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Published Aug 28, 2017

Mary Chieffo Talks Discovery, Becoming a Klingon & More

The time has come. Star Trek: Discovery will premiere in just a few weeks, and so StarTrek.com is ready to take fans deep into the series via conversations with the stars and the behind-the-scenes talent bringing to life not just Discovery , but its tie-in entities, including the novels and comic books. Today, we talk with Mary Chieffo, who plays L’Rell, the Klingon battle deck commander, on the show. StarTrek.com conducted this interview with Chieffo – who is very tall, ultra-friendly and super-jazzed about Discovery – in person during Star Trek Las Vegas . Chieffo told us that she was long aware of Star Trek , but didn’t really get into the franchise until the J.J. Abrams films. Then, when she landed L’Rell on Discovery , she sat down and watched every Klingon-heavy episode she could get her hands on. Here’s the chat:

Which Star Trek series and which Klingons made the greatest impact on you?

Well, you know, it's funny because it's one that keeps coming up when we're talking about serialized Star Trek is Deep Space Nine , because those last three seasons really do start to have a new, serialized quality. Somebody on Twitter yesterday said, "Has she watched Deep Space Nine ?" Or something like that. I was like, "Yeah, actually. In those last three seasons, I got so caught up in the plot that I stopped just watching the Klingon-featured episodes, because I felt that it became extremely profound." I think it's got so much nuance, and all the characters are so wonderful, and lovable, and the way that they really get to evolve and develop is wonderful. Of course, I have a soft spot for Odo. Then, I think about the great female Klingons on the show, and one of my favorites, Grilka, comes in

Why is she one of your favorites?

Grilka is definitely at the top, first of all, because she's full Klingon. I love K'Ehleyr and I love B'Elanna, but they're both half-Klingon. B'Elanna, like we see with anyone who's half and half, is they have that internal struggle. I love watching that, but certainly for me, since L'Rell is full Klingon, seeing Grilka, I love her story of eventually becoming the leader of her own house. Klingons are so patriarchal, so that was a great way to explore that story, in both episodes that she's in. Her relationship with Quark was so fun and wonderful, and she just owned herself in this great way. There's something about that I've tried to transfer to L'Rell, and it’s that her strength and power don't negate her sensuality. Grilka is the one that really always comes to mind.

Following your auditions, how did you get the call that you’d won the role of L’Rell?

It came in through my agents. It was crazy because it was percolating for a long time. I feel like you know that something's happening, but you didn’t quite know for sure. Eventually, we got the offer on paper, and that's when it really set it in. I was in New York, and I couldn't tell anyone for the longest time. This was last August and I was one of the first people cast, because they needed to start getting those people (in makeup) on board. I was in New York visiting people, and of course, from that point on, I couldn't tell anyone, but they were like, "You seem happy."

As much as we know about the Klingons, there’s so much we do not know. How cool is it that this series is almost as much about the Klingons as it is about the Federation?

Well, as a Klingon, it's very cool. What's been so beautiful is to have scenes where, yes, we're speaking Klingon, yes, we're in these full prosthetics, yes, we've got our armor on, and I would turn to my scene partner and I'd be like, "We're doing a scene. We're feeling feelings. We're getting to explore the intimate moments." That was a huge emphasis, too, with the language, that it's not just barking. It's got a fluidity and a nuance. I think that this exploration of “the other” is exciting, and I think that we really are going to get a great window into both sides. I'm speaking to this because it really did strike me, just like the other week, how the Federation perceives me, L'Rell is very different from how, say, Kol (Kenneth Mitchell), perceives me within the Klingon world. Who I am, to him, is very different. That’s something we haven’t seen. Usually, it's like all the Klingons are on the same side, and we don't like the Federation. Ultimately, we do unite against a common enemy, and that's the best way to get people together.

Would you say you’re acting with or through the prosthetics?

I would say with it. I think that's the mentality, for sure. I've talked to Doug Jones about this a lot, who's obviously done it a few times. You have to have that emotional core. If anything, you almost have to be more grounded in the emotion, because you can't fake it. I have found, there is this kind of mumblecore post-Brando form of acting that is really great and good in the right circumstance, but that is not good for being a Klingon. I've always gravitated towards heightened things, singing, Shakespeare, movement, and the masked. Also, it's not a mask with L’Rell, it's a prosthetic. There are masks that you put on. This is a prosthetic. It is a prosthetic that has a very specific application. Also, we can't eat in costume. We have the Klingon cleanse smoothies. We have a great nutritionist, and she puts real, substantial stuff in there. It's all vegan-based. That kind of keeps me centered, too. I'm not eating big meals. I'm kind of in the zone.

How immersive are the Klingon sets? The Klingon ship sounds insane.

Oh, my goodness. That first moment of walking on the ship, it's unreal. It's a cathedral. It really does help to have it, and they've been speaking to it a bit this week about how they wanted as much as possible to be practical. Of course, we can't actually have space out the oculus, but other than that, to really feel the weight of the bridge and the stairs, it's so meticulous. Because we're really redefining the Klingons, there's real detail, and such a sense of beauty and culture. I think it just helps make you believe it.

What’s it been like to speak Klingon?

Ah, yes. I love it. I've reached the point now where I can read and write it pretty well. I’m still not fluent, because the syntax is opposite of anything I know, but it's a really ultimately liberating process. Often in film and TV, it’s, “OK, we're going to show up on the day, and we're just going to find it and capture that lightning in a bottle." We can’t do that because we have to memorize the meaning of each word and the structure of each sentence, and make sure you really understand it logically, so that you can then inhabit it emotionally. I spend a lot of time with our dialect coach, Rea. We have these two-hour sessions where we go through and she helps me refine the sounds.

Then, what has been great, too, is my scene partners…, like Kenneth Mitchell, who is an angel. It's so funny. We joke about the Klingons. We're like, "Such sweet people." We get together and we rehearse it in English, then we go back and we rehearse it in Klingon. We have the back translations, each word's meaning. We'll go sentence by sentence and make sure that, "Oh, that's a very key word that I want to respond to." For me, it really does bring me back to when I work on Shakespeare, which is that so many of the words we aren't familiar with and you need to have those definitions. Then, once you know it, especially with the Klingon, it's a little bit different, because this will be subtitled, but if you know what you're saying, that emotion comes across.

You're going to be a fresh face for a lot of the people watching Discovery . What’s your background? How and why did you pursue acting?

Well, for me, my funny story with getting into acting is that both of my parents are actually character actors. I grew up in L.A. Until fourth grade, I thought that everyone was an actor. What I realized was I had a friend talk about her dad being a doctor, and I was like, "Right, and then he goes and acts." Around fourth grade is when it started hitting me that, “Oh, no, all these imaginary games I liked to play, that's specific to me.” My best friend Eve and I started filming each other making movies. We were obsessed with sci-fi/fantasy, creating our own versions of that.

Then, in middle school, I got into the performing arts magnet, Millikan. I got into their musical theater program and I became a theater geek. Then, in high school, I went to Campbell Hall and had an amazing drama teacher, Josh Adell, and did really delve into the work behind the fun. Then, when I was looking at colleges, when I stepped into the halls of Juilliard for my first little tour, I was like, "Oh, I really want to be here." It just felt right. I had a friend go and tour it, and he was like, "Yeah, it felt like you." It was weird and it was interesting because my dad had gone there, but he wasn't pushing me in any way.

You had audition to get into Juilliard, right?

Right. The audition process happened, and I ended up getting in. The one thing I say about the transition from high school to college is that acting went from my escape to being my constant reality. I'm so grateful for that because the stamina that I built at Juilliard has transferred so beautifully to what we do on Trek . Hours, yes. Just the stamina. The Shakespearean quality of it. The fun fact, too, that I love is that ( Discovery co-star) Mary Wiseman and I were in the same class at Juilliard. It's been such a beautiful experience being reminded of the hard work that we do and the stamina that we build, and the respect for our different archetypes, the fact that I can't do what she does. It's wonderful, and I adore her. Everyone keeps talking about how she's a comedic genius, and I second that, and third that, and fourth that.

Star Trek can be a game changer for an actor. How ready are you for that element, and also, you're going to be behind the prosthetics, so how helpful is that, in that you'll be able to walk down the street a bit more anonymously than some of your co-stars?

Well, if somebody does recognize me, I'm going to be like, "You really know the show." I think it'll be very interesting. What I've always loved about acting is the transformation, is being able to tell a story, not have it be about me as Mary looking good. It's always about, "Who is this character? How does she look? How does she live? How does she breathe?" This is such an extreme version, it's kind of remarkable. Because of the way I feel she fits into the story, fits into Star Trek , because I'm so proud of what she represents, I just really feel that it takes my ego out of it and makes it about the larger story that we're telling in Discovery. I'm so thrilled that the Klingons aren't one-dimensional. L'Rell is definitely… she's six dimensional. There's so many aspects of her and I'm constantly being challenged and being allowed to explore different aspects of myself. I really do hope that there will be young girls and boys who can strangely relate to her or understand where she's coming from. Just like with all of the characters on this show, I really think that they'll see that.

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Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Star Trek: Discovery season 1

First season of star trek: discovery / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

Can you list the top facts and stats about Star Trek: Discovery season 1?

Summarize this article for a 10 year old

The first season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series in the 23rd century and follows the crew of the starship Discovery during the Federation – Klingon war. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout , Roddenberry Entertainment , and Living Dead Guy Productions, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts serving as showrunners , and Akiva Goldsman providing producing support.

Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham , first officer of the USS Shenzhou and later the Discovery , along with Doug Jones , Shazad Latif , Anthony Rapp , Mary Wiseman , and Jason Isaacs . The series was announced in November 2015, and Bryan Fuller joined as showrunner the next February. He brought on Berg and Harberts to support him, and they took over as showrunners when Fuller left the series in October 2016 following creative disagreements with CBS. The season's war storyline was intended to represent the divide between different political factions of the modern United States , with effort put into redesigning the Klingon species and developing their culture and biology. Filming took place in Toronto, Canada , from January to October 2017, with additional filming on location in Jordan for the series premiere. The crew, including the visual effects team—led by Pixomondo —and composer Jeff Russo , aimed for the series' production values to match that of a feature film. The season features several guest stars taking on roles from The Original Series .

