Star Trek: Discovery
Season 5
Promotional image
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Release
Original networkParamount+
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 4
List of episodes

The fifth and final season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery in the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, on a galactic adventure to find a mysterious power that has been hidden for centuries and which other dangerous groups are also searching for. The season was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.

Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, captain of the Discovery, along with the returning Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, and David Ajala. They are joined by Callum Keith Rennie. Development on the season began by March 2020 so it could be filmed back-to-back with the fourth season, but these plans were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fifth season was officially ordered in January 2022 and filming took place in Toronto, Canada, from June to November. Paramount announced in March 2023 that the season would be the last for the series, and additional filming took place a month later so the series could be better concluded.

The season is expected to premiere on the streaming service Paramount+ in April 2024, and run for 10 episodes.

Episodes

Main article: List of Star Trek: Discovery episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [1]Directed byWritten by [1]Original release date
561"Red Directive"TBDMichelle ParadiseApril 2024 (2024-04)[2]
572"Under the Twin Moons"TBAAlan McElroyTBA
583"Jinaal"TBAKyle Jarrow & Lauren WilkinsonTBA
594"Face the Strange"Lee Rose[3]Sean CochranTBA
605"Mirrors"TBAJohanna Lee & Carlos CiscoTBA
616"Whistlespeak"TBAKenneth Lin & Brandon A. SchultzTBA
627"Erigah"TBAM. Raven MetznerTBA
638"Labyrinths"TBALauren Wilkinson & Eric J. RobbinsTBA
649"Lagrange Point"Jonathan Frakes[4]Sean Cochran & Ari FriedmanTBA
6510"Life, Itself"Olatunde Osunsanmi[5]Kyle Jarrow & Michelle ParadiseTBA

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Star Trek: Discovery characters

Main[edit]

Recurring[edit]

Notable guests[edit]

Production

Development

Development on a fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery had begun by March 2020, when work was taking place on the fourth season, to allow the two seasons to be filmed back-to-back,[10] but these plans were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] In October, executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman said there were "years and years left on Discovery" and noted the precedent of several previous Star Trek series running for seven seasons each.[12] A 10-episode fifth season was officially ordered by Paramount+ in January 2022, with the episode count reduced from previous seasons to align it with the service's other Star Trek series.[13] In March 2023, Paramount announced that the season would be the last for the series. This decision came amid cost cutting for Paramount's streaming content.[14][15]

Writing

Kurtzman stated in October 2020 that all seasons after the third would continue to be set in the 32nd century.[16] Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise indicated in August 2021 that writing for the fifth season was yet to begin.[17] The writers were in "full swing" by March 2022, working simultaneously with post-production on the fourth season,[18] and some scripts had been written for the fifth season by the time the fourth season finale was released on March 17.[19] Paradise was working on the script for the season finale by late August 2022,[20] and completed it on September 12.[21]

Executive producer and producing director Olatunde Osunsanmi said the fifth season would take more inspiration for its themes and storytelling approach from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation than the previous seasons did, and would feature "more exploration and more adventure".[22] Frequent Star Trek director Jonathan Frakes said the season had an action-adventure style inspired by the Indiana Jones franchise rather than the "heavy emo" tone of the fourth season, and he indicated that this change was a mandate from the studios that the showrunners and cast had embraced.[5] The season's story follows the USS Discovery on a galactic adventure to find a mysterious power that has been hidden for centuries and which other dangerous groups are also searching for.[3]

Casting

The season stars the returning Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Saru, Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber, Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal, and David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker.[3] They are joined by Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner, a war-time Starfleet captain struggling to adjust to peace. Rennie's casting was announced in October 2022, alongside recurring guests Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis as outlaw couple Moll and L'ak.[7] Also returning from earlier seasons are Oded Fehr as Charles Vance, Chelah Horsdal as Laira Rillak, Tara Rosling as T'Rina,[8] David Cronenberg as Kovich,[7] and Tig Notaro as Jett Reno.[9]

Filming

The series is filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto, Canada.[10] Pre-production on the season began by March 2022.[18] Osunsanmi said the season would continue to use the video wall that was built for virtual production on the fourth season, and the crew would take advantage of lessons learned about the technology the first time they used it.[22] Filming for the fifth season began on June 13, 2022,[23] and wrapped on November 20.[24] Frakes directed the first half of the finale and Osunsanmi directed the second half.[5] Osunsami did two or three days of additional filming in April 2023 to update the season's ending so it could better serve as a series finale.[4][25]

Marketing

To celebrate "Star Trek Day" on September 8, 2022, a video of Cruz giving a set tour during the filming of the season's fourth episode was released.[3] The season was promoted during the "Star Trek Universe" panel at New York Comic Con in October, with Rapp and Cruz discussing the season alongside executive producers Kurtzman, Paradise, and Rod Roddenberry. Martin-Green joined the panel virtually from set to present a teaser trailer for the season which introduced major new cast members.[7] Justin Carter of Gizmodo said the teaser was short and appeared to be primarily influenced by Indiana Jones.[26] Samantha Coley at Collider said the teaser did not reveal much about the plot but she felt it had a "strong undercurrent of delight" that the fourth season did not. Coley said this could be the most fun season since the inclusion of Christopher Pike in the second season.[7]

