The popular series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is concluding after its fifth season. Here’s a look at what to expect from those final episodes.
As a huge fan, I was both thrilled and a little sad to hear that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting a fifth season, but it’ll be the last one. They finished filming at the end of 2025, but this final season will be shorter, with only six episodes instead of the usual ten. The good news is, season 4, which just started streaming, is setting things up to connect the show’s story to the beginning of The Original Series, wrapping up this ‘five-year mission’ they’ve been on.
During an interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley at a press event for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, executive producer and co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman explained how the fifth and final season will be structured. He described the last six episodes as a connected story, calling it a “six-episode goodbye” that will have a more consistent tone than the diverse, individual stories featured in earlier seasons. Here’s what Akiva Goldsman had to say:
I’d describe these episodes as a connected group. They have a more consistent feel than usual for our show. They really focus on fulfilling the promise we made at the beginning: showing where our established characters end up, and charting a course for the futures of those we know less about.
We’re beginning preparations for that now, with things really wrapping up in season five. It will be a six-episode farewell – not sad, but definitely reflective and full of closure. It’s unusual to have the opportunity to properly end a show; most are just canceled or given a final episode. We were incredibly fortunate to get to do everything we wanted over six hours, and I’m very proud of how it turned out.
Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is taking some big risks with its storytelling. Each episode shown to critics feels completely different in terms of mood and style. While executive producer Alex Kurtzman hasn’t said future seasons will be more connected, the current story is clearly leading towards a goodbye to this version of the Starship Enterprise and its crew, led by Captain Christopher Pike, played by Anson Mount.
As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds heads into its last season, it needs to set up the futures of characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, such as Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). They’ll be joining Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) aboard his USS Enterprise.
I’m really curious to see what happens to some of the characters we met in Strange New Worlds. Specifically, the show will finally tell us what becomes of La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia). And, importantly, we’ll find out what’s next for Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Pike’s right-hand woman who, as we know, doesn’t end up serving on Kirk’s Enterprise.
The season finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will officially assemble Captain Kirk’s original crew from Star Trek: The Original Series. Thomas Jane will play Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and Kai Murakami will portray Hikaru Sulu. The episode depicts Kirk’s very first day commanding the Enterprise, bringing Strange New Worlds to a close at the same point where Star Trek began in 1966.
The fifth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is scheduled to launch in 2027 on Paramount+. This will also conclude the ten-year run of Star Trek series on the streaming service, which began with Star Trek: Discovery in 2017 and was overseen by executive producer Alex Kurtzman. Before Strange New Worlds returns, the second and final season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is expected to be released on Paramount+.
Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers are still hoping to create a spin-off series, Star Trek: Year One, which would focus on Captain Kirk’s initial adventures aboard the Enterprise. They’re prepared to move forward if Paramount+ gives the green light. The future of the show may depend on how well season four of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds performs in streaming ratings, as that series explores the origins of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 streams Thursdays on Paramount+
2026-07-23 13:58