The first episode was broadcast on CBS and released on the streaming service CBS All Access on September 24, 2017. The rest of the 15-episode season was released weekly on All Access in two chapters: the first ended on November 12, and the second was released from January 7 to February 11, 2018. The season led to record subscriptions for All Access, and generally positive reviews from critics who highlighted Martin-Green's performance, the production values, and new additions to Star Trek canon. Some criticized the writing. The season was nominated for two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards and received several other awards and nominations. A second season was ordered in October 2017. [1]

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Immediately following the Star Trek: Discovery writers panel , it was time for cast members Kenneth Mitchell , Mary Chieffo , Wilson Cruz and Sam Vartholomeos to take center stage at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention on Wednesday.

“We’re human beings. We have more in common with each other than we don’t. This show is a reminder of that.” – Wilson Cruz

Diversity, camaraderie, relationships, timeless lines, passionate character portrayals, and a healthy dose of social commentary — these are the features that have defined Star Trek in every version we’ve seen, from the very first episodes of The Original Series through each film in the Kelvin timeline. If the vibrant chemistry and genuine affection shared between the four castmates on the stage of the Leonard Nimoy Theatre during the Discovery cast panel is any indication, the newest addition to the Star Trek canon will not disappoint.

Kenneth Mitchell and Mary Chieffo discuss Klingons on Star Trek: Discovery (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

“There are already moments with Mitchell’s portrayal of Kol that I just say, ‘People are going to be saying that for all time.'” gushed Mary Chieffo of her fellow Klingon Commander. Indeed, the deep look at Klingon culture was a strong theme of the panel discussion. Chieffo (L’Rell) and Kenneth Mitchell (Kor) joined Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber) and Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Connor) for a humorous and insightful panel moderated by Access Hollywood ‘s Scott Mantz .

Star Trek: Discovery stars Wilson Cruz, Sam Vartholomeos, Kenneth Mitchell and Mary Chieffo (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

Sam Vartholomeos (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

First image of Kenneth Mitchell as Kol

The first image of Mitchell as Klingon Commander Kol was projected on screen during the panel.

Kenneth Mitch as Klingon Commander Kol in Star Trek: Discovery (CBS)

24 different Klingon houses will be explored

“What can you say to reassure us that we’re not losing the Klingons we know and love?” a furtive audience member asked during the Q&A portion. Mitchell assured the crowd that the recent publicity still image released was of one Klingon, from one house. “We will see all 24 houses and the leaders among them,” he revealed. The houses will be explored, and the physical and ideological differences between them. L’Rell is part of two houses, Chieffo explained, and the conflicts arising therein, as well as how she is viewed by the Federation versus her own people, will be explored in depth.

Chieffo… in her human form (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

Michelle Chieffo as Klingon Battle Deck Commander L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery (CBS)

Part of this Klingon world-building involves characters speaking to one another in full, fluent Klingon when they converse. Chieffo explains that rather than sprinkling a handful of Klingon words or phrases into a conversation, the idea was “giving the Klingons a three-dimensional quality. It makes sense that if we’re speaking to each other, we’re going to be speaking in our native tongue.” According to Chieffo, the language is a reflection of the people themselves: “It is a visceral, passionate, guttural culture.”

Kenneth Mitchell channels the Klingon Commander Kol (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

Robyn Stewart named as Star Trek Discovery’s Klingon language expert. — TrekNews.net @ STLV (@TrekNewsNet) August 2, 2017

Star Trek: Discovery will also look at the things from the Klingon point-of-view

The dedication to exploring what has traditionally been classed as the “villain” side of the tale with nuance and empathy is part of how Discovery is, yet again, allegorical to the current events of our time: our growing globalization and the need to cultivate understanding among people of very different backgrounds. “It’s always been a story about exploring new worlds. Exploring what it is to be alien, but also to feel alien. The compassion that we are giving to the Klingons, in a certain way you could say we are the bad guys. But you really get a window into who we are and our humanity, or our Klingon-anity.” Chieffo said.

“It’s always been a story about exploring new worlds…Exploring what it is to be alien, but also to feel alien.” @marythechief #STLV — TrekNews.net @ STLV (@TrekNewsNet) August 2, 2017

Cruz supported this assertion with insights into the ideological mindset of the Discovery writers, cast, and crew. “It’s a story about how much we need each other. That’s the only way we’re going to get through any of this. The only way we’re going to become better, as a species in the universe, is if we latch on to each other. Rely on each other.”

Wilson Cruz will play Dr. Hugh Culber, one half of Star Trek’s first on screen gay couples (Laurie Lee for TrekNews.net)

“All I see is another attempt by humanity to rob us of our identity.” a deep-in-character Mitchell intoned in a terrifyingly slow and deliberate utterance.

Audience question – did you work with @akaWorf to prepare for your Klingon roles? “I wish.” – @MrKenMitchell #STLV #StarTrekDiscovery — TrekNews.net @ STLV (@TrekNewsNet) August 2, 2017

Comparing Discovery to what came before it

One audience member wondered how the cast would cope with the comparisons to depictions that came before, and the built-in expectations of audience members.

“Every night I’m cutting out of my prosthetics after an 18 hour day, I feel very rewarded by what I’ve accomplished, not just for us but for you guys,” Mitchell said to cheers and applause. Vartholomeos insisted, “We respect that we… hold a lot of what makes you, you, in our hands. Our producers, our actors, our writers, we understand that. We’re trying to respect TOS and Next Generation , but allow us to have the freedom to give your children their Star Trek.”

The TrekNews.net team is on the ground in Las Vegas to cover this year’s convention. As we have in previous years, we’ll have all the breaking news and provide exclusive photos from STLV on TrekNews.net. We’ll also be live-tweeting throughout the event. To stay up-to-date, follow @TrekNewsnet  on Twitter,  TrekNews  on Facebook,  @TrekNews  on Instagram and  TrekNewsnet  on YouTube.

More Star Trek News From STLV 2017

• ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Writers Talk ‘Roddenberry Rule,’ Story Arc, Klingon Perspective

Star Trek: Discovery ‘s 15-episode first season is set to premiere  on Sunday, September 24  at 8:30 PM ET on CBS. Immediately following the first episode’s release, the second episode will be available in the U.S. on  CBS All Access , with subsequent episodes released on Sundays. The first eight episodes will run from September 24 through November 5, with the series returning in January 2018.

The cast of  Star Trek: Discovery  includes  Sonequa Martin-Green  (First Officer Michael Burnham),  Michelle Yeoh  (Captain Philippa Georgiou)  Jason Isaacs  (Captain Gabriel Lorca),  Chris Obi  (T’Kuvma),  Doug Jones  (Lt. Saru),  Kenneth Mitchell  (Kol),  James Frain  (Sarek), and  Shazad Latif  (Kol),  Anthony Rapp  (Lt. Stamets),  Wilson Cruz  (Dr. Hugh Culber),  Sam Vartholomeos  (Ensign Connor),  Mary Wiseman  (Cadet Tilly),  Mary Chieffo  (L’Rell) and  Rainn Wilson  (Harry Mudd).

TrekNews.net is your dedicated source for all the latest news on  Star Trek: Discovery . Follow  @TrekNewsnet  on Twitter,  TrekNews  on Facebook,  @TrekNews  on Instagram and  TrekNewsnet  on YouTube.

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Sarah is a Star Trek fan from Alaska. Raised on TNG playing in the background of her childhood she discovered TOS on her own in college and has been obsessed with the Trek universe ever since. The mother of three Trekkies-in-training, she is dedicated to raising humans who will work toward Gene Roddenberry's utopian future featuring peace, equality, love, and science. You can follow Sarah on Twitter @seledoux .

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Tuesday 13 December 2016

Star trek discovery's klingon cast revealed, and other updates.

Chris Obi will star as “T'Kuvma,” the Klingon leader seeking to unite the Klingon houses.

Shazad Latif will star as “Kol,” the Commanding Officer of the Klingons and protégé of T’Kuvma.

Mary Chieffo will star as “L'Rell,” the Battle Deck Commander of the Klingon ship.

Ultimately, with my responsibilities [elsewhere], I could not do what CBS needed to have done in the time they needed it done for Star Trek. It felt like it was best for me to focus on landing the plane with American Gods and making sure that was delivered in as elegant and sophisticated a fashion as I could possibly do.

I’m not involved in production, or postproduction, so I can only give them the material I’ve given them and hope that it is helpful for them. I’m curious to see what they do with it. 

They have my number and if they need me I will absolutely be there for them.

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Hail Mary! Star Trek: Discovery ’s Klingon Prisoner Talks About Her Season 1 Finale Fate

Mary chieffo plays a starfleet captive who finds herself the last hope for peace for a civilization that is not her own..

TAGGED AS: CBS , CBS All Access , Star Trek

Mary Chieffo, who plays Klingon L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery , talks about her role in the season 1 finale, “ Will You Take My Hand ,” that aired on Sunday night.

SPOILER ALERT: THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS PLOT DETAILS OF STAR TREK: DISCOVERY . TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN EPISODE “WILL YOU TAKE MY HAND.”

ALEX KURTZMAN | MARY CHIEFFO | JEFF RUSSO

After spending nearly half of the season in a prison cell, Chieffo’s L’Rell was set free in the season 1 finale and given the power to destroy her home planet in order to bring her fractured people to heel. We spoke to Chieffo about that moment and what it been like acting under the Klingon prosthetics and makeup.

Debbie Day for Rotten Tomatoes: L’Rell’s status has just blown up. How long did you know that was going to be in the cards for the character?

Mary Chieffo: It was definitely something that was found over time. It was not something that when I got the role they were like, “Oh, and then you’re going to become the leader of the Klingon empire.” I was like, “Oh, OK.” It’s such a tribute to Aaron [Harberts] and Gretchen [Berg] and the entire writers’ room and team and all of our EPs. Because what really ended up happening was they saw who L’Rell was becoming, particularly in episode 4, and they knew that they wanted her to be the one who came up with the plan for the Voq-Tyler situation. But once they really saw that there was stuff going on, just chemistry-wise and what not, they really ended up developing her arc more and more.