With the announcement that the season would be the last for the series, Paramount said there would be events around the world over the next year to celebrate the series.[14] However, cast and crew were unable to be involved in marketing efforts for the season during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, which began in May 2023, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which began in July.[27] Paramount released an extended clip from the season, introducing its new recurring characters, at the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con in late July.[28] The panel did not include cast or crew from the series.[29] Kurtzman briefly discussed the season at a Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic Con in October, soon after the Writers Guild strike ended, but the panel primarily focused on projects that were not impacted by the strikes.[30] The SAG-AFTRA strike ended in November, allowing the cast to participate in marketing moving forward.[31] Later that month, Martin-Green discussed the series at a "Women in Sci-Fi" panel at Fan Expo: San Francisco.[32] She then promoted the series with Paradise at CCXP at the start of December, where another clip was released and the release month of April 2024 was announced.[2]

Release

The season was originally expected to premiere on Paramount+ in the United States in early 2023,[33] but this was pushed to early 2024 when the season was revealed to be the last for the series.[14] The season is scheduled to premiere in April 2024.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Star Trek: Discovery". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Zee, Michaela (December 2, 2023). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Sets Season 5 Premiere for Spring 2024, Drops New Clip". Variety. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Coley, Samantha (September 8, 2022). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Video Goes Behind The Scenes for a Special Set Tour". Collider. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Vary, Adam B. (July 25, 2023). "Jonathan Frakes Looks Back at His 'Star Trek' TV Directing Career, From 'Next Generation' to the 'Strange New Worlds'-'Lower Decks' Crossover". Variety. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Orquiola, John (September 16, 2023). "Star Trek: Discovery's Season 5 Finale Is Like "Indiana Jones", Says Jonathan Frakes". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sonequa Martin-Green Talks "Unexpected" 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5, Crossovers, And More Tilly". TrekMovie.com. June 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Coley, Samantha (October 8, 2022). "First 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Trailer Reveals New Allies, Enemies and a Treasure Hunt". Collider. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Reilly, Ken (October 8, 2022). "Watch the First Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Teaser, Plus: New Cast Members Announced!". TrekCore.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Pape, Liam (February 1, 2023). "Tig Notaro: 'Can I recall a bad gig? The first two years of my career'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Kaya, Emre (March 2, 2020). "Exclusive: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Renewed for Season 5 at CBS All Access". Geeks WorldWide. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4 Writing Already Underway, 'Strange New Worlds' To Shoot In 2021". TrekMovie.com. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Lesley; Fienberg, Daniel (October 9, 2020). 'TV's Top 5': Inside the State of 'Star Trek' With Franchise Captain Alex Kurtzman. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 18, 2022). "'Star Trek' Universe News: 'Discovery', 'Strange New Worlds' & 'Lower Decks' Renewed, 'Picard' Gets Season 2 Premiere Date". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (March 2, 2023). "'Star Trek: Discovery' To End With Fifth Season In Early 2024 On Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  15. ^ Hibberd, James (March 2, 2023). "'Star Trek: Discovery' to End With Season 5". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  16. ^ Blauvelt, Christian (October 18, 2020). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Is TV's First VFX-Heavy Show to Do Entire Post-Production from Home". IndieWire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  17. ^ "'Star Trek: Discovery' Showrunner Hints At Writing Season 5 As Production On Season 4 Continues". TrekMovie.com. August 8, 2021. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "'Star Trek: Discovery' Showrunner Gives Season 5 Update". TrekMovie.com. March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  19. ^ Jacobs, Meredith (March 17, 2022). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Boss Breaks Down the Season 4 Finale: 'What Now?'". TV Insider. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  20. ^ Paradise, Michelle [@michelleparadis] (August 21, 2022). "See you soon, Canada!! In the meantime, I'll be opening my laptop and working on a little something we like to call the season 5 finale… #StarTrekDiscovery" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Paradise, Michelle [@michelleparadis] (September 13, 2022). "We finished typing many words yesterday. I was trying to post a screenshot of them but twitter doesn't like images shaped like rectangles and that's what you get when you take a photo of: "End of Season 5." So, no photo. But words. And a season finale" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ a b Orquiola, John (March 17, 2022). "Olatunde Osunsanmi Interview: Star Trek Discovery Season 4 Finale". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  23. ^ "'Star Trek: Discovery' Officially Begins Filming Season 5". TrekMovie.com. June 13, 2022. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  24. ^ "Production Has Wrapped On Star Trek: Discovery Season 5". TrekMovie.com. November 20, 2022. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  25. ^ Osborne, James (June 6, 2023). "Star Trek Discovery season 5 release date speculation and more". The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  26. ^ Carter, Justin (October 8, 2022). "Star Trek Discovery's Season 5 Trailer is a Treasure Hunt". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  27. ^ Pascale, Anthony (July 15, 2023). "Actors' Strike Set To Impact Star Trek Production And Promotion, Including Summer Conventions". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  28. ^ Vary, Adam B. (July 22, 2023). "'Star Trek' Unveils First Looks at 'Discovery' Final Season, 'Strange New Worlds' Musical Episode, 'Lower Decks' Season 4". Variety. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  29. ^ "Full Star Trek 'Strange New Worlds'/'Lower Decks' Crossover Episode To Debut Early At Comic-Con". TrekMovie.com. July 18, 2023. Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  30. ^ Honorof, Marshall (October 16, 2023). "'Star Trek: Lower Decks' takes center stage at NYCC 2023". Space.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Pascale, Anthony (November 9, 2023). "Actors Strike Ends – What This Means For Star Trek Production". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  32. ^ Coley, Samantha (November 26, 2023). "How 'Star Trek's Inclusivity Makes Sci-Fi a Safe Space for All, According to Sonequa Martin-Green". Collider. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  33. ^ Patten, Dominic (March 17, 2022). "'Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green & EP On Stacey Abrams' Very Presidential Appearance In Season 4 Finale". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.

External links

Star Trek: Discovery
Categories