Star Trek: Lower Decks EP Says The Next Generation Era Is A Playground

Star Trek: Lower Decks premieres this week on CBS All Access and the first episode could be make or break as long time Star Trek fans are understandably skeptical about an animated comedy take on the franchise. Star Trek has frequently had comedic episodes and funny moments, sure, but every show has maintained a basically serious tone. So, this first episode tonight better score a home run in order to convince fans that it’s worthwhile.

To keep the hype fires burning, CBS have been releasing tons of images from the show. Last week, we got 15 stills from the first four episodes and now we have five more from tonight’s series premiere, “Second Contact,” and one more from next week’s “Envoys.”  These don’t give away much about what’s going to happen, but I hope we get some decent holodeck jokes as that’s always a good source of laughs.

Lower Decks creator and showrunner Mike McMahan has also revealed in an interview with CNET that he got to choose which era of Star Trek he’d like to work in, and that it was an easy decision to choose The Next Generation.

“I remember watching Data and Geordi, like, these are my guys. With Voyager and Deep Space Nine, it became like a genre. The TNG era is kind of a genre of Star Trek, and [for creators] it’s just a playground.”

McMahan previously worked on Rick & Morty and drew direct comparisons between it and Lower Decks, saying that they “both start in a very sci-fi place and then they spiral off from there.” The opening of the first episode certainly shows that there’s some of Rick & Morty‘s anarchic and violent spirit present, but fans will hopefully be reassured by McMahan’s insistence that their one rule is that they won’t mock the core principles of Star Trek that so many hold dear.

We’ll find out for certain later this week, on August 6th, when the first episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks is released on CBS All Access. If you’re curious, CBS is currently offering a one-month free trial of the service, which offers a mind-blowing amount of Trek from across the years. Just remember to cancel the subscription if you only want the free month.