Once I was captured and on the Discovery , we just continued to find things. I wasn’t in the writers’ room as they continued to discuss and develop. It was certainly a humbling experience, for me, once this was the decision that was made. To me, I believe in the arc so much. I’m proud of it because you see a woman who is in this patriarchal society, who has learned how to survive by living in the shadows, working from the sidelines, and a lot of her behavior seems duplicitous or manipulative because that’s just how she knows how to get by, and she’s always been the fuel behind these male Klingons. But as we see, T’Kuvma gets killed, Kol gets killed, and Voq, as a consequence of all this craziness, ends up being lost as well.

I really appreciated that they saw that this is happening and realized that in a certain way she’s been the one who has been the strongest and has been the smartest, even though she doesn’t realize that about herself. She is the Klingon that we do want to invest in. I think what Burnham realizes is she is the last believer of this larger message of unification. L’Rell also comes to realize on her own terms that the way in which T’Kuvma believed that the Klingon should be unified, which was in war against the Federation, is not working. That’s what she really comes to terms with in 14 and 15, is that we’re out of control and they need someone. And Sarek says that without a concrete leader that they’re just scattered all over the place. To me, I’m humbled as an actor to get to have that journey, and then just as an audience member I’m really proud of how much of a nuance sort of feminist story it has become in that way.

RT: Are we seeing L’Rell softening her stance a little bit? Are we seeing the beginnings of cooperation maybe? 

Chieffo: Yeah, I would say that … Jayne Brook talked about this a bit after episode 8: Just a sense of the diplomatic relations that we will eventually see happen in Undiscovered Country . There is potential, the seeds are planted here for true collaboration. I think L’Rell’s journey, she really didn’t have much exposure to humans at all in the same way the Federation hadn’t been interacting with Klingons directly for over 100 years, around 100 years. She, in her journey, particularly in her relationship with Cornwell, and then just having to come to terms with the fact that this plan, that she believed that the Klingon spirit would just inevitably triumph over the human one. The fact that the human spirit was stronger than she believed it would be. The fact that Burnham ends up treating her with respect, and giving her this opportunity to become a leader. She’s a very, very smart woman, and how could she ignore the evidence that is presented to her, that there is something to this Federation, there is something to these humans? That’s been really, really fun to play.

I’m still a Klingon, and I still adhere to our culture and our beliefs, but at the same time, when you get to know more about my history, in four, about how my mother was from House Mo’Kai and my father was House T’Kuvma, that I’ve already spent my entire life learning how to compromise. But that’s something that’s innate in me, in my sensibility. I think, in the same way it takes Burnham the arc of this season to begin to accept the Klingons, whereas she was able to really have empathy for the tardigrade. She’s a xenoanthropologist. She’s able to see, oh, well when the tardigrade’s provoked, then it may became more hostile. But in the same way that she has that journey, she has that in her, but it takes her all 15 episodes to start to have that with the Klingons. For L’Rell, she’s been able to do that within her own world, within her own culture, but it takes the arc of the entire season and her experiences within to really allow her to begin to see that maybe there is room for compromise outside of the Klingon empire.

RT: Can you tell me a little bit about the subtext of when Burnham hands L’Rell the bomb? It’s kind of a “W-T-F” moment.

Chieffo: Yeah, yeah. I’m like, “You’re giving me what now?” Yeah, yeah. Exactly. I do not expect this. I mean my last interaction was Georgiou beating the crap out of me. I’m like, “This is not going well.” But I really think that, as I’ve been saying, L’Rell still may lean towards not wanting to trust humans because that’s been her entire existence, but it’s just another moment where she’s like, “OK, I guess this woman has empathy for me, or she’s smart.”

The big thing with L’Rell, I should actually say, is that — yeah, that’s part of why she ends up befriending, for a lack of a better term, Cornwell — is when she sees another person, whether they’re another Klingon or another human or whatnot, when she sees that they are smart, that they have some sort of larger plan, I think she respects that. I think that as a Klingon, respect is extremely important to L’Rell, and part of why she gives Cornwell the information she does in 14 is because she knows that she’s not going to take that information lightly.

So I think it’s very much a moment for L’Rell to realize that the humans are continuing to surprise her. I basically am agreeing with you, that it is a surprising moment. But I think, also, certainly something that Sonequa and I played with, was energetically. It’s not a big wordy scene. I think it’s fun that we don’t have a classic sort of love triangle sort of duking it out. Like, “Well, you did this, and how dare you.” It’s very much like, no, we have a larger issue at hand, which is hopefully the end of a war. So a lot of is unspoken, and I think that was certainly what Sonequa and I wanted to play with, was that we didn’t have to say, “Oh, you’re the one. You’re the reason that … Oh, OK.” No, it’s like there are larger issues at hand here.

RT: Going back to you getting beaten up, is that all you or is there a stunt Klingon happening there?

Chieffo: We have our great stunt coordinating team. Yeah, we have stunt doubles. But certainly when we filmed it, Jayne, Michelle [Yeoh], and I did all of our takes. They edit it together so well. They’ll always do wide, medium, close with one or two takes with the stunt people as well. But for the most part, particularly for me because of my prosthetics, my double uses a mask, which is not as nuanced, and is like glued on. Mine is multiple parts and all that sort of stuff. So, usually, they end up using most of my stuff because you can see who it is. You can tell if it’s a mask or not.

I love doing all those stunts, and obviously Michelle’s quite good at it herself. That was such an amazing learning experience watching how she, as we learned the choreography. Then on the day when we were filming, she gets camera angles and which kicks looks best for whatever moment, or what will actually be the best to get me against the wall or whatnot. She’s just such an incredible legend in that way. She was laughing at me, because I kept on saying, “Oh, it’s such an honor. It’s such an honor to be beaten up by you.” Yeah, I love stunts. I love getting that adrenaline going. It’s a very specific experience when you’re covered in prosthetics, but I’ll take it.

RT: How is the makeup treating you? And did you get any tips from Doug Jones ?

Chieffo: Yes. Doug Jones. Oh my goodness. Thank God for that man, on so many levels. When I first met him at the table reading for the pilot, I told him it was my first time doing prosthetics. He was like, “Oh, precious.” He’s such a sweet, loving man, but he made it very clear from the get-go that he was available. He easily could have been like, “Well, good luck, kid.” But instead, anytime that we were in the makeup trailer at the same time, he would always check in. Then, down the line as we were getting more settled, we got coffee and just kind of chatted about things and his experience. He’s had so many different experiences and lengths of time when it comes to being in that chair. Everything from … I know Hellboy was like seven hours. He was saying a certain camera test was 11 hours just to get in the makeup before actually even filming anything. He’s just been an incredible support in that way.

Then it was such a thrill to then work with him. In 12, we were so excited, and they were very wordy scenes, so we really got together and drilled beforehand. My instincts about how to navigate the prosthetics very much ended up being what he said his process is, which is: It’s not about just being the creature externally. It’s so much about, as you would with any part, whether you’re covered in any makeup at all, is, what is their heart? What is their soul? What are their motivations? But then you do have this extra layer of, when you do see your face and it’s not yourself, or the back of your head is much larger, then it’s this combination of all this kind of organic actor work.

Mask work was really something that I gravitated towards in college, so it was really fun to be able to use that in movement work. I’ve always really enjoyed that. It’s been a beautiful kind of culmination of so many of the different skills that I developed in school, that I knew I would love to be able to incorporate, and to have the opportunity to do it on such an extreme level has been wonderful. But it’s challenging. Doug’s the first person to acknowledge that you don’t get to goof around on set in the same way that everybody else does. I’m a very joyous person and I like to laugh a lot, and because of my mouth I really shouldn’t be opening my mouth that largely, unless I have to in the scene. James MacKinnon, who’s our prosthetic department head, who’s wonderful — luckily, they are such a great team, it makes those two hours in the morning fly by — but he’s always like, “Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh now.” It’s being in the trenches and powering through. Yeah, huge learning experience, for sure.

RT: Are you glad to be outside of the prison cell now?

Chieffo: It has been really fun to get to just watch and enjoy. Certainly, when I would get the scripts and see all the characters’ continued journeys, I would get so excited. So then to see that next level of it manifesting and all the finished visual effects. Yes, because I love L’Rell so much, it’s fun to see her come alive. Because she’s different from me on a lot of levels, I’m able to kind of view her in a way that’s a little different from just watching yourself on screen. Because she is so alien, I’m able to kind of appreciate her in a way that I’ve never been able to look at a character before. Which I’m still kind of processing exactly what that means or what that is, but definitely been fun, yes, to be on the other side and kind of enjoy it in a different way.

RT: Over the course of the entire season, do you have a favorite moment for performance?

Chieffo: I will say that there have been so many beautiful, delicious moments. I will say, actually, in 15, this speech was particularly moving. Because when they said, even, L’Rell’s going to kind of start to become the leader, they didn’t say, “And then there’s going to be this incredible speech that you have to deliver to the High Council.” So when I got that script, and I got those pages, I was just so moved. It’s Shakespearean. She is saying, “We are proud. We are honorable.” It’s a journey of this woman owning herself. Then on a technical level, Rea Nolan, who is our dialect coach, who’s been there from the beginning, from episode one onward, we developed such a beautiful relationship, and she believes in the character, and we’ve just had so many hours of drilling the Klingon lines, and we developed such an amazing system.

That to then, in this final moment of thinking, “OK, we have this whole year, and here we are with this speech.” We just drilled it, and it was really intense memorization process, but at the end of the day, it was all in service of this larger story. All the nervousness I felt — I’m on like a rotating platform, and in a green screen, there’s so many different factors — I should’ve had a nervous breakdown. But I realize that that was how L’Rell felt, too. It was this kind of amazing moment of my heart and her heart coming together and trying to tell a larger story and really, really just own myself, and L’Rell own herself.

RT: Where are they?

Chieffo: It’s the High Council, which is where the 24 Houses come together … The idea is, that L’Rell had this detonator, and she’s like, “You have to listen to me or I will explode our planet. I have a plan.” So she’s able to get there through the threat of force, which is part of Burnham’s brilliance, is to not to actually explode the planet, but to have the potential of it. So it’s me appealing to the court, essentially. Because there’s no way that I’m going to be able to just suddenly rule everybody or try and be that person unless I get some sort of approval. I love the nuance of they kind of scoff and laugh, and then I’m like, “No, no, no. You have to listen, because I can kill us all.”

RT: I was thinking that it’s going to be hard for her to get out the building.

