While Discovery season 3 is being held up and Picard season 2 can’t start shooting yet, Star Trek: Lower Decks has managed to avoid being delayed by the pandemic, with production continuing through lockdown. The result is that the debut season of the first Trek animated series since the 70s, plus the first Trek comedy show ever, is set to arrive next month. And, with just over three weeks to go until it hits CBS All Access, the first trailer has now landed online for your viewing pleasure.
As the title tells us, Lower Decks focuses on the officers stuck in the lower levels for a change. Set on board one of Starfleet’s least-important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, the show stars four Ensigns – Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Tendi (Noel Wells) and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). This trailer does a good job of quickly sketching out each character, too. Mariner’s a prankster, Boimler dreams of promotion, Tendi’s enthusiastic and Rutherford – notable for his La Forge-like eyepiece – is a bit of an action hero.
Though it’s a comedy and so will be a little bit more accessible to newbies, Lower Decks is still made by and for Trek fans, as is clear from the many references to the wider lore packed into this trailer – the parody of the classic opening narration, holodecks and even the Borg. Actually, the presence of the Borg is important as it reminds us that the series is set concurrently with The Next Generation. Showrunner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) has teased that some familiar faces (or rather voices) from 90s Trek may pop up at some point, too.
The 10-episode first season of Star Trek: Lower Decks is due to kick off on CBS All Access on August 6th. Let us know whether you’re excited for the series or not though in the comments section down below.