Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 5: Everything We Know About Captain Pike’s Final Season
John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises.
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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 will premiere on Paramount+ in 2027, and here's everything we know about the fifth and final season. Paramount+ ordered Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 in 2025, with production wrapping in late December, although there were additional reshoots in February 2026.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is defined by its genre-hopping gimmick episodes, which have divided audiences but drawn staunch defense from cast members like Rebecca Romijn and executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers.
However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 will be more "serious" and focused on "saying goodbye" to Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his USS Enterprise crew.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 5 Will Premiere In 2027 On Paramount+
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 will likely follow previous seasons and premiere on Paramount+ during summer 2027, after the second and final season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Unlike its predecessors, however, Strange New Worlds season 5 will only consist of 6 episodes instead of 10.
Akiva Goldsman confirmed that Paramount+ wanted to cancel Star Trek: Strange New Worlds after season 4. Instead of the two-hour wrap-up movie the streamer offered, Goldsman negotiated six episodes to finish the prequel's 'five-year mission' of telling how the USS Enterprise passed from Captain Pike to Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).
What Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Final Season Will Be About
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 was described by Akiva Goldsman as a "suite of episodes" that focus on closing the chapter of Captain Pike's Enterprise. Every character will be positioned for their ultimate destiny. Kirk completes his training to become Captain of the Enterprise, and he'll ultimately be joined by Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), Lieutenant Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and others.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's finale, "Tomorrow's Enterprise," offers a glimpse at a possible future for Kirk's Enterprise, and may not be exactly what will happen.
More compelling will be how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 reveals the fates of the USS Enterprise crew who don't stay with Captain Kirk. By the end of Strange New Worlds season 5, fans will know what canonically happens to Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) and Lieutenants Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) and La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong).
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' series finale is said to depict Captain Kirk's first day in command of the Starship Enterprise. The final episode will officially debut Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Thomas Jane) and Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu (Kai Murakami), completing Kirk's crew in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1.
Which Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Cast Will Be Back In Season 5
Every Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series regular cast member will be back in season 5. This includes Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Babs Olusanmokun, Melissa Navia, and Martin Quinn. Dan Jeannotte will also return as Lt. Sam Kirk, and, of course, Paul Wesley will be heavily featured as the future Captain James T. Kirk.
It's not clear if Carol Kane will return as Commander Pelia.
After the events of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 9, "Once Upon a Time," it's not clear if Carol Kane will return as Commander Pelia. It's possible that Pelia will return to the Enterprise to formally pass the torch of Chief Engineer to Scotty (Martin Quinn). Other recurring characters expected to be back in Strange New Worlds season 5 include Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes).
Strange New Worlds’ Finale Is The End Of Paramount+ Alex Kurtzman Era
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' series finale isn't just the end of arguably the most popular Star Trek on Paramount+ series, it also concludes Alex Kurtzman's 10-year tenure as Star Trek executive producer. Kurtzman and Secret Hideout oversaw all of Star Trek's streaming era, but their deal concludes in late 2026. In turn, Paramount Skydance is taking Star Trek in an unspecified new direction.
Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment
The Final Frontier
Trivia Challenge
🚀ShipsEnterprise!
⭐CrewMake it so
☠EnemiesResistance is…
⚡TechWarp speed!
📖LoreLive long…
01
The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?
✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.
✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.
02
Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?
✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.
03
Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?
✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.
04
“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?
✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”
05
Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?
✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
06
Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?
✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.
07
At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?
✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
08
In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?
✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.
Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record
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Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?
Although a Captain Kirk-led spinoff called Star Trek: Year One was proposed by Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, it's unlikely to happen. Instead, Paramount Skydance plans to let the Star Trek TV franchise rest for a while, as the studio concentrates on launching a new Star Trek theatrical motion picture before relaunching the streaming saga on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' conclusion will be the end of an era for Star Trek. Hopefully, the final 6 episodes of Captain Pike's 'five-year mission' will be a fitting farewell, not just for the voyages of his Starship Enterprise, but for the Star Trek saga on Paramount+ from 2017 to 2027.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is streaming on Paramount+
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2027-00-00
- Network
- Paramount+
- Showrunner
- Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman
- Directors
- Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman
- Writers
- Onitra Johnson
-
Captain Christopher Pike
-
Spock
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
- Creator(s)
- Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet
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