Chieffo: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I say that, and then I’m like, “OK. Thanks, you guys. I’ll see you later. I’m just going to —” [ laughs ]

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 is available to stream on CBS All Access.

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What Is Up With the Klingons in ‘Star Trek: Discovery’?

The Klingons have been a staple of the Star Trek universe since the original series. A fierce warrior race that has often been in conflict with the Federation, they will be key antagonists in  Star Trek: Discovery . But, what we’ve seen of the Klingons has us a little confused .

Why Do They Look Different?

The Klingons have been redesigned during the course of the Star Trek franchise. But, the Klingons in  Star Trek: Discovery look radically different than any Klingons we’ve seen before. Their skin color is more purple than brown. Most appear to be bald (even Klingon women) whereas in the previous Trek TV series many had long hair. They also are wearing ornate armor that doesn’t seem to reference any time period in Klingon history that fans are familiar with.

It turns out that’s on purpose. The creators of  Star Trek: Discovery wanted to redesign the Klingons. There had to be a narrative reason to do so. That’s why these new Klingons are utilizing ancient Klingon technology. Their families might even be isolated from regular Klingon life.

That’s where the leaders of this Klingon faction come into play.

The Leaders

This group of Klingons is lead by T’Kuvma. T’Kuvma is a proud but zealous Klingon warrior. He follows an ancient and puritanical way of Klingon life. He believes he is the reincarnation of Kahless , the founder the Klingon Empire . The Klingons view him as a near-deity. It seems that T’Kuvma is leading a radical splinter group that the other Klingon houses are wary of.

T’Kuvma is joined by his second-in-command, Kol. Kol is from the House of Kor . Kor was one of the first Klingons introduced in the original series. It sounds like this will link up to the Klingon race that we’re familiar with.

There is also L’Rell, T’Kuvma’s battle deck commander. Klingon culture is a patriarchal society and L’Rell is an ambitious female Klingon. It’s likely that her assertive personality will clash with T’Kuvma and Kol.

T’Kuvma’s ship is unlike any in the Klingon Empire. It’s 200 years old and is partially constructed out of Klingon sarcophagi. This is an interesting twist because Klingons normally do not preserve their dead. Once a Klingon has died, their body is considered trash.

T’Kuvma’s ship will give us a peek into ancient Klingon ways of life. Along with the bizarre ship, we’ve also seen a new kind of Klingon suit called “torchbearer.” It seems to be a space suit. Exactly how often we’ll see the torchbearer suit is unknown.

Exploring Strange, New Worlds

There is a lot that’s shocking about what we’ve seen of the Klingons in  Star Trek: Discovery . It might seem jarring to fans, but Star Trek is a franchise that has always challenged expectations. Hopefully, this new take on the classic alien race will boldly go where no Star Trek series has gone before.

Star Trek Discovery premieres on CBS and CBS All Access September 24 in the U.S. and on Netflix in the U.K. the following day.

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode Guide

Star Trek: Discovery has wrapped up Season 1! Relive the ride with our full episode guide and links to reviews...

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We’ve been waiting for Star Trek to return to its home (aka TV) for far too long, and now the franchise is back! Now that Season 1 is ending, we’re retiring this hub as a place you can come and check out all of our reviews from the first season.

Here’s our review of the season finale , and here’s what we think that crazy cliffhanger might mean .

Akiva Goldsman Defends “Darkness” of Star Trek: Discovery

Click on the blue links for a full review of the Star Trek: Discovery episode…

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 1 — The Vulcan Hello

We meet First Officer Michael Burnham and her co-workers and friends aboard the U.S.S. Shenzhou, under Captain Phillipa Georgiou’s command.

Original air date: 9/24/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 2 — Battle at the Binary Stars

After an unexpected encounter with the Klingons, the U.S.S. Shenzhou attempts to avoid all-out war with the alien species.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 3 — Context is For Kings

Six months following the events of the Battle at Binary Stars, Burnham ends up on the U.S.S. Discovery, captained by the mysterious Captain Lorca.

Original air date: 10/1/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 4 — The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not For the Lamb’s Cry

Burnham tries to determine the nature of a dangerous creature found on a Klingon ship as the war with the Klingons escalates.

Original air date: 10/8/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 5 — Choose Your Pain

The crew of the Discovery has some tough choices to make when Captain Lorca is captured by a Klingon ship.

Original air date: 10/15/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 6 — Lethe

Burnham rushes to save Sarek, while Lorca demonstrates how far he will go to win the war.

Original air date: 10/22/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 7 — Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

Harry Mudd traps the Discovery in a time loop in an effort to capture the ship and sell it to the Klingons.

Original air date: 10/29/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 8 — Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

Burnham, Tyler, and Saru contemplate peace during an away mission to a strange new world.

Original air date: 11/5/17

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 9 — Into the Forest I Go

The Discovery stands as Pahvo’s last hope when the Klingon Ship of Death responds to the Pahvans’ call for peace.

Original air date: 11/12/17

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 10 — Despite Yourself

While in unfamiliar territory, the USS Discovery crew is forced to get creative in their next efforts to survive opposing and unprecedented forces and return home.

Original air date: 1/7/18

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 11 — The Wolf Inside

Tyler is forced to confront the truth about himself, as Burnham works to get vital information from the resistance.

Original air date: 1/14/18

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 12 — Vaulting Ambition

Burnham meets the emperor face-to-face, while Stamets searches for a way out of the mycelial network he’s become trapped inside of. 

Original air date: 1/21/18 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 13 — What’s Past Is Prologue

Michael, Saru, and the rest of the Discovery crew fight to return to their own universe with the help of an unlikely ally.

Original air date: 1/28/18

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 14 — The War Without, The War Within

The crew of the Discovery return to the Prime universe to discover the Federation is losing the war with the Klingons.

Original air date: 2/4/18

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Episode 15 — Will You Take My Hand?

The Discovery travels to Quo’noS in an attempt to end the war with the Klingons.

Original air date: 2/11/18

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Trailers

If you’ve yet to watch Star Trek: Discovery and want to get a taste for the show, here’s the official trailer…

And another…

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Release Date

Star Trek: Discovery  launched Sunday, September 24th. 

Moving forward, all new episodes of the first season will be available exclusively on CBS All Access every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Star Trek: Discovery is All About the Fight For the Federation’s Soul

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Timeline

Star Trek: Discovery  takes place ten years before the original  Star Trek  series. Make no mistake, though, this series is set firmly in the original timeline, not that of the new movies.

Star Trek: Discovery Timeline Breakdown

To learn more about the  Star Trek: Discovery  timeline and the status of Alpha Quadrant at the time of its story, check out this video from YouTube channel Templin Institute.

Star Trek: Discovery Cast

Let’s break down who all these characters are…

Discovery Crew

First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green)

Sonequa Martin-Green, best known as Sasha Williams in  The Walking Dead and Tamara in  Once Upon a Time ,plays Michael Burnham, a human who was mainly raised on Vulcan by Sarek following the deaths of her parents at the hand of the Klingons.

Cadet Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman)

One of the breakout characters of Discovery has been Cadet Tilly, Burnham’s roommate, friend, and mentee. Tilly is a bit socially awkward, but makes up for it with enthusiasm, ambition, and heart.

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Saru (Doug Jones)

Doug Jones ( Pan’s Labyrinth ) plays Lt. Saru, a science officer. Saru is a new species of alien.

Speaking to  EW  about his character, Jones teased: 

[Producers] said Saru is the Spock of the series, he’s the Data of the series — and those are beloved characters that I always connect with whenever I would watch the past incarnations of  Star Trek . On  Falling Skies , I played an alien species who came to Earth to help the humans fight back the bad aliens who’d taken over, and I was intelligent, well-spoken, had a lot of answers and science-y smart. Saru is all of those things and then some.

Lieutenant Stamets (Anthony Rapp)

Rapp is Lt. Stamets, an astromycologist aboard the Discovery who is vital to the workings of the spore transportation drive.

Discovery  is first Star Trek series to feature openly gay characters in a relationship. Rapps’  Rent  co-star Wilson Cruz plays his character’s partner, Hugh.

Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

Jason Isaacs plays the role of Captain Lorca, the military-minded captain of the Starship Discovery.

Lieutenant Tyler (Shazad Latif)

Shazad Latif ( Penny Dreadful ,  Toast of London ) plays Lieutenant Ash Tyler, a new member of the Discovery crew put in charge of security after escaping from a Klingon prison cell with Lorca. Ash is suspected by much of the internet of secretly being Klingon Voq, on board the Discovery as a spy.

Star Trek: Discovery Cast Talks Season 1 Romance

Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz)

Wilson Cruz ( Rent ) plays medical officer, Dr. Hugh Culber. Culber is also Lt. Stamet’s romantic partner.

T’Kuvma (Chris Obi)

Chris Obi ( American Gods ,  Snow White and the Huntsman ) plays T’Kuvma, a Klingon seeking to unite the Klingon houses and Kol’s mentor.

L’Rell (Mary Chieffo)

Mary Chieffo portrays L’Rell. A former follower of T’Kuvma and current follower of Voq, she is currently undercover on Kol’s ship, though still seemingly loyal to Voq.

Kol (Kenneth Mitchell)

Kenneth Mitchell ( Frequency ,  The Astronaut Wives Club ) plays Klingon commander Kol, protege to T’Kuvma.

Captain Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh)

Michelle Yeoh plays Captain Georgiou, the captain of the Starship Shenzhou and Burnham’s mentor.

Michelle Yeoh Will Be Back on Discovery

Sarek (James Frain)

James Frain plays Spock’s Vulcan father, Sarek. The character of Sarek has a long  Star Trek history, first appearing in  The Original Series before going on to make appearances in four of the  Star Trek movies,  Star Trek: The Animated Series ,  Star Trek: The Next   Generation , and in the 2009  Star Trek movie. 

In Discovery, Sarek is the adopted father of Michael Burnham.

Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson)

Star Trek: Discovery is paying homage to  The Original Series with the return of fan-favorite conman character Harry Mudd. This version of Mudd first appeared in Episode 5 when he was in a Klingon prison cell with Lorca and Tyler.

Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirschner)

Mia Kirschner plays Amanda Grayson, aka Spock’s mom and Burnham’s adopted mother.

