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''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is an American adult-oriented animated television series created by
Mike McMahan Mike McMahan is an American comedy writer and television producer. He is the creator of the animated comedies ''Solar Opposites'' (with Justin Roiland) and '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. Career McMahan, a native of Chicago, first worked in pro ...
for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
). It is the ninth ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' series and was launched in 2020 as part of executive producer
Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007), ''Transformers: Revenge ...
's expanded ''Star Trek'' Universe. ''Lower Decks'' is the franchise's first animated series since the 1970s series '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'', and its first comedic series. It follows the low-ranking support crew of the
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...
''Cerritos'' beginning in the year 2380.
Tawny Newsome Tawny Newsome (born February 24, 1983) is an American musician, comedian, and actress best known for playing Chelsea Leight-Leigh on ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'', co-starring in ''Space Force'' and the third season of ''Brockmire'', and co-h ...
,
Jack Quaid Jack Henry Quaid (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film ''The Hunger Games'' (2012) before his breakout role as vigilante Hughie Campbell in the Amazon Prime Video superhero se ...
,
Noël Wells Noël Kristi Wells (born December 23, 1986) is an American actress, comedian, impressionist, writer, director, singer, and musician. Wells is known for her television roles as Rachel Silva in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Master of None'' (20152017), ...
, and
Eugene Cordero Eugene Cordero is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Frequently appearing in comedic roles, he has been featured as a series regular on the comedies ''Other Space'' (2015), ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' (2017–2019), ''Tacoma FD'' (2019 ...
voice junior "lower decks" crew members of the ''Cerritos'', with
Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
,
Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...
,
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
, and
Gillian Vigman Gillian Vigman (born January 28, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has played Jack Box's Wife in many Jack in the Box commercials, and is a recurring cast member of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. Vigman also st ...
providing voices for the ship's senior officers. Work on an animated ''Star Trek'' series began in June 2018. McMahan joined as creator and
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
by that October, when ''Lower Decks'' was ordered for two seasons by All Access. The series is produced by
CBS Eye Animation Productions CBS Eye Animation Productions is an American animation studio division of CBS Studios owned by Paramount Global. The studio is closely associated with the ''Star Trek'' franchise with its first projects, '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' and '' Star Tre ...
in association with
Secret Hideout Secret Hideout is a film and television production company founded in 2014 by Alex Kurtzman. It is notable for the recent incarnations of the '' Star Trek'' franchise with Roddenberry Entertainment. History In 2014, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto ...
, Important Science,
Roddenberry Entertainment Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. (born February 5, 1974) is an American television producer and the chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment. He is the son of ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett and is an exec ...
, and animation studio
Titmouse ''Baeolophus'' is a genus of birds in the family Paridae. Its members are commonly known as titmice. All the species are native to North America. In the past, most authorities retained ''Baeolophus'' as a subgenus within the genus ''Parus ...
who began work by February 2019. The main cast was announced that July. Production on the first two seasons shifted to taking place remotely in March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The series features many connections and references to past ''Star Trek'' series. ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' premiered on CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+) on August 6, 2020, and its 10-episode first season ran until October 2020. A second season was released on Paramount+ from August to October 2021, and a third season premiered in August 2022. A fourth season is expected to be released in 2023. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics, as well as several accolades including a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nomination.


Premise

''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is set in the late 24th century in the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' universe, in which Earth is part of the multi-species
United Federation of Planets In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly refe ...
. The Federation's military and exploration division,
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
, operates a fleet of starships that travel the galaxy establishing contact with alien races; ''Lower Decks'' focuses on one of Starfleet's least important starships, the USS ''Cerritos''. Unlike previous ''Star Trek'' series, whose principal characters are typically starship captains or other senior officers, ''Lower Decks'' focuses on the missions and adventures of the "lower deckers", low-ranking officers with menial jobs, while the captain and other senior staff appear as supporting characters.


Episodes


Season 1 (2020)


Season 2 (2021)


Season 3 (2022)


Season 4

A 10-episode fourth season was ordered in January 2022, and writing began by that April. Voice recording for the season began by June.


