The release date for Star Trek: Lower Decks was finally announced yesterday, with the franchise’s first animated series since the 70s – and first ever comedy series – arriving in just over one month’s time on August 6th. Along with this announcement came a teaser poster for the show, which reveals our first look at the Starfleet ship the characters will call home.
Lower Decks follows a bunch of Ensigns on the lower levels of the U.S.S Cerritos, a California-class vessel, the first of its type to appear in the Trek franchise. That’s probably because the Cerritos is said to be one of the least important ships in Starfleet’s armada. In fact, the tagline on the poster makes clear that we won’t be in for some Enterprise-level adventures on board the Cerritos. “Rarely going where no one has gone before,” it reads.
At the bottom of the poster, we’re introduced to the four protagonists of the show: Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), described as an irreverent ruler-breaker, Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), who’s a fastidious stickler for the rules, Starfleet fangirl Ensign Tendi (Noel Wells) and Ensign Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), who sports a La Forge-esque cybernetic implant.
Rutherford’s La Forge connection reminds us that Lower Decks is set during The Next Generation era of Trek, which showrunner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty) has teased could lead to some familiar faces (and voices) from 90s Trek appearing on the show. McMahan has said the aim is to respect its place in Trek canon, but also keep it accessible enough to appeal to casual fans or newbies.
Star Trek: Lower Decks is due to premiere on CBS All Access later this summer, on August 6th.