Admiral Kat Cornwell (Jayne Brook)

Jayne Brooks plays Admiral Kat Cornwell, a high-ranking member of Starfleet and one of Lorca’s oldest friends.

Star Trek: Discovery Production

Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts assumed the role of showrunners after Bryan Fuller stepped away from the show, with Akiva Goldsman getting a “top creative role.”

Alex Kurtzman also executive produces the new show, and had this to say about the process:

Bringing Star Trek back to television means returning it to its roots, and for years those roots flourished under Bryan’s devoted care. His encyclopedic knowledge of Trek canon is surpassed only by his love for Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic future, a vision that continues to guide us as we explore strange new worlds.

Kurtzman was previously one of the masterminds of the recent Star Trek films that were directed by J.J. Abrams. He co-wrote Star Trek   (2009) with Roberto Orci, and he also co-wrote  Star Trek into Darkness   (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. 

Star Trek: Discovery — What Led to Bryan Fuller’s Exit

Nicholas Meyer, the director and uncredited co-screenwriter of The Wrath of Khan , will serve as a consulting producer on  Star Trek: Discovery . 

TrekMovie got the word  from Trek authority Larry Nemecek that  Star Trek: Discovery  has added two new writers: Aron Coleite ( Heroes ) and Joe Menosky (a Trek veteran with episodes of  Next Generation ,  Voyager , and  Deep Space Nine  to his name).

Other writers include: Ted Sullivan, Erika Lippoldt, Bo Yeon Kim, Craig Sweeney, Sean Cochran, and Tyler Dinucci.

— Jason Isaacs (@jasonsfolly) July 15, 2017

Star Trek: Discovery Filming

The new  Star Trek TV series boldly went where no other  Star Trek TV series has gone before: Toronto. Discocery is the first live-action  Star Trek TV show  not  to film in Southern California.

Production on season one began on January 24th, 2017 and went through September 2017.

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Star Trek: Discovery Main Character Index The Federation | Michael Burnham | The Klingon Empire | The Mirror Universe | The Emerald Chain

The High Council

High chancellor l'rell ( lir'el ).

Played by: Mary Chieffo

• Aliens Speaking English : Justified as House Mo'Kai considers it useful to learn foreign languages for espionage and apparently put her through an advanced ESL course.
• Anti-Villain : Starts out as a decidedly unsympathetic character but has some Evil Virtues that may make her a sort of Noble Demon . She undergoes Character Development that takes her to significantly more sympathetic territory and may qualify as an Anti-Hero by season 2.
• Cincinnatus : She stated early on that she did not desire a leadership position, preferring to work in the background. However, circumstances in the first season finale led to her accepting the position of chancellor in order to unite the Klingon Empire and fulfil T'Kuvma's vision.
• Co-Dragons : Along with Voq, she appears to be this to T'Kuvma among his followers. After T'Kuvma is dead and Voq is transformed into Tyler, she becomes a Dragon Ascendant .
• Dark Action Girl : Her capture of Lorca and fight with Ash shows she can handle herself in a fight, despite espionage being her house's main focus.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male and Double Standard Rape: Female on Male : A rather complicated situation. Tyler believes that she sexually abused him while he was a prisoner on her ship, and this is treated respectfully by the people around him. However, with the reveal that Tyler actually is Voq in heavy surgically-modified disguise, it's heavily implied that the memories of rape were really from a consensual relationship between her and Voq, before he was altered to become Tyler. Moreover, a follow-up scene in Season 2, where Tyler rejects L'Rell's advances and states that they seem like a violation to him, sees L'Rell backing off at once in apparent horror. The show consistently plays what appear to be Tyler's memories of abuse and assault for horror rather than titillation and treats the PTSD he suffers as a result with utmost seriousness, so depending upon one's stance, this trope is either Zig-Zagged , subverted , or averted .
• She seems to genuinely care about her crewmates on the Ship of the Dead , risking herself to protect Voq and swearing dire vengeance on Kol when it turned out that he'd had many of the others killed.
• She and Voq were lovers, so she's understandably upset when she initially can't get Voq's personality to emerge from Tyler and he rejects her.
• In Season 2, she threatens to cut Georgiou's throat when Georgiou asks if she's able to kill Tyler to save her chancellorship.
• She also swears to kill the head of House Kor when he kidnaps her son to try and force her to abdicate.
• Also in season 2, she immediately recoils in horror when Tyler/Voq tells her that her touch feels like a violation.
• She clearly loves her son, threatening to disembowel Kol-Sha if he hurts him. L'rell sends him off to a safe haven so he can be protected.
• While being a pretty harsh and savage person in her own right, she has nothing but contempt for Kol and considers him to have no honor.
• She doesn't seem to have had any problem with torturing prisoners, but recoils immediately in horror when Tyler/Voq tells her that her touch feels like a violation to him. This also, in retrospect, makes it seem almost certain that what Tyler interprets as being memories of L'Rell raping him were actually corrupted memories of a consensual relationship between L'Rell and Voq.
• Facial Horror : Gets a nasty burn on the left side of her face courtesy of a near miss from a Klingon disruptor fired by Lorca. Once treated, she still has a large amount of scarring on her face.
• From Nobody to Nightmare : L'Rell is a minor member of a relatively weak Great House, but after Burnham gives her access to a bomb that could wipe out all life on Qo'Nos, she uses it to blackmail the Great Houses into making her chancellor.
• Heel–Face Turn : After Burnham convinces her that T'Kuvma's war has only left the Klingon Empire more divided than ever, L'Rell agrees to work with her to bring peace between their peoples.
• She erases her lover Voq's personality to spare him from the torture of being trapped inside of Tyler and no longer a Klingon.
• Inverted in Season 2, where she fakes the deaths of both Tyler and her unnamed son to save them from becoming victims of her political enemies.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery : After becoming Chancellor and ending the war with the Federation, L'Rell starts wearing more opulent and feminine clothing - which don't keep her from actively fighting to free her kidnapped son and defend her office.
• Klingon Promotion : Actually averts this, as she becomes Chancellor of the Empire using the threat of a superweapon hidden by Mirror-Georgiou on Qo'nos.
• Last of His Kind : She considers herself and Voq to be the only Klingons remaining true to T'Kuvma, and with the personality-death of Voq, she's officially the last member of the House of T'Kuvma.
• Mama Bear : She threatens to disembowel Kol-Sha if he hurts her and Ash's son. She also tells the High Council to address her as "Mother" instead of Chancellor, deeming it a far "fiercer" title.
• The Man Behind the Man : Well, Woman Behind: States she doesn't want leadership because she prefers operating behind the scenes in support. This is apparently due in part to one of her parents being a member of the House of Mo'Kai, which is known for espionage and covert action.
• Successfully wins over General Kol by playing on his prejudices that she's switched sides, and suggests a fate worse than death for Voq, all to ensure she has an opportunity for both her and Voq to escape without Kol's knowledge.
• With the reveal that Tyler is really Voq, the whole kidnapping and escape of Lorca in "Choose Your Pain" was demonstrated to be a brilliant piece of theatre to get Tyler/Voq aboard Discovery and into Lorca's trust.
• Pyrrhic Victory : What she wanted was to support Voq in reclaiming his rightful place as T'Kuvma's successor and fulfilling T'Kuvma's dream of uniting the Klingons, staying in the background, while he acted as the face of the operation. What she got instead is a new job directly in the limelight as the Klingon High Chancellor courtesy of the Federation, with most of Qo'noS' noble houses arrayed against her. The one person reliably on her side is Ash Tyler, who is all that remains of Voq, after she had to kill his personality to save at least the Ash part of him — which only happened because she persuaded Voq to become a Deep Cover Agent in Starfleet in the first place.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons : L'Rell's plan was to put a deep-cover sleeper agent in a place where he could be rescued by the captain of the most important warship of the Federation, whereupon he'd get to serve on said ship and be in the perfect position to sabotage it when she activates him. This makes perfect sense for a Proud Warrior Race Guy who chooses subordinates for personal loyalty lest Klingon Promotion might occur and who thinks trauma counseling is for wusses. The more likely version would of course have been for Tyler to be sent straight away to a few years of therapy and kept far away from anything shooty or pointy. Why didn't it work out that way? Because Lorca actually had the exact attitudes L'Rell thought to be universal due to his Mirror Universe upbringing.
• Someone to Remember Him By : Her relationship with Voq led to an infant son, whom she tries to keep secret from everyone (except her uncle and other trusted retainers). This proves wise when, upon Ash discovering the child's existence — inadvertently revealing him to L'Rell's adversaries due to some cleverly placed listening devices — the baby gets promptly kidnapped. Finally, L'Rell agrees to give up her son to a reclusive order of monks on Boreth to protect both him and her chancellorship.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork : She is very clear in expressing that she is not a friend when she arrives to assist Discovery and Enterprise battling Control's fleet, but she, and the Klingon Empire, is willing to look past their hostility toward Starfleet to fight for the future .
• Torture Technician : She is an expert interrogator and is capable of devising custom tortures for her victims, such as exploiting Lorca's sensitivity to light by forcing his eyes open and shining bright light into them.
• Women Are Wiser : She's a skilled strategist, in contrast to Voq's single minded devotion to T'Kuvma.

