Akiva Goldsman suggested a Captain Pike series before the second season of Star Trek: Discovery

Captain Chrisopher Pike (Anson Mount)) debuted during the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, along with Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn). The fan response was immediate, and a demand for a spin-off series began early on. But the idea was already in place before any of the three Starfleet officers found their way to Discovery.

According to Alex Kurtzman, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the idea to bring on Pike and his two crew members sparked another one in Akiva Goldsman who thought there could be a great show about Pike. Before anything could move forward, though, Captain Pike had to be cast as did the others, and those were tall orders.

Fortunately, after seeing Anson Mount's taped audition, Kurtzman had the moment of "this is exactly the person we're looking for," but then came the difficult prospect of finding another Mr. Spock. In one of the best decisions every, they cast Ethan Peck. Rebecca Romijn became Captain Pike's number one. And though Kurtzman says it usually takes fans "a minute" to get used to what's being done, the fan response to these characters and the possibility of a spin-off was immediate. So Goldsman had the right idea.

Even now, fans are still onboard with the crew of the Enterprise as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds enters its third season. The series has already been renewed for a fourth due to viewership demand. That does bring up the question, though, if Strange New Worlds will fall victim to the five-season run as both Discovery and Lower Decks have. Strange New Worlds has been far more popular than either of those series, and one can only imagine the fan campaign that will happen if the axe does fall in a few years.