating rifts in space that open into alternate Star Trek timelines. However, a malfunction of the Cerritos' navigation processor forces Captain Carol Freeman's (Dawnn Lewis) California Class starship to dock at the dreaded Starbase 80 for repairs.

In Star Trek, Federation starbases are usually havens for starships and their weary Starfleet crews. Months or years deployed in the final frontier take a toll, and starships often need repairs, upgrades, and resupplies, while Starfleet Officers also require shore leave. While most Federation starbases are sleek and comfortable, Deep Space Nine was an outlier as it was a retrofitted former Cardassian mining facility orbiting Bajor.

“The Simpsons” has been in an experimental mode as of late, trying big swings like its “series finale” Season 36 premiere and its recent, spot-on parody of “The White Lotus.” This week, the show is once again playing with its format — via the sketch comedy-inspired “Women in Shorts” episode.

Variety has a first look (scroll down below) at one of the bits. Rather than a single storyline, the “Women in Shorts” episode will contain around 15 different vignettes. Writer Christine Nangle, who penned the episode, has a sketch background and hails from the Upright Citizens Brigade, so trying it on “The Simpsons” made sense.

“Our showrunner, Matt Selman, has been really encouraging us to take risks and break format a little bit more,” Nangle said. “I thought it would be cool to do an episode that feels a little bit like a sketch show, and delving into the lives of the women of the town.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 1 - "Dos Cerritos"

Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced an alternate reality that makes more sense as a 'mirror universe' than the actual Mirror Universe. One of Star Trek's oldest concepts, the dark and twisted Mirror Universe was introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series season 2 episode, "Mirror, Mirror." Since then, the Mirror Universe has endured and made several reappearances in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Prodigy. Although 'Mirror Universe' is a catchy label full of Star Trek character doppelgangers, it has never really been a 'mirror' reflection of Star Trek's Prime universe.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 1, "Dos Cerritos," the USS Cerritos is pulled into a fissure in space-time and emerges in a parallel reality where Captain Carol Freeman's (Dawnn Lewis) California Class starship encounters another USS Cerritos,...

In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Lower Decks continues the adventures of the USS Cerritos and its zany crew. Following Lts. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and D'Vana Tendi (Nol Wells), Lower Decks gives Starfleet's less experienced officers a chance to shine. Throughout its first four seasons, Lower Decks has told mostly episodic stories, but each season has had an ongoing mystery or conflict. Not only does Lower Decks tell quintessentially Star Trek stories, but it also acts as a love letter to the franchise as a whole.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Cast Ariel Winter, Jerry O'Connell, Dawnn Lewis, Eugene Cordero, Noel Wells, Jack Quaid, Paul F. TompkinsRelease Date October 24, 2024Seasons 5Streaming Service(s) Paramount+Franchise(s) Star TrekMain Genre ComedyWhere To Watch Paramount+ Buy on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV...

The final season of “Star Trek: Lower Decks has finally begun.

The USS Cerritos and the junior lieutenants who make up the lower decks are back on Paramount+ for one last round of absurd adventures. The series is the final Star Trek show to drop in 2024 and runs until the end of the year.

Here’s everything you need to know about where and when to tune in for the fifth season of Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Lower Decks.”

When does “Star Trek: Lower Decks” Season 5 come out?

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” Season 5 releases Thursday, Oct. 24.

How can I watch “Star Trek: Lower Decks” Season 5?

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” Season 5 is available to stream new episodes weekly on Paramount+.

Are episodes released weekly or all at once?

The first two episodes of the final season of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” drop together on Oct. 24 and the rest release weekly on Thursday.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 has a talented voice cast who have been with the animated comedy since season 1. Created by Mike McMahan, Star Trek: Lower Decks enters its fifth and final season on Paramount+. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 launches with a two-episode premiere on Thursday, October 24, with a new episode of its 10-episode final season, streaming on Paramount+ every Thursday.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, the USS Cerritos investigates bizarre quantum fissures disputing space-time. Meanwhile, the Cerritos' Lower Deckers continue to adjust to their new responsibilities as Starfleet junior grade Lieutenants, while dealing with the loss of one of their own, D'Vana Tendi (Nol Wells). Back among her Orion people, Tendi must deal with a burgeoning war with blue Orions. With surprises, hijinks, and hilarity galore, here is who's who aboard the USS Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Cast

Character

Tawny Newsome

Lt.

Our time aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos is about to come to an end — but not before Paramount+’s Star Trek: Lower Decks beams up a bevy of last laughs (and maybe some tears).

As announced in the spring, Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending with Season 5, which premieres this Thursday, Oct. 24, with the first two episodes (followed by weekly drops through Dec. 19).

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Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 delivers a moment that never happened in Star Trek Generations. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, which premieres on October 24, is the animated comedy's final season on Paramount+. In a new clip from Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's premiere, "Dos Cerritos," the USS Cerritos led by Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) crosses into a quantum fissure in space. Newly arrived in an alternate reality, the Cerritos meets another USS Cerritos, but commanded by Captain Becky Freeman (Tawny Newsome).

Released in November 1994, Star Trek Generations is best remembered as the movie where Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) from Star Trek: The Original Series met Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of Star Trek: The Next Generations, as well as the death of Captain Kirk. The two Captains of the USS Enterprise teamed up to stop a madman named Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying a star.