General Kol

Played by: Kenneth Mitchell

• Arc Villain : He wins the power struggle following T'Kuvma's death and becomes ruler of the Klingon Empire and, by extension, the Big Bad of most of the first season. Voq and L'Rell play second string with their own undefined plans. His leadership of the Klingon Empire, along with his existence, ends in "Into The Forest I Go" when he is killed in battle with Discovery .
• Despotism Justifies the Means : He freely admits he just wants to place himself and the House of Kor in charge, with little regard for what becomes of the other Great Houses so long as they end up subservient to him.
• Disc-One Final Boss : Follows in T'Kuvma's doomed footsteps, making him more of an Arc Villain overall when he is killed after nine episodes of the first season.
• Four-Star Badass : A Klingon version.
• Honor Before Reason : Initially makes the tactically sound decision to withdraw from a battle with Discovery until he can figure out what they're up to, only to completely forget about that when Burnham makes an unexpected appearance and personally challenges him.
• Manipulative Bastard : Gets Voq's surviving crew to join him at the drop of a hat by supplying them with food after six months of struggle and starvation, and then takes off with T'Kuvma's "sarcophagus" ship and its cloaking device. He then uses his control over this technology to convince the other houses to rally behind him, offering it in exchange for their loyalty.
• Politically Incorrect Villain : In his very first appearance, he establishes himself as both classist and prejudiced against those he considers outcasts of Klingon society. This is a Call-Forward : When Kor, the namesake of his House, later reappeared in Deep Space Nine , it was revealed that he denied Martok acceptance into the officers' class years before, even though his application was exemplary and the final "acceptance" step was merely a formal rubber stamp, purely because Martok was not of noble birth. note  Martok's family, despite loyally serving as foot soldiers for many generations, came from the poor lowlands of Ketha Province (which the actor said he felt was analogous to something like a poor backwater of rural Mexico). Kor's family, in contrast, were an ancient and highly respected Great House of the upper aristocracy, so he had some classist bias against Martok — though over the course of many years, with grit, determination, and a lot of luck, Martok managed to work his way up from the lowest ranks to a battlefield commission, and eventually a high-ranking commander over their entire military and finally chancellor of the Empire. Thus, it makes sense that if they were going to pick one of the Great Houses to be the most aristocratically biased and socially conservative for this series, it would be the House of Kor.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy : As with all Klingons, he sees himself as a warrior first and foremost. Michael exploits this by challenging him to a duel so he'll be too distracted fighing her to notice her sabotage.
• The Rival : The most outwardly antagonistic of all the members of the High Council who answered T'Kuvma's call, he vows to put him in his place one day. T'Kuvma is killed before he can ever make good on that threat. However, he wins over T'Kuvma's followers and gets them to abandon his hand-picked successor, in essence eliminating T'Kuvma's legacy.
• Smug Snake : While he's certainly very dangerous and competent, he still comes across as this since the threat he poses is due to him exploiting T'Kuvma's memory and accomplishments for his own cynical ends while thinking nothing of murdering and betraying T'Kuvma's sincere followers.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm : To a certain degree. T'Kuvma certainly wasn't the nicest guy(by Federation standards at least), his primary motivation was unifying a fractured Klingon Empire for its own sake, and was willing to accept any Klingon into his ranks so long as they were capable. Kol is only interested in enhancing his own personal power, and scorns anyone of lesser birth.
• Villainous Breakdown : After Discovery figures out how to penetrate the Sarcophagus ' cloak, Kol screams as Discovery bombards his unshielded ship into pieces.

• Dirty Coward : Lets his mooks fight against L'Rell and Tyler, and only steps in at the end to hit the pair with a paralysing weapon.
• Gutted Like a Fish : The means of his demise at L'Rell's hands.
• Spy Cam : Spies on L'Rell and Tyler using a listening device made of nanobots dissolved in his House's trademark facepaint.
• Strong Family Resemblance : He looks much like his son — and is played by the same actor.
• Would Hurt a Child : Kidnaps L'Rell and Voq's infant son to pressure L'Rell into abdicating.

Played by: Clare Mc Connell

• Bling of War : She is the only Klingon to wear any headgear, an intrincate jeweled headdress covering her ridges.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : She is the first member of the Council to look past her prejudices and take T'Kuvma's proposal seriously.

Played by: Damon Runyan

• Back for the Dead : Shows up in "Point of Light" for the first time since the early first season and soon ends up dead at the hands of Kol-Sha.
• Covered with Scars : The cultural significance of this for Klingons, or of the House of Mo'Kai, hasn't yet been revealed but Ujilli and several other Klingons who may be associated with him or his House seem to have undergone some form of ritualistic scarification. Ujilli, as leader of the House of Mo'Kai, seems to have the most scars, probably to indicate his badass leadership status , but the Klingons on the prison ship who carried out L'Rell's orders in "Choose Your Pain" also seemed to be sporting scars, so it seems to be a trait common to most if not all of the House of Mo'Kai.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : He follows Dennas's example and asks to listen to more of T'Kuvma's proposal. With the reveal by L'Rell that the House of Mo'Kai is known for being spies, it would make sense that the representative of that house would want to gather information.
• Secret-Keeper : In Season 2, he shelters L'Rell and Voq's infant son for his niece. Subverts this himself after Tyler confronts him about spying on him, as he feels that Tyler should know about his/Voq's child.

The House of T’Kuvma

T'kuvma ( tiquvma ).

Played by: Chris Obi

• Anti-Villain : Though the Klingons are still an adversary of the Federation in the 2250s, he seems to have lofty and noble goals to unify the Klingon Empire. Additionally, from a Klingon perspective at least, he makes a decent case against the Federation, claiming that they are expansionist, colonialist, and worst of all liars, by doing their empire building whilst insisting "We come in peace". That said, he still respects Starfleet as worthy opponents .
• Berserk Button : He hates it when Starfleet officers say "We come in peace", believing it to be a lie.
• Big Bad : At the start of the series.
• Catchphrase : "tlhIngan maH! taHjaj!" ("Remain Klingon!" Also translated as "We are Klingons! Let it remain!") This gets adopted as a rallying cry throughout the rest of the Empire.
• Dark Messiah : He considers himself to be a successor of sorts to Kahless, the Klingon messiah; he leads a cult of personality, and he wants to unite the Klingons against the Federation. After his death, Voq starts praying to him as if he were a god.
• Deadpan Snarker : Despite the general messianic speeches, when Georgiou's message is playing, he sarcastically predicts exactly when she will get to the Federation phrase he considers a complete lie: "We come in peace." T'Kuvma: Here it comes ...
• Disc-One Final Boss : Promotional material built him up as the series' Big Bad and ultimate antagonist. Michael kills him in the second episode — though in such a way that he becomes a martyr and his ideology lives on.
• Fantastic Racism : He has nothing nice to say about humans, or any other non-Klingon species for that matter.
• Genghis Gambit : Seeks out the forces of the Federation, the most formidable adversary that he can find, in order to spark a war that will drive the Houses of the Klingon Empire to unite in battle.
• Hypocrite : Downplayed , due to Blue-and-Orange Morality . T'Kuvma is all about restoring the honor of the Klingon Empire but lies to the Federation's Admiral about talking peace. While the Klingons have a lot of Deliberate Values Dissonance going on and they are not above sneak attacks, this would be considered cowardly by the traditional warrior culture because he's explicitly breaking his word. On the other hand, even Worf, son of Mogh once pointed out that, to Klingons, "There is nothing more honorable than victory," so from a Klingon perspective, he's really just being a Combat Pragmatist .
• I Surrender, Suckers : When Admiral Anderson arrives at the Battle of the Binary Stars, he proposes a cease-fire. T'Kuvma accepts, telling Anderson to prepare to receive his envoy ... and then has one of his cloaked ships ram Anderson's flagship, the Europa . T'Kuvma: Lest anyone doubt that I can render my ships invisible.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning : Even as he lies dying, he tries to ensure that his memory will inspire Voq and the rest of his followers to fight on.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy : As a leader seeking to unite the feuding pieces of the Klingon Empire.
• Red Baron : His followers style him "the Unforgettable" ("lIjlaHbe'bogh vay'"), the same moniker used for Kahless.
• Sympathetic P.O.V. : Light of Kahless , a comic that tells T'Kuvma's history within the Klingon Empire and generally does not address other civilizations.
• We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill : Argues that Starfleet and the Federation operate like this... then actually does this himself.
• Worthy Opponent : Considers the assembled Starfleet ships and their crews to be this.

Played by: Javid Iqbal note  A pseudonym for Shazad Latif , used to prevent the credits from spoiling a plot twist

• Albinos Are Freaks : Voq is treated as a freak of nature because of his albinism.
• Anti-Villain : While he's a ruthless, human-hating killer, he is also somewhat sympathetic due to the discrimination he has faced because of his albinism , his courage , his willingness to admit his limitations and accept advice from others, and his genuine devotion to T'Kuvma's teachings that is contrasted with the selfishness and treachery of his rivals.
• Death of Personality : When the conflict between Voq and Tyler's personalities begins to cause them to self-harm, L'Rell is forced to erase Voq's personality to save his life. She does the Klingon death roar for him, meaning that as far as she is concerned, Voq is dead.
• Dragon Ascendant : He becomes T'Kuvma's second-in-command, and gains control over the rest of his House, or what's left of it, after T'Kuvma is killed in battle. At least, until he volunteers for complete surgical alteration into a human, at which point L'Rell takes over as the new Dragon Ascendant of T'Kuvma's remaining followers.
• Dramatic Irony : He despises the Federation in general, and Burnham in particular for killing T'Kuvma. So naturally, when he still thinks he's Ash Tyler, he falls in love with her.
• Gone Horribly Right : Or Wrong , on a number of levels and depending on your viewpoint. Voq is a hero by Klingon standards and his actions very much spurred the other Houses to action, but despite that, the other Houses turned on him and each other at the earliest opportunity, since despite his personal glory, he wielded little to no actual power in the Empire. His extreme method of becoming a Manchurian Agent in Starfleet came with a boatload of risk, but it nearly paid off as his virtually perfect cover swiftly got him into Captain Lorca's favour. But it ended up not working, and Voq's personality was given a Mercy Kill by L'Rell, leaving Ash Tyler back in control with both lives' worth of experiences and skills.
• Hero Killer : Murders Dr. Culber in "Despite Yourself", before attempting to do the same to the Mirror Universe Voq (his own counterpart) and the prime-universe Michael Burnham. And before all that, he was a party to the murder-via-vivisection of the real Ash Tyler in a Klingon prison.
• Honor Before Reason : Before L'Rell convinced him to see reason, Voq was prepared to starve to death aboard T'Kuvma's derelict ship rather than "contaminate" the ship by repairing it with parts from the Shenzhou .
• I Am X, Son of Y : Notably averts the Klingon patronymic tradition, declaring himself "son of none".
• Jumped at the Call : Voq is the only one who steps forward to be the new "Torchbearer".
• Macho Masochism : Voq proves his devotion by holding his hand over a flame, letting it burn without flinching. This is possibly a shout-out to the Roman soldier Gaius Mucius Scaevola, who according to legend did the same thing. note  He was sent into the Etruscan army camp to assassinate their king, but mistakenly killed the wrong target and was caught. Brought before their king, he announced that he was unafraid to die, and knew he had no hope of making it out of the camp alive even if he had succeeded: the Romans were so brave that the destruction of the body meant nothing to them in pursuit of the greater glory — and there were 300 more volunteers waiting to follow him if his assassination attempt failed. To prove his point, he then thrust his right hand into an open brazier until it withered away, but showed no indication of pain. This freaked out the Etruscans so much that they let him go, and immediately sent ambassadors to Rome to seek peace. Ever since, Gaius Mucius was known as "Scaevola" — " left-handed ".
• Meaningful Name : The word "voq" means "to trust" or "to have faith in"; Voq, of course, has absolute faith and trust in T'Kuvma.
• Red Right Hand : Voq is an albino, which makes other Klingons see him as a freak and mistake of nature, not belonging to any Great House. T'Kuvma says he's come to see this as a "mirror" and sees himself in Voq: he's unattached to the decadent feuds of the Great Houses, and has a driving need to prove that he is a true Klingon (striking a chord with T'Kuvma because he feels the Great Houses have forgotten the traditions of honor and glory that Khaless set down for them). It goes double when he holds his hand over a flame in an act of Macho Masochism , charring the skin on one hand.
• Shaming the Mob : The faith of T'Kuvma's followers wavers to the point that they aren't sure if any of the Great Houses will respond to their call to unite if they light the beacon of Khaless. After Rejac is killed, T'Kuvma calls for another to replace him as their "Torchbearer", to honor their House — none will, and even Rejac's own brother expresses his doubts. Then "Voq, son of no one" steps forward, a shamed albino derided as a freak of nature by his fellow Klingons, who declares that while he is not a member of an honored Great House, he will prove his honor through his own faith and deeds by taking Rejac's place. T'Kuvma accepts, moved that this shamed outsider has displayed more courage and devotion than the high-ranking members of Great Houses who refused the call .
• Shoot the Medic First : After finally reasserting himself and pulling off a Split-Personality Takeover while disguised as Ash Tyler, Voq's first act is to kill Dr. Culber as soon as medical scans finally reveal that "Tyler" really is a surgically-modified Klingon.
• Split-Personality Takeover : Once he is surgically and neurologically disguised as Ash Tyler, he eventually overwhelms Tyler's personality when confronted with his more heroic Mirror Universe counterpart .
• Undying Loyalty : He is T'Kuvma's most devoted follower (possibly rivaled only by L'Rell) and struggles to keep T'Kuvma's legacy alive after his death.
• Villainous Valor : Willingly allows himself to undergo Body Horror levels of surgical and neurological alteration, right down to having his personality hidden under human memory patterns. Essentially, he gives up everything he believes in just to infiltrate and undermine Starfleet.

