Jonathan Frakes thinks Strange New Worlds is the favorite Star Trek since The Next Generation

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has garnered a fan base that has been devoted to watching the new episodes as they debut and are ready for season three. And the series has already been renewed for season four before even one episode of season three has dropped. There's a lot to be said for that kind of popularity, and series director Jonathan Frakes thinks, because of the stand-alone episodes and the "big swings" Strange New Worlds takes, this series is the favorite one since Star Trek: The Next Generation. That's according to an interview he gave CinemaBlend recently.

Frakes gives credit to the people behind the scenes for Strange New Worlds' success while referring to the episodes as "movie(s) of the week."

"And that's attributed to Alex [Kurtzman] and Akiva [Goldsman] and Henry Alonso Myers and Chris Fisher and all the people who have encouraged it. They try to assign a director to an episode that they believe will be able to enhance whatever that particular 'movie of the week' episode is. And it's, I think, pretty effective. "

- Jonathan Frakes

He isn't wrong when he calls out the episode "Those Old Scientists" as being one of the biggest swings to take. Crossing over with animated characters was a big risk, and it could have flopped as wonderfully as it succeeded. Strange New Worlds has made a name for itself in taking chances, and those are paying off, but is the series the most favorite since The Next Generation? And is it fair to the other newer series to make that comparison, considering how very different they all are?

Fans of animation might see Lower Decks and/or Prodigy as their favorite while die-hard The Next Generation fans will say that about Star Trek: Picard. Newer Star Trek fans could give that label to Star Trek: Discovery. It all comes down to a matter of taste, and, in all fairness, Frakes did preface his statement with "arguably."

"They take big swings on Strange New Worlds. I think that the fact that they are stand-alone episodes has made this, arguably, the favorite Star Trek since Next Gen, probably."

- Jonathan Frakes

There's no denying that Starnge New Worlds is an excellent series. The casting, especially for Spock, Uhura, and Dr. M'Benga were spot on, and the show has really gone out on a limb with many of the episodes. So it's easy to see why it would be someone's favorite series, but "the" favorite series might be stretching it a bit, especially since Trekkies are divided on what they call "good Trek" nowadays. And, in all reality, we don't really need to pin labels on the series. There doesn't need to be a top series or a competition. What's more important is that Star Trek is still going strong after almost fifty-eight years.