Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is approaching its conclusion, and the road to its final season has been anything but straightforward. At the recent STLV: Trek to Vegas convention, actress Rebecca Romijn, who plays Number One, shared surprising details about how Paramount originally pitched the ending. Rather than the traditional full season, the studio floated the idea of condensing the finale into a two-hour movie – an option the creative team firmly pushed back against. 
Showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers argued that a single film could never do justice to the sprawling storylines, and after some back-and-forth, they secured a six-episode run. As Romijn bluntly put it, “six was a negotiation.”
For fans used to the show’s 10-episode format, the shorter farewell is bittersweet. Yet it’s still a win compared to the alternative of an abrupt wrap-up, especially considering how Star Trek: Discovery ended with writers scrambling after an unexpected cancellation. Romijn emphasized how fortunate the cast felt to know the finish line in advance, giving them the rare chance to tie up arcs thoughtfully. “Not all shows get to do that,” she noted. “Some shows find out the end is coming only after the fact, and then everything collapses.”
The fourth season has already wrapped filming and is slated for 2026, while the fifth and final season is set to film next year. When the USS Enterprise warps into its final mission, the series will have brought its timeline right up to the doorstep of Star Trek: The Original Series, potentially setting the stage for crossovers or spin-offs. Whether that means fan-favorite characters might reappear in future projects is still unknown, but the precedent exists: Paramount already turned its planned Section 31 series into a streaming film with Michelle Yeoh, though that experiment drew harsh criticism and tepid reception.
What makes this finale even more intriguing is how fans themselves are divided on the show’s balance between classic Trek gravitas and modern flourishes. Some praise the adventurous plots, but others feel the comedy episodes and lighter tonal detours dilute the experience, especially in a season limited to fewer episodes. In the 25-episode era of The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, comedic one-offs could be shrugged off; in an eight-to-ten-episode modern structure, they stand out as filler. A common refrain is that Strange New Worlds sometimes veers too close to parody rather than the bold, serious sci-fi many viewers crave.
Another sticking point has been the handling of legacy characters. Captain Kirk’s appearance, long hyped, left parts of the audience cold. Some expected a confident, charismatic leader in his prime, echoing William Shatner’s larger-than-life presence. Instead, what they got felt tentative, with Kirk doubting himself rather than projecting command. Fans also bristle at the abundance of romance subplots, particularly with Spock, which many feel undercut the spirit of exploration implied by the show’s title – “strange new worlds” that, ironically, sometimes seem in short supply.
Yet despite the frustrations, there’s gratitude that Strange New Worlds got the chance to end on its own terms. Compared to Enterprise, which limped to just 97 episodes, or the abrupt axing of other series, this negotiated finish feels like a small victory. As the countdown to season five begins, Trekkies are left reflecting: did the show carve out its place in the pantheon of the franchise, or did it simply mimic the pieces of classic Trek without ever finding its soul? Whatever the verdict, one truth is certain: the debate around Strange New Worlds will continue to warp through fandom long after the final credits roll.