Tawny Newsome, known to many as Beckett Mariner in the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks series, is developing a live-action workplace comedy set in the Star Trek universe. She recently gave an update on the project to Trek Movie, saying that there’s a chance that some “legacy” Star Trek actors could find their way to the new series.
Newsome is developing the comedy with Justin Simien (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion). The project was first announced at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con. While she didn’t go into a lot of detail regarding the new series, when asked about the time period it could be set in, she said, “The era is still shifting, but my dream, of dreams is to keep it in the 25th century.”
Picard-Era Characters in the New Show?
When asked if that meant characters from Star Trek: Picard could be in the new show, she said, “Yeah, so anyone who was on Picard could theoretically be, yeah. My goal is that all of these lovely people, all of our legacy actors, everyone who’s currently on a show, I want people to be able to show up with their real faces where we don’t have to, like, do some insane ‘De Niro in The Irishman’ expensive AI to their face.”
Newsome also dished on how the comedy series has evolved since it was first announced at SDCC nearly a year ago. “That’s a really good question, and I’m going to talk more slowly so that I don’t accidentally blurt out s*** that will get me in trouble…” Newsome began.
Newsome: “I’m Very Excited About It”
“So, what I can say is, and what is the magic of development — and the magic of developing something I know so well like Star Trek — is supposed to find what works best. And so with Trek, I know it like the back of my hand. I also know comedy like the back of my hand. Figuring out where those two things intersect is like the divine chore, the incredible fun, but also the incredible work of making sure this show is perfect,” Newsome continued. “That said, the original pitch of the series has shifted in a way that makes me very excited, because I feel confident that we have really found the sweet spot of where those two things intersect. So I’m very excited about it,” she said.
Newsome said the fundamentals of the series, a workplace comedy set on a vacation planet like Risa, but not in the Federation, are essentially the same, but a few things have changed. “But what I can tell you is what we’re really working on exploring, are the sort of overlooked sections of what happens in a world and a culture that is not in the Federation. What happens when they decide to be?…So Federation outsiders and what’s kind of the nitty gritty involved with joining the Federation and involved with…yeah, I’m really struggling (to avoid spoilers),” she said.
The Star Trek franchise is streaming on Paramount+
