Star Trek: Lower Deck star to feature as writer for Star Trek: Academy

Star Trek:  Academy will feature a major Lower Decks actress as a writer.

Star Trek: Academy is the next major offering from Paramount to focus on the Star Trek universe. While there isn’t much about the show that we know about, we do know that the show will feature some stars from Lower Decks. One to be specific, and not as an on-screen talent.

According to a recent interview with Wil Wheaton on The Ready Room (ViaTrekMovie.com), Star Trek: Lower Decks star Tawny Newsome revealed that she would be acting as a writer for the show, and explained how it all came about.

Telling Wheaton;

"Well, first of all, all credit and thanks goes to my friend and boss Alex Kurtzman. Because of this crossover, he called me on the phone after he saw a rough cut and he said, “I can tell you’re a writer, send me everything you’ve written.” Because he watched all of our ad-libs and stuff and he was like, “Just send me everything you’ve written.” He really like invited me in a way that said ‘I see you because I saw you do this complex thing which was a mixture of writing and on camera and stuff.’ And he went “…and I bet there’s more in there.” And I was so grateful because half the time in this business, you’re just trying to get people to see you. So he really invited me in a way that very few executives have in my life. So I’m so eternally grateful."

Tawny Newsome joins a long line of actors to behind the scene crew members

Newsome isn’t going to be the first or the last Star Trek on-screen talent to join up with the behind-the-scenes crew. Several Star Trek: Voyager stars, Roxann Dawson (B’Elanna Torres) and Robert Duncan McNeil (Tom Paris) have gone on to direct a lot since leaving the series. Dawson directed several episodes during Voyager and later Enterprise’s run, while McNeail has directed episodes for The Orville, Supernatural, Chuck, Enterprise, and Voyager.

But the biggest name to step out from in front of the camera to behind it, at least in the world of Star Trek, is none other than Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker). Frakes went from starring on The Next Generation to directing various films and episodes across the Star Trek franchise. From First Contact to Strange New Worlds, Frakes has done it all.

So Newsome is trending in the direction of some pretty impressive names.