Jonathan Frakes is a prolific director, especially when it comes to Star Trek. He got his start directing episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and has, since then, directed at least once in almost every iteration of Star Trek with the exception of Star Trek: Enterprise and the two animated series, Lower Decks and Prodigy. It's safe to say he knows what he's doing behind the camera as much as in front of the camera. So when he says an upcoming episode of season three's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is "a winner," there's little doubt that's exactly what it's going to be.
In an interview with Screenrant, Frakes was asked about some details for the upcoming episode. Without revealing any spoilers, the actor/director gave just the barest of hints about what we can expect.
"As far as I can go is a part of it is a Hollywood murder mystery. And I'm also incredibly proud of the episode. I went back and shot a little more of it last week. I think it's going to be a winner."Jonathan Frakes
Being that part of the episode is a Hollywood murder mystery, that could mean time travel. I'm picturing a black and white episode, perhaps set in the 1940s. Whatever the case may be, it sounds like one of those different types of episodes that Strange New Worlds has been doing in the past two seasons much like the fantasy episode.
Strange New Worlds is extremely close to wrapping filming, with series star Anson Mount sharing an Instagram story of his boots, letting fans know that he's hanging them up for the season. Even so, odds are good we won't see the third season until some time next year as post-production takes quite a bit of time. Still, we have ten new episodes to look forward to in 2025, and the series has already been renewed for season four!