Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Now In Development, Strange New Worlds Shoots In 2021

Everything seemed uncertain over in the Star Trek camp for a few months there, but now it all appears to be back on track over at CBS. With Lower Decks premiering last week, we’ve got 23 straight weeks of Trek goodness ahead of us, as Star Trek: Discovery season 3 premieres immediately after its conclusion. But what about after that? What’s the plan for Trek programming going into 2021?

Well, EP Alex Kurtzman has given us an enlightening update on this front while speaking with Gold Derby about all things Trek. He explained that, while the pandemic slowed down production, the scripting process has been progressing undeterred all this time and that means the writers are on top of things for all the upcoming shows.

“I think everybody in the world is dealing with some issue of logistical challenges from COVID, from the minor to the radically extreme. We have been running all of our writers’ rooms on Zoom. The silver lining is that we have actually been able to get quite ahead in scripts for upcoming seasons of Discovery, and Picard, and Strange New Worlds—which is going to be shooting next year—and Section 31.”

With DIS season 3 long since shot, Kurtzman must be referring to season 4, which is actually our first official confirmation that it’s happening. That being said, it’s previously been reported that it’s been renewed up to season 5. He also tells us that Strange New Worlds will be entering production next year, possibly in the earlier part of 2021. What’s more, Section 31 is clearly still going forward as well, despite rumors that it had been quietly canned.

During the DIS virtual panel at Comic-Con@Home, Kurtzman revealed that ten episodes of SNW have already been mapped out, though it’s not entirely clear if this means it’ll have a 10-episode season or more scripts are yet to be completed. The producer doesn’t clarify when Picard season 2 could get going, either, but star Jeri Ryan has previously said it’s looking to start filming later this year.

Star Trek: Discovery season 3, meanwhile, premieres on CBS All Access on October 15th.