Cast and characters

*
Tawny Newsome Tawny Newsome (born February 24, 1983) is an American musician, comedian, and actress best known for playing Chelsea Leight-Leigh on ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'', co-starring in ''Space Force'' and the third season of ''Brockmire'', and co-h ...
as Beckett Mariner:
A human ensign aboard the USS ''Cerritos'' and the daughter of Captain Freeman. Newsome described Mariner as an irreverent rule-breaker who has been demoted several times, though she is actually "very good at all things Starfleet". The character is named after showrunner
Mike McMahan Mike McMahan is an American comedy writer and television producer. He is the creator of the animated comedies ''Solar Opposites'' (with Justin Roiland) and '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. Career McMahan, a native of Chicago, first worked in pro ...
's sister, Beckett Mariner McMahan. *
Jack Quaid Jack Henry Quaid (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film ''The Hunger Games'' (2012) before his breakout role as vigilante Hughie Campbell in the Amazon Prime Video superhero se ...
as
Brad Boimler Bradward Boimler () is a fictional character from the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. He is known for being ambitious while diligently following the rules of the service, and pleading excessively for his be ...
:
A human ensign aboard the ''Cerritos'', Boimler is a stickler for the rules and will need to learn how to improvise if he is to become a captain one day. Quaid said the character would "nail the written portion of the driving test with flying colors but once it actually got to him being in the car, it would be a complete and total disaster." However, as the series progresses, Boimler eventually grows to display considerable talent and command potential as an officer. *
Noël Wells Noël Kristi Wells (born December 23, 1986) is an American actress, comedian, impressionist, writer, director, singer, and musician. Wells is known for her television roles as Rachel Silva in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Master of None'' (20152017), ...
as D'Vana Tendi:
An Orion ensign in the medical bay aboard the ''Cerritos'', Tendi is a big fan of Starfleet, and is thrilled to be on a starship. She is new to the ''Cerritos'' at the start of the series, and helps introduce the audience to the setting and characters. McMahan said he would act like Tendi if he ever got to work on a starship. *
Eugene Cordero Eugene Cordero is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Frequently appearing in comedic roles, he has been featured as a series regular on the comedies ''Other Space'' (2015), ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' (2017–2019), ''Tacoma FD'' (2019 ...
as Sam Rutherford:
A human ensign aboard the ''Cerritos'', Rutherford is adjusting to a new cyborg implant. McMahan compared Rutherford to the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' character
Geordi La Forge Geordi La Forge ( ) is a fictional character who appeared in all seven seasons of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and its four feature films. Portrayed by LeVar Burton, he served as helmsman o ...
, saying they are both "amazing at engineering stuff" but Rutherford does not always solve the problem like Geordi because he is still learning. *
Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
as Carol Freeman:
The human captain of the ''Cerritos''. McMahan described her as a capable Starfleet captain whose starship is not very important. Freeman does not want her daughter, Mariner, to be on the ''Cerritos'' and is looking for a reason to have her transferred to another ship. *
Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...
as Jack Ransom:
The human first officer of the ''Cerritos'' whom McMahan compared to ''Next Generation''s
William Riker William Thomas "Will" Riker is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' universe appearing primarily as a main character in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Throughout the series and its accompanying films, he is the ''Enterprise''s first ...
, if he was on
speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
and had less shame. *
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
as Shaxs:
A
Bajoran The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction ''Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owi ...
tactical officer aboard the ''Cerritos''. At the end of the first season, Shaxs dies sacrificing himself for Rutherford but returns in the second season in a storyline that plays on the numerous times and ways that characters have been resurrected in previous ''Star Trek'' series. *
Gillian Vigman Gillian Vigman (born January 28, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has played Jack Box's Wife in many Jack in the Box commercials, and is a recurring cast member of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. Vigman also st ...
as T'Ana:
A Caitian doctor and head of medical aboard the ''Cerritos''. McMahan described her as a "good doctor, but she's an unpleasant cat". Including a Caitian in the series is a reference to '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'' which also features a member of that species, M'Ress.


