Why there was less Captain Pike in season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds had much less Captain Pike than the first season of the series.

From the first episode of season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) wasn’t as visible as he’d been in the first seasonn of the successful season. This gave the other actors time to shine in individual episodes like “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” where Lt. La’an Noonien Singh) (Christina Chong) falls for an alternate timeline Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the first season episode “The Broken Circle” which had Spock and the short-staffed crew stealing the Enterprise after receiving a distress call from La’an. But some fans were wondering what was going on.

Executive producer Chris Fisher answered the question in a recent conversation on The 7th Rule podcast hosted by Cirroc Loften. [Via Screenrant] During the production of season two, on December 4, 2021, Mount and his wife, Darah Trang, became first time parents to baby girl Clover, which Mount announced on social media.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds worked around Anson Mount’s schedule so he could have time with his daughter.

Fisher said Mount received more time off to be with his family during the production of the second season, and the series compensated by building episodes around the rest of the cast, which offered viewers the opportunity to see what incredible actors they are.

"I came away from season 2 with Jess, and Melissa, Celia, Ethan, Rebecca, Bruce… Paul… Everyone is just so incredible. And I think we watched episodes that didn’t have a lot of Pike in them really get carried by incredible actors. We really felt the true ensemble nature of this show in a really great way. I think that’s something that hopefully will continue."

The producer hopes to continue the ensemble nature of the series, which means when season three finally arrives, we can probably expect to see more episodes devoted to one or two characters to bring out more of their backstories and create even more compelling character arcs.