Star Trek: Discovery season 5 starts in 2024. Although it is the series’ grand finale, it will not be the most important release of the year!
- Not many new “Star Trek” series will start in 2024, including “Star Trek: Discovery”.
- The series is entering its fifth season, which will be its grand finale. Logically, this will be a big one.
- Although it is a series finale, “Discovery” will probably not be the most important Trek series 2024 overall!
Although the actors’ union strike is over and nothing stands in the way of the production of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3 and other “Star Trek” new releases, these are unlikely to still be completed for a 2024 release. Next year, the big highlight will probably be “Star Trek: Discovery” season 5!
It will be the series finale and is set to be presented by Paramount+ on a correspondingly large scale. As probably the only live-action release, we can only expect Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 and, surprisingly, the animated series will prove to be more groundbreaking for the future of “Star Trek”!
Star Trek: The 32nd Century… a short trip!
Since the third “Star Trek: Discovery” season, we find ourselves further into the future than ever in the “Star Trek” chronology in the 32nd century. But this vision of the future is not catching on with fans. There is currently no other series that takes place in parallel, and after the end of “Discovery” it cannot be ruled out that we will not see the 32nd century again for the time being.
Although there is a chance that “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” will also be set in the 32nd century and revolve around Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) best friend Tilly (Mary Wiseman), this is anything but confirmed.
One thing is clear: Paramount+ is not prioritizing the 32nd century for now, and that takes away from the importance of the “Discovery” finale in the context of the wider “Star Trek” universe, as it will have little to no impact on other stories. But what if a series was so middle of the road that it had a strong impact and also started in 2024?
Star Trek: The only series that looks to the future is “Lower Decks”!
We are of course talking about “Star Trek: Lower Decks”. As an animated series, “Lower Decks” is not taken quite as seriously as its live-action counterparts, and in “Lower Decks” is not yet as successful as the series perhaps deserves. But that doesn’t take away from the series’ importance in the overall context of the Trek universe!
“Lower Decks” is set between “Starship Enterprise – The Next Century” and “Star Trek: Picard” and is therefore not only a bridge between the two Picard series, but also the series that looks with one eye into the 25th century, the future that “Picard” presented to us.
Star Trek: Will “Lower Decks” open the door for the “Picard” sequel “Legacy”?
The 25th century is probably the era to keep an eye on, as “Picard” ended at the time, leaving the door open for the spin-off “Star Trek: Legacy” with its finale. It hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but “Picard” showrunner Terry Matalas is working hard to ensure the fans’ voices are heard and Paramount+ is convinced.
What is “Star Trek: Legacy”?
The spin-off “Star Trek: Legacy”, created by “Star Trek: Picard” showrunner, revolves around Jeri Ryan as Captain Seven of Nine and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher on board the USS Enterprise-G.
Since the 25th century is the era in which all the fan favorites from “The Next Century”, “Deep Space Nine” and “Starship Voyager” are still alive and new characters were introduced through “Lower Decks” and also “Picard”, it is the time in which the most crossover episodes can be brought about and in which individual events have the most influence on things of all the series set there.
The fact that “Lower Decks” brought back the Breen with season 4 and also showed that the Ferengi have joined Starfleet is already shaping the late 24th and early 25th century so that other series can build on it later. One of them is of course “Star Trek: Legacy”, but also the already running series “Star Trek: Prodigy”.
Star Trek: The 25th Century is where the series and movies should be headed!
As previously explained, the 25th century is where most of what could leave a lasting impression on the franchise as a whole takes place. With the end of “Picard”, we are not as far in the future as “Discovery”, but further than the other series.
Although “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is currently being touted as the flagship of the franchise, the series is limited in the sense that it can only cover a period of around seven years, as the events of “Starship Enterprise” take place afterwards and SNW is set in the past.
When is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set?
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” picks up shortly after the end of “Star Trek: Discovery” season 2, where the USS Discovery travels into the future. That’s about seven years before “Starship Enterprise”, in the year 2259.
SNW has no future for spin-offs and other spin-offs, as the series itself is a spin-off. Should Paramount+ now work to expand the “Star Trek” franchise comprehensively, taking advantage of opportunities for the series to reference each other, then the 25th century is inevitable!
“Star Trek: Lower Decks” Season 5 will most likely launch in late summer 2024, while “Star Trek: Discovery” Season 5 will launch in early summer or hopefully a little earlier in Paramount+’s new program. Specific launch dates have not yet been announced. We list all new “Star Trek” releases for you!