Production


Development

In June 2018, after becoming sole
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
of the series '' Star Trek: Discovery'',
Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007), ''Transformers: Revenge ...
signed a five-year overall deal with
CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
to expand the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' franchise beyond ''Discovery'' to several new series, miniseries, and animated series. Aaron Baiers of Kurtzman's production company
Secret Hideout Secret Hideout is a film and television production company founded in 2014 by Alex Kurtzman. It is notable for the recent incarnations of the '' Star Trek'' franchise with Roddenberry Entertainment. History In 2014, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto ...
brought
Mike McMahan Mike McMahan is an American comedy writer and television producer. He is the creator of the animated comedies ''Solar Opposites'' (with Justin Roiland) and '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. Career McMahan, a native of Chicago, first worked in pro ...
—the head writer of popular animated comedy ''
Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...
''—to a general meeting about animation in ''Star Trek''. Baiers and McMahan had been television assistants together when McMahan was running the
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
fan account @TNG_S8, suggesting stories for a theoretical eighth season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. McMahan was asked what his dream ''Star Trek'' series would be, and pitched a series following "the people who put the yellow cartridge in the food replicator so a banana can come out the other end". After winning over executives with his initial pitch, Secret Hideout moved forward with McMahan's series. It was marketed to different platforms and networks before being picked up by
CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Me ...
, the streaming service that was releasing ''Discovery'', who officially ordered two seasons on October 25, 2018. Titled ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'', it was the service's first original animated series and the first animated ''Star Trek'' series since the 1973–74 series '' Star Trek: The Animated Series''. McMahan was set to create, write, and executive produce ''Lower Decks'' alongside Kurtzman, Secret Hideout's Heather Kadin,
Rod Roddenberry Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. (born February 5, 1974) is an American television producer and the chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment. He is the son of ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett and is an exec ...
(the son of ''Star Trek'' creator
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
) and Trevor Roth of
Roddenberry Entertainment Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. (born February 5, 1974) is an American television producer and the chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment. He is the son of ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett and is an exec ...
, and veteran animation executive-turned-producer Katie Krentz of the newly formed CBS Eye Animation Productions. In January 2019, Kurtzman said the series would not be "''Rick and Morty'' in the world of ''Star Trek''" and would have its own tone, but would "skew slightly more adult". That July, McMahan announced that the first season would consist of 10 episodes and be released in 2020. By late March 2020, work on the series was taking place remotely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
forcing staff to work from home. In May, McMahan said animation was "uniquely suited for this moment" since the series' animators could continue work on the series from home. In July, All Access scheduled the series to premiere in August 2020. A third season was ordered in April 2021 for the rebranded
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
, ahead of the second-season premiere in August 2021. The third season was confirmed for a late-2022 release when a fourth season was ordered in January 2022, which is expected to be released in 2023.