After Star Trek: Nemesis flopped at the box office, that was the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation until the crew gathered together once again for the final season of Star Trek: Picard. After Nemesis, though, Brent Spiner and John Logan had an idea for another movie that would have brought all of the captains from all of the series, crews, and villains together for one epic battle. [via Fandomwire] Not surprisingly, Paramount deemed it too expensive to produce so the idea wasn't considered further. But things have changed over the years, and with Paramount+ interested in streaming movies, this could be the perfect time to revisit Spiner and Logan's idea.

We now have four additional captains that could be added to the set-up, which could include Captain Burnham [Sonequa Martin-Green], Captain Seven of Nine [Jeri Ryan], Captain Pike [Anson Mount], and Captain Freeman [Dawnn Lewis]. Or the four could...

The animated “Star Trek: Lower Decks” premiered a new clip from its forthcoming final season at New York Comic Con, showcasing the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos pursuing its Season 5 mission: closing “space potholes” — and meeting alternate versions of themselves as they cross through one of those subspace rifts.

The comedic yet still in-continuity show set in the wider “Star Trek” universe features the ship’s junior officers working to stop these dimensional breaks from causing problems in the Alpha Quadrant this season. According to an official description, “Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford… if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all — their own career aspirations.”

The show teases that Season 5 could feature its lowly crew getting promoted out of the titular lower decks “into strange new Starfleet roles.

Star Trek: Lower Decks returns later this month for its fifth and final season, and Paramount+ has released a new trailer teasing what's next for the crew of the USS Cerritos. Ten episodes have been produced for the final season. The animated sci-fi comedy series’ end was announced in April.

Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman star in the Star Trek: Lower Decks series, which follows the lower-ranking crew members of a Federation starship.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is the animated comedy's last chance for its biggest Star Trek: The Next Generation callback. Entering their final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan promises a satisfying ending for the dysfunctionally heroic crew of the USS Cerritos. McMahan and Star Trek: Lower Decks' cast members have also hinted at major Star Trek legacy voice cameos in season 5. Could this mean Star Trek: The Next Generation will cross over into Star Trek: Lower Decks?

One of the most satisfying aspects of Star Trek: Lower Decks is that it continues the beloved 24th-century era of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Everything in Tng, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and the four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies happened before Star Trek: Lower Decks began. Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Samanthan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells...

Star Trek: Lower Decks has revealed its final season 5 trailer, and here are 10 Easter eggs you might have missed. The final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+ premieres on Thursday, October 24, with the first two episodes dropping that same day. Lower Decks season 5 promises major events happening to the crew of the USS Cerritos, with huge callbacks and odes to the legacy of Star Trek.

After Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and the USS Cerritos saved the galaxy from disgraced ex-Starfleet cadet Nicholas Locarno at the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, life aboard the Cerritos seems to have calmed down. But, as Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) narrates Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's trailer, excitement and chaos follow the Cerritos and its Lower Deckers around. From Orions, Klingons, the Borg, and the return of a Star Trek: Voyager icon, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 has Easter eggs galore.

Star Trek: Voyager’s Ensign Harry S. L. Kim makes a surprise return in the fifth and final season trailer for the Star Trek: Lower Decks animated series from Paramount+.

Garrett Wang in fact voices many Kims in the official teaser, calling out at one point in shocked surprise, “Wait, everyone, shut up! This Kim’s got two pips!” That makes him a Starfleet lieutenant among an underdog crew eager to rise from the lower decks of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

“You’re all still Ensigns?” the singled out Kim asks of his rivals. Other hijinks teased in the final season trailer include the task of closing “space potholes” in the Alpha Quadrant.

That’s a procedure for junior officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford complicated by an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes and murder mysteries. The fifth and final 10-part season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will...

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is nearly upon us and it sure looks ready to go out with guns phasers blazing. The animated series took some time for more hardcore fans to warm up to it, admittedly, but it quickly proved to be one of the franchise's funniest and nerdiest entries in the canon. Now, fans will have one last victory lap to say goodbye to a crew of misfits who've somehow, against all odds, wormed their way into our hearts over the years. Their final mission stands to be their most complicated one yet, however. After season 4 finally resolved a lengthy mystery about a mysterious force targeting starships all across the quadrant, Starfleet and otherwise, season 5 looks to up the ante even more. What's the primary conflict this time around, you ask? Well, that would be the idea of our favorite crewmembers growing up...

Paramount+ today debuted the official trailer for the fifth and final season of its hit animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks. The fifth and final season will premiere on Paramount+ with two episodes on Thursday, October 24, in the U.S. and internationally.

Following the premiere, new episodes of the 10-episode-long season will drop every Thursday on the service leading up to the series finale on Thursday, December 19.

In season five of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes” – subspace rifts that are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Junior Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford … If they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries, and scariest of all: their own career aspirations.

This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog...

A new trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 has arrived. The show, which follows the lives of the low-ranking officers of the ship U.S.S. Cerritos, features a voice cast that includes Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Nol Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O'Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will be the final season of the show, officially marking it as the longest-running animated series in the franchise, both in terms of number of seasons and number of episodes.

Paramount Plus has now unveiled a new official trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5. The trailer plays out over a monologue by Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), who is reflecting on how well the junior officers have handled their promotions. However, the clips being shown during the trailer offer a different interpretation of events as the characters get into a variety of hijinks,...