Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is taking chances that are paying off. For season two, there was a crossover episode with two of the stars from the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid. "These Old Scientists" proved to be very popular. So much so that another crossover is being considered. Then, of course, there was the musical episode which many fans were uncertain about at first. But "Subspace Rhapsody" was a standout hit, especially with the Klingons breaking into a boy band number at the end. There was literally no way to go wrong with that!
As reported by Trekmovie, both of these episodes have picked up 2024 Hugo Award nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. That gives Strange New Worlds two episodes in the same category, and those will be going up against episodes from Loki, Doctor Who, and The Last of Us.
Recently, Akiva Goldsman said he didn't think there were any genres that Strange New Worlds couldn't do as long as the episodes were "cogent and sure handed." And these two episode are just two of the ways the series took big chances that worked out.
Coming up in season three, we already know, thanks to Jonathan Frakes, that there is a "Hollywood Murder Mystery" type of episode, which the director hailed as "the best episode of television I've ever done." With musicals, crossovers, fantasies, murder mysteries, and horror, Strange New Worlds is exploring more than just the universe. And it's working as the series is one of the most popular Star Trek series on Paramount+. With season three currently filming, it will be a while until we see what the producers and writers have in store for us, but it's almost guaranteed to be out of this world.
The Hugo Awards will be presented at Glasgow 2024, A Worldcon for Our Futures, Glasgow, Scotland on August 11, 2024. To learn more about the Hugo Awards and to see the rest of the nominated categories, visit the official website.