Writing

The series is set in 2380, one year after the film '' Star Trek: Nemesis'' (2002), and, unlike typical ''Star Trek'' series, focuses on the support crew of a starship rather than the main bridge crew. McMahan set the series shortly after ''Nemesis'', the last ''Star Trek'' film in the ''Next Generation'' era, due to his love of ''The Next Generation''. The series is named after the ''Next Generation'' episode "
Lower Decks ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is an American adult-oriented animated television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth ''Star Trek'' series and was launched in 2020 ...
", which also focuses on the lives of lower-ranking starship personnel and which McMahan said was his favorite episode of any ''Star Trek'' series; the episode was the first thing McMahan showed the ''Lower Decks'' writers room when they started work on the series. McMahan was inspired by the social side-stories in episodes of ''The Next Generation'', with Kurtzman explaining that the "A story" of a typical ''Star Trek'' episode would be taking place in the background of each ''Lower Decks'' episode, so "huge, crazy, crazy shit is going on in the background and that's super peripheral to the story that you're actually focusing on". Kurtzman felt this made the series a unique addition to the franchise. Starting in late 2019, astrophysicist
Erin Macdonald Erin Macdonald is an astrophysicist, aerospace engineer, and science fiction consultant. She hosts the YouTube channel, Dr. Erin Explains the Universe, teaches STEM through popular culture, and consults with science fiction creators. Educati ...
joined the ''Star Trek'' franchise as a science advisor. Macdonald said each series was on a "spectrum of science to fiction" and the ''Lower Decks'' writers approached science from the perspective of "we can get away with a lot more" than the live-action series, so her role was mostly to fix small dialogue mistakes to ensure the correct terms were being used. The main setting of the series is the starship USS ''Cerritos'', a "''California''-class" ship. This
ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course ...
, created for ''Lower Decks'', is a class of support starships that work with larger starships like those seen previously in the franchise, but are not "important enough" to have appeared on screen before. McMahan described the mission of the ''Cerritos'' as "Second Contact": after Starfleet has made first contact with a new alien civilization and invited it to join the Federation, the crew of support ships like the ''Cerritos'' arrive to find "all the good places to eat nd set upthe communications stuff". McMahan wanted ''California''-class ships to be named after Californian cities, and chose the city of Cerritos because he otherwise only knew it for local
Cerritos Auto Square The Cerritos Auto Square is an automobile retail center located in the city of Cerritos, California. Cerritos Auto Square states that it is the largest auto mall in the world with 29 import and domestic marques. History In 1979, the Cerritos ...
car dealership advertisements. He wanted to give the city "one more thing other than just being the home of the Auto Square". McMahan did not want the humor to be "punching down on ''Trek''" and focused on telling ''Star Trek'' stories where the characters happen to be funny. Writers from different comedic backgrounds and with different levels of ''Star Trek'' interest were hired. Kurtzman described ''Lower Decks'' as a love letter to ''Star Trek'', and it is filled with many references to other ''Star Trek'' series. McMahan said these were there to "create a rich, vibrant, fun expression of the world of ''Star Trek'' in that era" rather than just be
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
for fans to pick through. It was important to the team that these not distract from the emotional storytelling and also fit within established canon, with ''Star Trek'' author David Mack consulting on the series to ensure that it fit into the franchise. McMahan hoped that references to ''The Animated Series'' specifically would honor it as the franchise's first animated series. The characters often use the real-world titles of past ''Star Trek'' episodes when referencing those events, with McMahan explaining that the personal logs of famous characters are given similar in-universe titles to the episodes they are from. The franchise established that "''Star Trek'' characters watch ''Star Trek''" in
the series finale "The Series Finale" is the ninth episode and series finale of the American television miniseries ''WandaVision'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows Wanda as she tries to p ...
of ''
Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
'', where the events of an earlier mission are recreated with a hologram, and McMahan felt many events from past series would be common knowledge within Starfleet. Acknowledging this allowed the main characters to be "geeks for ''Star Trek''", which let ''Lower Decks'' be a "
Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
" connecting all previous ''Star Trek'' projects.


Casting and voice recording

Kurtzman stated in June 2019 that the series would mostly focus on new characters, but there was potential for characters from previous ''Star Trek'' series to appear at some point. The next month, McMahan announced the main cast and characters for the series, including ensigns serving in the "lower decks" of the ''Cerritos''—
Tawny Newsome Tawny Newsome (born February 24, 1983) is an American musician, comedian, and actress best known for playing Chelsea Leight-Leigh on ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'', co-starring in ''Space Force'' and the third season of ''Brockmire'', and co-h ...
as Beckett Mariner,
Jack Quaid Jack Henry Quaid (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film ''The Hunger Games'' (2012) before his breakout role as vigilante Hughie Campbell in the Amazon Prime Video superhero se ...
as Brad Boimler,
Noël Wells Noël Kristi Wells (born December 23, 1986) is an American actress, comedian, impressionist, writer, director, singer, and musician. Wells is known for her television roles as Rachel Silva in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Master of None'' (20152017), ...
as D'Vana Tendi, and
Eugene Cordero Eugene Cordero is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Frequently appearing in comedic roles, he has been featured as a series regular on the comedies ''Other Space'' (2015), ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' (2017–2019), ''Tacoma FD'' (2019 ...
as Sam Rutherford—and the ship's bridge crew who believe "the show is about them, but it's not"—
Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
as Captain Carol Freeman,
Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...
as first officer Commander Jack Ransom,
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
as security chief Lieutenant Shaxs, and
Gillian Vigman Gillian Vigman (born January 28, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has played Jack Box's Wife in many Jack in the Box commercials, and is a recurring cast member of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. Vigman also st ...
as chief medical officer Dr. T'Ana. Voice overs for each episode are recorded before any animation work is done, with the different recordings edited together into what McMahan described as an "old-timey radio play version of the episode". Initially, actors were recorded together such as Newsome and Quaid, but this stopped during production on the first season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This became one of the biggest challenges for the series during the pandemic, with a need to use remote recording equipment in each actor's house. Newsome used a recording studio that she already had at her house.