The Clerics of Boreth

• Connected All Along : Because he turns out to be Voq and L'Rell's grown adult son.
• Cryptic Conversation : Engages in one of these with Pike when the captain comes to obtain a time crystal.
• Dreadlock Warrior : Wears his hair in lengthy dreadlocks, though he doesn't get into combat on screen. His role is that of a dedicated guardian.
• Enigmatic Minion : Of the order of Klingons who safeguard the time crystals on Boreth.
• Plot-Relevant Age-Up : Constant exposure to the cache of time crystals has aged him beyond his young years. And he's none other than the son of L'Rell and Voq, now grown to adulthood within the span of a few months.
• Rapid Aging : See above.
• Tragic Keepsake : Subverted. He was left his father's torchbearer insignia, but not only did he find solace in them he is even able to give them back to Ash and L'Rell through Pike, who tells him about Ash, and can in turn tell his parents about Tenavik.
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All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Star Trek: Discovery takes place at the furthest point in the franchise timeline. Here is the stardate for each major entry in the series.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, the final season, is currently underway. The series debuted in 2017 and was used as the launch title for the streaming service CBS All Access, now rebranded Paramount+. It was also the first Star Trek series on television in 12 years following the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise back in 2005. While Paramount has spent nearly a decade trying to get Star Trek 4 out of development hell , the franchise has been going strong on Paramount+ with various series on the streaming service at different times of the year. Now, there is almost always a Star Trek series on the air at any given point.

Star Trek: Discovery is a fascinating case for the franchise, as it was originally conceived as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , but following the conclusion of Season 2 and starting in Season 3, the series jumped far into the future, the farthest point in the franchise history. Star Trek: Discovery now takes place in a universe built on years of stories. Here is a breakdown of the Star Trek timeline across television and film and how it all leads to Star Trek: Discovery .

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star trek: enterprise.

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The last television series on air before Star Trek: Discovery is also the first in the timeline as Star Trek: Enterprise takes place over 100 years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01 which was Earth’s first starship able to reach warp five. Major events in the series are around first contact with alien species like the Klingon and the Xindi. The series also featured the true formation of the United Federation of Planets.

The series also established the Temporal Wars, a conflict that stretched across time and space and resulted in the creation of multiple timelines as agents from various factions in the 32nd century were sent back in time to move history in their favor. This eventually resulted in an all-out war, and while it was resolved, it later had some major ramifications for the franchise. The first was that all-time travel technology became outlawed or destroyed in the 32nd century, so when the crew of Discovery jumped forward in time, they had no way of returning home. The other was a way for the writers to fix continuity errors , like moving up the date of Khan's rise and the Eugenics wars from the 1990s, as established in The Original Series , to the 2010s.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

When Star Trek: Discovery first premiered, it was pitched as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , taking place nine years before the events of the series. It introduced Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, the never-before-mentioned adopted sister of Spock who ended up starting the war between the Federation and the Klingons, one that would have repercussions for the franchise for years. Star Trek: Discovery dealt with a threat from the Mirror Universe , a faction that would come into play in Star Trek: The Original Series , while season two brought on fan-favorite versions of characters from the original Star Trek pilot in the form of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijln), and Spock (Ethan Peck).

Star Trek: Discovery season two ended with the crew of the Enterprise making the decision to jump forward 1000 years in the future to save the galaxy from an artificial intelligence threat. This resulted in Pike, Spock, and Number One telling Starfleet that Discovery was destroyed in the battle and vowing never to speak of it or the crew again to prevent another incident like the rouge AI Control from happening. This was done to explain why nobody in the later series of Star Trek mentioned any of the characters on Discovery or the advanced technology the ship had as the first and only one of its kind to use an experimental spore drive.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery , following Captain Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise, introduced in that series, as well as a continuation of the original pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series "The Cage." Now that Captain Pike knows the fate that awaits him by the time Star Trek: The Original Series happens, he and the crew of the Enterprise begin exploring strange new worlds. The series is notable for featuring not only Spock but also his first-ever meeting with Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the first missions of Uhurua (Celia Rose Gooding). Other members of the original crew, like Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), while Season 2's finale introduces a young Scotty (Martin Quinn).

Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

It also adds a new wrinkle to the lore: La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), who is a descendant of villain Khan Noonien Singh. The series has so far fleshed out the alien race, The Gorn, and features the foundation of the Prime Directive rule, one that forbids a Starship from interfering with the development of an alien planet. It also features time travel in two key episodes. The first was when La'an and another version of Kirk traveled to 2020 Toronto, where La'an has a chance to kill a young Khan when he was just a boy but doesn't due to him not being guilty of any crime yet, and the other involved the crew of Star Trek: Lower Decks traveling back in time and arriving back 100 years before their time.

Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The one that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series , follows the crew of the USS Enterprise in their five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and go where no one has gone before. Under the guidance of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), his first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and friend and ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelly), the crew of the USS Enterprise are the most important characters in the Star Trek franchise. Decisions and events here have major ripple effects on the entire franchise.

There are far too many to name, but the biggest ones include in 2267 when the crew finds and uncovers the body of Khan Nooniegn-Signh, and after he attempts a mutiny, they leave him on a planet to begin a new life, an action that will have repercussions decades later.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star trek: the animated series.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was made in 1973, four years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. It featured the continuing adventures of the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. It lasted for two seasons and helped round out the stories of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2271)

Star trek: the motion picture.

While no official stardate is mentioned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and is only identified as the 2270s, supplementary material for the film dates it one year after the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. The film sees the crew of the Enterprise reunite to investigate a mysterious and powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger, which is destroying everything in its path as it approaches Earth. While not stated in the film, subsequent Star Trek material has suggested that V'Ger is the progenitor of the Borg, one of the franchise's most popular recurring enemies.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

The most iconic Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan , picks up 15 years after the events of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed." The time since the planet Khan was marooned on , it became a wasteland after one of the planets near it was destroyed and altered the atmosphere. Khan now seeks revenge on Kirk and does so by going after the planet-terraforming machine called the Genesis device, a machine created by Kirk's ex, Carol Marcus, and his son, David Marcus. Kirk is able to defeat Khan but at a price, as Mr. Spock is forced to give his life to save the crew of the Enterprise. Spock's death will have major repercussions on the franchise that will be felt for years.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up just months after The Wrath of Khan , as the crew of the Enterprise discovers that there is a way to revive Spock. They go against Starfleet's orders and steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body and mind to Vulcan so that he can be reborn. The crew must also face off with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is bent on stealing the secrets of the powerful terraforming Genesis.

Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

The film features some major hallmarks of the franchise. The first is the destruction of the Enterprise, a ship that had been with the franchise for years and would be absent in the following film. The second was establishing the core characters as fugitives from the United Federation of Planets, which would set up clearing their names in the follow-up. It also featured Spock being resurrected but at another cost for Kirk, the death of his son, which would begin to drive Kirk's prejudice against Klingons for many films.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the former crew of the USS Enterprise discover that Earth is in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. The crew travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call. The first and final part of the movie takes place one year after The Search for Spock , but the majority of the movie takes place in 1986, the present day for moviegoing audiences. While Star Trek had done time travel stories before, this one set a template for future entries in the franchise. By the end of the film, Kirk and his crew had been reinstated and cleared of all charges.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star trek v: the final frontier.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier deals with the crew of the new USS Enterprise-A as they confront renegade Vulcan Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy. Sybok is Spock's half-brother , and he is from his father's previous relationship with a Vulcan woman. This makes the second chronological secret member of Spock's family and the first introduced in the series in order of release.

