"It was definitely a conversation.”
As enjoyable as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 was, there were some crucial recurring actors and their respective characters missing from the latest batch of episodes, including guest star Cillian O’Sullivan. O'Sullivan, of course, portrays Nurse Christine Chapel’s (Jess Bush) love interest and future fiance, Dr. Roger Korby on SNW.
And in a new interview, O’Sullivan explained his character’s absence on Strange New Worlds in 2026 and whether he’d be returning for the show’s swan song. O’Sullivan said (per TrekMovie.com): “There’s always talks. But I think part of it is: this is a story about this crew, and you can’t really be expanding the cast too much, especially when it comes to a character that his story’s in The Original Series."
O'Sullivan continued by saying:
"Yes, he’s a… he’s a big part of Jess Bush’s character, is a big part of Nurse Chapel’s story, but you’ve got to be careful not to be bringing in too many guest stars and making them too much of the fabric of the show when you’ve got so many other stories to focus on, of a very large cast. So, it was definitely a conversation.”
O’Sullivan last appeared as Dr. Korby in the Strange New Worlds season 3 finale, “New Life and New Civilizations.” So, the question now becomes whether or not Nurse Chapel’s future fiance will return for an episode or two before the curtain finally falls on the streaming series in 2027.
However, when O’Sullivan was asked about his possible involvement in Strange New Worlds season 5, the actor replied during the same interview: “I can’t tell you that. I just can’t tell you that. I’ll be shot [laughs]!”
O’Sullivan’s version of Korby was brought onboard for season 3 of Strange New Worlds as a way of ending Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Chapel’s romantic relationship. As a devout fan of The Original Series, I thought it was a clever way to bring back a TOS character to not only create friction between two legacy characters, but to also introduced an awkward love triangle between Spock, Chapel, and Korby.
For those who may be new to the Star Trek fandom, the character of Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong) was introduced as Christine Chapel’s (Majel Barrett) long-lost fiance and the main villain in The Original Series season 1 episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”
Sadly, that was Korby’s one and only appearance during The Original Series, and, as Trekkies and Trekkers already know, it wasn’t the actual character himself. Rather, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Nurse Chapel discover at the end of the episode that the real Korby died on Exo III, leaving only an android of himself behind for the crew of the USS Enterprise to find.
For more Star Trek content and to share your thoughts on Cillian O’Sullivan and Dr. Roger Korby’s absence in Strange New Worlds season 4, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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