The day has come and gone and Star Trek: Lower Decks is officially a wrap. The animated comedy lasted for five seasons and posted 50 episodes during their time on the air. They were largely the least impactful of all Nu Trek shows with regard to engagement and attention-grabbing trends, but they did something that few thought they could do; survive. Yet, with the show over, what is the franchise's immediate legacy?
Well, for many, the show was vastly un-Star Trek-like. It was a carbon copy of an adult animated series that peppered the airwaves and streaming and even borrowed heavily from Rick and Morty. Despite that, I wouldn't say it was anti-Star Trek. When you watch the early seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, those shows spat in the face of what Star Trek was supposed to be. Lower Decks didn't. They didn't embrace the sincerity that Star Trek demands, but it didn't go so far from the center that the other series felt like Star Trek in name only.
Yet, because it didn't feel like Star Trek in many ways, with its constant attempts to poke fun at something so many embrace, it did develop a niche audience within an already niche audience. That likely didn't help it's legacy or franchise impact. Still, the fans that liked it really did like it. It wasn't a show for everyone but those it was for would swear by it.
Still, when you look back at what worked for the show, it was the cameos, callbacks, and surprises. Things that don't hold up as well after they've happened. You lose a sense of wonder and mystery when you over-rely on the "you'll never guess who's coming back" shtick that flooded the online hype and discourse over the show. It wasn't about the compelling narrative or even the jokes, but who from the franchise may come back.
That works well at the moment but not so well in the long term. Still, it wasn't the only show to do that. Picard did that a lot, and Lower Decks will age better than Picard. Unlike the latter series, Lower Decks kept its tone consistent for all five seasons. Picard was a chaotic mess with three showrunners in three seasons, each wanting to do something different.
An issue Lower Decks didn't have to deal with.
On top of that, Star Trek got one of its best casts ever with Lower Decks. Tawny Newsome is now a Star Trek staple and few rising stars in the series made such an impact as Jack Quaid. Then you look at the impressive lineup around them and it's easy to see why the fans who liked this show did in fact like it. The series was anchored with genuine talents left, right, and center.
It's easy to say that this was a niche show for a niche fandom within an already niche fandom, but that's just how it lands today. We can't and won't speculate on how it'll resonate with fans in 10 or 20 years. Some shows we can. Discovery and Picard were unmitigated messes who changed up everything multiple times because they knew they screwed up at the start. Those types of shows don't age well.
Yet, Lower Decks stayed authentically itself for all five seasons and that will work in its favor, I believe.
So it's historical significance is still yet to be felt.