Should Scott Bakula reprise the role he made famous from 2001-2005 on Star Trek: Enterprise, the actor's character, Jonathan Archer, would serve as the President of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek: United. Now, if the show is eventually greenlit, the series would focus on not only Archer, but his four adult children — and with a "deep cut" twist. Stat Trek writer and producer Mike Sussman made the revelation in a new interview with Sci-Finatics.
“It [United] would really be centered on Archer in this new role and his four adult children that we would be meeting as well in the pilot," Sussman said. "And they are spread out across the galaxy in various functions […] One kid would be working in diplomacy, another is in Federation intelligence, [and] another is in Starfleet."
Sussman, who worked as both a writer and producer on Enterprise, continued by revealing arguably the biggest Easter Egg of all to date. And Trekkies are sure to appreciate this. Sussman said:
“My idea is that the kid in Starfleet does not use Archer as a surname [...] So, he uses his mother’s surname, which is Hernandez. That may mean something to fans of Enterprise. It’s a little bit of a deep cut. So, I don’t know if you remember in season 4, there was the captain of the [Columbia] NX-02 was an old flame."
"That's something I haven't really chatted about before," Sussman added.
According to the new interview, Sussman hasn’t decided on whether Archer and Hernandez would be married or not. However, they do have at least one child together. For those Star Trek fans new to the fandom, Captain Erika Hernandez appeared in three episodes of Enterprise’s fourth season, and she was portrayed by actress Ada Maris. Now, let's catch you up on everything United.
Sussman's original pitch for Star Trek: United
Sussman, who's written for the franchise in the past, including my favorite Enterprise two-parter, "In a Mirror, Darkly," revealed that he's had the idea for Star Trek: United for several years now, from around the time Picard came out. While he and Bakula batted the idea around, Paramount was focused on another Star Trek project, Starfleet Academy, which is slated to premiere Jan. 15, 2026, on Paramount Plus. However, the 2025 Paramount/Skydance merger may give Enterprise and Bakula fans a bit of new hope as the studio looks toward the development of new Star Trek content.
The Romulan War and other TOS elements
Sussman also revealed during this interview that United would address the Romulan War and give details of the event we didn't get in Enterprise. This is a fascinating idea, given that by this time, Archer has already been through the Xindi War, which would have tempered his impulsive personality and allow that part of him to shine through--he's still our Jonathan Archer, just with softer edges.
Sussman also discussed how Star Trek: The Original Series and its films are the core of United's canon and may return to certain places that have never been explored before, such as the planetoid Babel.
An Enterprise character fans want to see again!
While Sussman admitted that United is merely a concept right now, he did touch on the idea of Enterprise characters and actors making guest appearances. The character most of us would like to see return is the Andorian Thy'lek Shran, played by the uber-talented Jeffrey Combs. He and Archer had fantastic chemistry and it showed, so having Combs return as Shran would probably draw Enterprise fans back!
For more Star Trek content, and to share your comments on the possibility of United, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And special thanks to Mike Sussman for sharing his Sci-Finatics interview with me, which included the Captain Hernandez reveal.