“I think we’re keeping it very quintessential Trek.”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to warp-speed from one genre to another as season 4 progresses. The crew of the USS Enterprise has explored virtually every possible theme this year from the realm of horror (“The Griffin Incident”) to the black-and-white world of the film noir (“A Case of Chiaroscuro”). However, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and company are about to embark into, of all places, soap opera territory.
However, Celia Rose Gooding explained why SNW has always been a “genre diverse show’ in a newly published interview by Awards Radar. Gooding said, “Well, the gift of Strange New Worlds is that we’ve always been a very genre diverse show. I mean, even in the beginning, even in our premiere season, we had the fantasy episode […] We also had the 'Spock Amok,' the body switch. We had a lot of different types of genre shenaniganry going on.”
Gooding, who has portrayed Nyota Uhura on Strange New Worlds since the series debuted in 2022, continued by saying in the same sit-down:
“When I sat down with Henry [Alonso Myers] and Akiva [Goldsman], the showrunners for the show, before season four, they let me know that we are continuing to push the envelope. And I think that season four and season five, I think a lot of the cast would agree in saying that they’re some of our strongest work yet because of the big genre swings we’re taking. I think we’re keeping it very quintessential Trek.”
Strange New Worlds playing so flippantly with genres remains one of the main criticisms the show's fourth season receives from fans on social media each and every day. Personally, I don’t have an issue with SNW trekking from one genre to another, and I believe Gooding is correct in her assessment of the series.
However, I’m not sure how Trekkies, Trekkers, or even casual viewers are going to respond to Strange New Worlds delving into the daytime drama of soap operas in season 4 episode 7’s “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass,” especially after the divisive reaction from fans on social media after they watched the puppet episode, “Level-Five Transporter Accident.”
Gooding’s Uhura is certainly a part of the soap opera episode, as the character appeared in the preview photos for Strange New Worlds’ “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass,” but I’m most excited for the return of the trickster Trelane (Rhys Darby) and also the special appearance by Days of Our Lives icon, Deidre Hall.
Do you agree with Celia Rose Gooding’s assessment that Strange New Worlds has always been “a genre diverse show?” Share your thoughts and comments with us on the matter via the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass” drops Thursday, Sept. 3, on Paramount+.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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