The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Lower Deck" is an instant classic

October 23, 2024

Courtesy: Paramount+

No more crossing into quantum realms in space. It's the end of the road for the fifth and final season of the highly acclaimed animated series Star Trek: Lower Deck. The final season premieres on Paramount+ with two episodes on Thursday, October 24. New episodes of the 10 episode season will air every Thursday leading up to the series finale on Thursday, December 19.

Created by Mike McMahan and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, the series follows the support crew on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. It first debuted in 2020 and is the ninth in the Star Trek Universe.

The series stars:

• Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner

• Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimler

• Noël Wells as Ensign D'Vana Tendi

• Eugene Cordero as Ensign Samanthan Rutherford

• Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman

• Jerry O'Connell as Commander Jack Ranson

• Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs

• Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana

Courtesy: Paramount+

The official synopsis reveals that in the new season, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing so-called space potholes: subspace rifts that cause chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford – that is, if the junior officers 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 final season is a celebration of the underdog crew, a group that might be dangerously close to getting promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.

McMahan and Kurtzman posted a heartwarming tribute to the fans when the news of its cancellation broke back in April, confirming that the fifth season will be the final. In the message they shared:

To the fans, We wanted to let you know that this fall will be the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. While five seasons of any series these days seems like a miracle, it's no exaggeration to say that every second we've spent making this show has been a dream come true. Our incredible cast, crew and artists have given you everything they have because they love the characters they play, they love the world we've built, and more than anything we all love love love Star Trek. We're excited for the world to see our hilarious fifth season which we're working on right now, and the good news is that all previous episodes will remain on Paramount+ so there is still so much to look forward to as we celebrate the Cerritos crew with a big send-off.

Finally, thank you for always being so creative and joyful, for filling convention halls and chanting "LOWER DECKS!" We remain hopeful that even beyond Season 5, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and the whole Cerritos crew will live on with new adventures.

LLAP

Mike McMahan and Alex Kurtzman

Courtesy: Paramount+

While highly acclaimed, Star Trek: Lower Decks is still very underrated, always overlooked for the more mainstream series within the franchise. The series is heartwarmingly funny and took viewers on an adventurous ride from its inception with the highly entertaining core group of characters that weren't important enough among the Starfleet but remained pivotal to the show's success. Lower Deck is the first animated series since Star Trek: The Animated Series, which premiered decades ago. McMahan's dedication to the series has always rung true with the quirky and creative storylines that found their own niche within the Star Trek universe as the series masterfully combined comedy, heart, and adventure, providing a unique perspective on fully fleshed-out characters in an already established franchise. Star Trek: Lower Decks is a modern-day classic that will definitely be missed.

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The final season premieres on Thursday, October 24, with all previous seasons available to stream on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks is produced by C.B.S.' Eye Animation Productions, C.B.S. Studios' animation arm; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producers include Alex Kurtzman, Mike McMahan, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. Titmouse, the Emmy Award-winning independent animation production company, serves as the animation studio for the series.

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