Animation and design

Independent animation studio
Titmouse ''Baeolophus'' is a genus of birds in the family Paridae. Its members are commonly known as titmice. All the species are native to North America. In the past, most authorities retained ''Baeolophus'' as a subgenus within the genus ''Parus ...
provides the animation for the series. Their process involves the "board teams" drawing a rough version of the episode in black-and-white based on the initial "radio play" version of the voice actor recordings. These are put together as an
animatic A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the ...
which the animators use as a basis for the final animation with full details and colors. Juno Lee served as supervising director for the first season, with first-season episodic director Barry J. Kelly taking over as supervising director with the second season. Titmouse CCO Antonio Canobbio guided the overall animation style for the series. McMahan wanted the series' animation style to reflect the look of " prime time animated comedy" series that he grew up with, such as ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' and ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'', as well as previous comedy series that he had worked on such as ''Rick and Morty''. This included a "prime time look" for the characters based on the "every-man vibe of ''The Simpsons''" which meant that even the alien characters felt human and grounded. However, he did want the backgrounds and environments to be more detailed than is traditional for prime time animation, reflecting the designs of the ''Next Generation'' era of ''Star Trek'' for the series' sets, starships, cinematography, and character movements. The team tried to follow the same rules that would apply to a live-action ''Star Trek'' series that was set in 2380, and used the
wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...
encyclopedia
Memory Alpha Memory Alpha is a wiki encyclopedia for topics related to the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. Conceived by Harry Doddema and Dan Carlson in September 2003 and officially launched on December 5 of that year, it uses the wiki model and is hosted ...
as well as other fan resources to ensure they were staying accurate to the original designs of the era. The animators also watched episodes of ''The Next Generation'' while they were working on the series, which uses the same blue font as ''The Next Generation'' for its credits. The opening title sequence features the ''Cerritos'' flying through ''Next Generation''-like situations with a sweeping musical score, but with twists such as it being sucked into a vortex or immediately turning around after arriving at a battle. The uniforms worn by the crew of the ''Cerritos'' are based on unused designs for the film ''
Star Trek Generations ''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek'' and the 1987 sequel series ''The Next G ...
'' (1994). Kelly said the ''Cerritos'' was designed to stand-up as a model alongside the live-action starships already seen in the franchise, with some adjustments then made to fit the animation style of the series. It is a ''Next Generation'' version of the USS ''Reliant'' from the film '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982), McMahan's favorite ''Star Trek'' starship. The California-class starships seen in the series feature the same colors as the uniforms, with yellow for engineering, blue for medical, and red for command (the ''Cerritos'' is yellow). For interiors of the ''Cerritos'' such as the carpet, walls, and ceiling, elements of the LCARS computer system from ''The Next Generation'' were included in the design, with "those swooping shapes eingpart of the overall architecture of the ship". The particles of transporter beams were also drawn to be "little pill-shaped tubes" in the LCARS style, while actual LCARS displays are featured throughout the ship as well.
Michael Okuda Michael Okuda is an American graphic designer best known for his work on ''Star Trek'' including designing futuristic computer user interfaces known as "okudagrams". Career Work in ''Star Trek'' In the mid-1980s, he designed the look of ani ...
, who designed the LCARS system for ''The Next Generation'', consulted with the animation team on the series' LCARS designs and colors.


Music

In January 2020, frequent ''Star Trek'' composer
Jeff Russo Jeff Russo (born August 31) is an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and music producer, and one of the two founding members of American rock band Tonic. He is also a founding member of acoustic rock band Low Stars. Russo is a ...
said it may not be possible for him to compose the score for ''Lower Decks'' due to his workload and the large number of ''Star Trek'' series being produced at the same time. He suggested that he could oversee some other composers for ''Lower Decks'' and the other ''Star Trek'' series if Kurtzman asked him to. In July, Chris Westlake was revealed to be the composer after working with McMahan on ''
Solar Opposites ''Solar Opposites'' is an American science-fiction animated sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan for Hulu. Originally created for the Fox Broadcasting Company, the project was shelved before being bought by Hulu and given a two-se ...
''. McMahan said Westlake's score sounded like a traditional ''Star Trek'' score that fit within the fast-paced, comedic style of ''Lower Decks''. Westlake felt it would be funnier if sincere music scored the comedic series, which is why the main theme includes a choir. He wrote six or seven different main theme ideas that were narrowed down to two, with one being energetic and the other having a slower, more stately feel. The final theme is "between" these two. A soundtrack album featuring music from the first two seasons was released by
Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...
on October 8, 2021. All music composed by Chris Westlake:


Sound

Once the animation is completed, the last element of the series is the final sound design. McMahan noted that the same level of care was applied to the series' sound design as its animation in terms of honoring "legacy" elements from previous ''Star Trek'' series. Sounds from earlier in the franchise that were studied and replicated include those for existing technology, such as the noises made by different phasers, the different sounds made when making or receiving a call using a Starfleet badge, or the sound of the ships' warp core. They also include the general "room tone" of different areas of the ship, such as the bridge, different hallways, and crew quarters. General sound design was also required, such as for the sound of characters' footsteps. Once the sound design is completed, these sounds are mixed with the voice recordings and score in a final mix for the episodes.


Release

''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' premiered on August 6, 2020, on CBS All Access in the United States. Each episode is broadcast in Canada by
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
on the same day as the U.S. release, on the specialty channels
CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts speculative fiction and related programming. The network was launched on October 17, 1997 as Space under its original pa ...
(English) and Z (French) before streaming on Crave. In September 2020,
ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...
announced that CBS All Access would be expanded and rebranded as Paramount+ in March 2021. The first season remained on Paramount+ along with future seasons. International distribution for the series was not secured by the time of its premiere, due to negotiations being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020,
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
was revealed to have picked up the streaming rights for the series in several territories—including Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and India—with the first season released on the service on January 22, 2021. The series is distributed worldwide by
Paramount Global Distribution Group Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...
.


Reception


Critical response

''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' has an 84% approval rating on the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, while
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average, has assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval score with an average rating of 7.20/10 based on 47 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fun, but not very bold, ''Lower Decks'' flips the script on ''Star Trek'' regulation just enough to stand out in the franchise, if not the greater animation landscape." Metacritic assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval score for the second season, with an average rating of 8.30/10 based on 12 reviews.


Accolades


Tie-in media


Aftershow

A special episode of the official ''Star Trek''
aftershow An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program to help retain the audience, and to provide ad ...
''The Ready Room'', hosted by ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' actor
Wil Wheaton Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...
, was released following the premiere of ''Lower Decks''. Wheaton returned for further aftershow episodes, which were released following key episodes of the series.


Comic book

The first comic book tie-in for the series, a three-issue miniseries written by
Ryan North Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer. He is the creator and author of ''Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' ''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''. ...
with art by Chris Fenoglio, was released by
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
in September 2022.


Crossover

At
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
in July 2022, Kurtzman announced that an episode of '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' second season would be a
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
with ''Lower Decks'', featuring a mixture of live-action and animation. Newsome and Quaid reprise their roles from ''Lower Decks'' in the crossover.


Video games

A free-to-play mobile game based on the series was revealed in February 2022, titled ''Star Trek: Lower Decks Mobile'' (previously ''Star Trek: Lower Decks TBD (The Badgey Directive)''). Developed by East Side Games and Mighty Kingdom for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and Android, it features the series' rogue artificial intelligence Badgey and was released later in 2022. In April, the mobile strategy game ''
Star Trek Fleet Command Star Trek Fleet Command is a 4X "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate" mobile strategy game created by Irish developer Digit Game Studios and published by Scopely and CBS Interactive. Players can explore star systems, build ships, mine reso ...
'' launched a ''Lower Decks''-themed expansion, adding the ''Cerritos'', Mariner, Boimler, Badgey, and a new function called "Below Decks Abilities" that allows players to select a support crew with "additional abilities that can combine to provide... benefits to player ships".


References


External links

*
''Star Trek: Lower Decks''
on
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
* * {{Paramount+ 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American adult animated television series 2020s American comic science fiction television series American adult animated adventure television series American adult animated comedy television series American adult animated science fiction television series Animated space adventure television series Animated television series about extraterrestrial life English-language television shows Interquel television series Paramount+ original programming
Lower Decks ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is an American adult-oriented animated television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth ''Star Trek'' series and was launched in 2020 ...
Television series by CBS Studios Television series by CBS Eye Animation Productions Television series by Roddenberry Entertainment Television series set in the 24th century Television shows based on works by Gene Roddenberry