Sybok's presence was actually hinted at in the series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds when his lover, Angel, attacks his half-brother's ship. The entry is also the first to allude to a higher power in the Star Trek franchise, and while God would not be revealed in the series, the idea of someone being the creator of life in the galaxy would be picked up years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation and is now the main storyline for the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

The final time the entire crew of the USS Enterprise would be together was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The Klingons seek to form an alliance with the Federation after years of fighting due to their planet suffering a major catastrophe, but Kirk is still bitter after the death of his son at the Klingon's hands in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Kirk and Bones are framed for the murder of a high-up Klingon official, which threatens the peace accords, and they, alongside the rest of the crew of the Enterprise, must work to clear their names.

This final entry for most of the original cast marks a turning point in the franchise. It marked the end of the Federation and Klingon conflict, setting up Star Trek: The Next Generation , featuring the character Worf in a prominent role as part of the crew. The film takes place 28 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and through one live-action show, an animated series, and six films, audiences saw a massive epic unfold for these characters, but the story was far from over as a new era began for the franchise and the next generation began.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star trek: the next generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Captain Jean Luc-Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as they continue to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations. For many audiences, this was their Star Trek and introduced a whole new host of concepts to the franchise, with the most iconic being the villain, The Borg.

Star Trek: The Next Generation might be one of the most important in terms of how it connects to Star Trek Discovery. The first is the episode "Unification," in which Spock looks to bring peace between the Vulcans and Romulans. Not only is this paid off as Spock's vision of a united Romulus and Vulcan comes true in the form of the planet Ni'Var in Star Trek: Discovery , but his work with the Romulan people will lead to the events that create the alternate Kelvin timeline of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond .

Yet the most important element is in the episode "The Chase," which reveals that the reason various alien life in the galaxy looks so similar is due to sharing a common ancestry from an ancient species that crafted life in their image. This revelation forms the backbone of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season as the crew looks to find the technology of the species that created life, now dubbed the Progenitors. The episode debuted in 1993, and now, 31 years later, the series is finally going to delve into some answers.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star trek: deep space nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke from franchise conventions as instead of being focused on a starship, it was set on a space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. The series begins one year before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation come to a conclusion and is firmly connected to the events of that series as Benjamin Sisko, head of Deep Space Nine, is mourning the death of his wife, who was killed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 seen in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds Part II" from The Next Generation and has a difficult time seeing the face of Jean-Luc Picard as that was the face he saw leading the Borg that lead to the death of his wife.

The biggest event of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is The Dominion Wars, a massive story arc that ran over the course of the series. It involved all major powers of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, organized into two opposing military alliances, the Federation Alliance and the Breen-Dominion Alliance, which resulted in the deadliest conflicts in the galaxy. It would begin the drive for the Federation to become a more militarized organization.

Star Trek Generations (2371)

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations occupies an interesting place within the timeline. It is set one year after the events of The Next Generation and two years into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the year 2371. Yet the film's beginning takes place shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier, which sees Captain Kirk stuck in a pocket dimension, allowing him to meet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of The Next Generation nearly a century later into his future. This film marked the death of Captain Kirk , who died the way he lived, a man of adventure.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact is another time travel movie, similar to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Set six years after being assimilated by the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Picard and his crew travel through a time portal to pursue the Borg to April 4, 2063. This is the date before the historic warp drive flight that leads to humanity's first encounter with alien life, and the Borg are looking to alter the future so humans never make contact. The film's date of April 5th has now become an unofficial Star Trek holiday known as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection is notable as the film is set in 2375, the same year as the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Trying to take the renegade Starfleet team element from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , the crew of the USS Enterprise -E rebels against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with the Son'a species to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet for its rejuvenating properties.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager begins in 2371, the same year as Star Trek: Generations . It follows the adventures of the USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy. This entry is key for introducing two characters to the franchise that will play major roles in future installments. The series introduced Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female Captain in the franchise, who will later have a major role in Star Trek: Prodigy .

The second is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a former Borg drone that was born Annika Hansen before being assimilated by the Borg at age six in 2356, eight years before the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Seven of Nine plays a major role in Star Trek: Picard as the series delves more into the Borg's history and culture.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place fifteen years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and deals with a threat from a clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who has taken control of the planet Romulus and was created by the Romulan Empire originally to create a spy within the Federation but the plans were abandoned likely due to the events of "Unification" and the clone child was left on die as a slave on the Romulan controlled planet Remus. The film marked the final film for the crew of The Next Generation as it marked many landmarks, including the wedding of Commander Will Ryker and Deanna Tori and the death of Data, all elements that lead into Star Trek: Picard .

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star trek: lower decks.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a comedic spin on the Star Trek franchise . This animated adventure follows the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos and begins one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis . Star Trek: Lower Decks crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New World in that series' second season episode, "Those Old Scientists," which saw Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid get the chance to play their roles of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler, respectively, in live-action.

The series just announced its fifth and final season, meaning both it and Star Trek: Discovery will come to a close in 2024, and fans are certainly hoping to hear a mention of the characters of Lower Decks in Discovery just to know these lowly crew members did become big names with the Federation history.

Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star trek: prodigy.

Star Trek: Prodigy was an attempt to create a new starting point for young kids to get into the Star Trek franchise. Set in 2383, it follows a group of young aliens from the Delta Quadrant who find the abandoned starship Protostar and learn about Starfleet with the help of the ship's computer, an AI of Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . This young crew of kids makes their way to the Alpha Quadrant while discovering what it means to be a crew and what being part of Starfleet is all about.

The series features plenty of cameos and references to the past Star Trek series but does so in a way that invites the young viewer to learn more about them. The series was canceled at Paramount+ after one season but was then picked up by Netflix, where it will have a second season.

Kelvin Timeline (2387, 2255 - 2263)

This is where things get a bit tricky. In the year 2387, a supernova destroys the planet Romulus. For those in the original timeline, the destruction of Romulus kicks off the events of Star Trek: Picard, but a major event happens that none of the characters are aware of at the time: the creation of a new timeline.

In an attempt to stop the supernova, an elder Spock launches a piece of red matter into the supernova that creates a black hole that sucks both him and the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) through it and back in time. Nero arrives first in the year 2233, which results in the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the death of Geroge Kirk on the birth of his son James T. Kirk's birth, creating a new branching timeline that is the Kelvin timeline, which is where the events of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond take place. This means that while the events of the Kelvin timeline take place earlier, they are doing so in a separate timeline that is built off the events of the prior stories. So 2009's Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel to the franchise.

Due to the timeline changing, the events of the Kelvin timeline actually take place earlier than in Star Trek: The Original Series . 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, while Into Darkness takes place four years later in 2259, and Beyond is set in 2263, roughly four years into the crew's five-year mission. This is notably two years before Star Trek: The Original Series begins. By the 31st century of Star Trek: Discovery season three, the Prime Timeline is aware of the Kelvin timeline. They established a Starfleet officer named Yor, a time soldier who originated from another timeline and referenced the events of 2009's Star Trek .

Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star trek: picard.

Star Trek: Picard takes place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis in the year 2399. In the years since the series concluded, the Federation has become more isolationist. Following the destruction of Romulus, the Romulan people have become scattered; meanwhile, an attack on a Starfleet operation has led to a ban on synthetics. Season one focuses on Picard discovering more about the syncs with the discovery of Data's daughter Soji while also exploring more into the Borg culture as Romulans have begun mining Borg technology.

Season 2 takes place two years later, in 2401, and sees an old adversary named Q, an extra-dimensional being, traping Picard and his new crew in an alternate reality which forces them to travel back in time to Los Angeles 2024 to save the future while exploring more about Picard's own family origin. Finally, season three takes place one year later, in 2402, as Picard reunites with his old crew from The Next Generation , as well as his long-lost son, for a final showdown with the Borg.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3-5 (3188-TBD)

Now, finally, it's time to loop back to Star Trek: Discovery . Season 3 sees the crew of Discovery travel to the year 3188 to discover the Federation fragmented and investigates the cause of a cataclysmic event known as the "Burn" as they attempt to rebuild Starfleet. Burnham is promoted to captain at the end of the season, and in season four, the crew helps rebuild the Federation while facing a space anomaly created by unknown aliens that causes destruction across the galaxy, similar to the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The fifth and final season sees Discovery faced with its biggest task yet. They embark on a journey to uncover the mystery of The Progenitors, the species that The Next Generation revealed created multiple sentient lifeforms in the universe. The final season of Star Trek: Discovery , the series set furthest in the Star Trek timeline, is now taking the franchise to answer the oldest question in the cosmos: where do we come from, and what is our purpose?

With humans making first contact with aliens on April 5, 2063, to the events of Star Trek: Discovery in 3188, the story of Star Trek is one that spans 1,125 years. It is an epic tale filled with heroes, villains, and worlds filled with imagination and hope. Star Trek continues forward as there are plenty more stories to tell.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 7 Review: ‘Erigah’ Starts the Series’ Tragic Endgame

With "Erigah," Star Trek: Discovery kicks off its series finale as a villainous alien race hunts down the USS Discovery and its crew.

The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 7, "Erigah."

The first six episodes of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 were mostly standalone adventures that led towards the discovery of important, ancient technology. However, with the capture of antagonists Moll and L'ak, the show's latest episode kickstarts the endgame by bringing them face-to-face (in more ways than one) with a long-feared and mysterious enemy. Up until "Erigah," Star Trek: Discovery's final season was a race of fun Star Trek- styled missions, but things just got very serious .

The Breen were first seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but they were mentioned in the previous series, Star Trek: The Next Generation . In various Star Trek sourcebooks, the Breen were something of a running joke amongst the writing staff. They were a species meant to be mentioned every now and then, and nothing more. They were a group of unknown bellicose aliens with whom Starfleet and the Federation had no diplomatic ties. As stated in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdman with Paula Block, when it came time to show the Breen, showrunner Ira Steven Behr "wasn't really in the mood to come up with a new alien race," so they were shown in armor with a long snout like an "arctic wolf." The pressurized suits suggested they came from a harsh climate, and meant the storytellers never had to figure out what they actually looked like. The closest look at a Breen that Trekkies got was L'ak, since he was actually a Breen prince. The Breen were also revealed to have a liquid and solid form, though the latter is seen as an abomination . L'ak's affection for Moll sent him running from the Breen Imperium and earned him a blood bounty, the titular "Erigah." In this episode, things came to a head when the fully unveiled Breen showed up looking for a fight.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Gets Its First Major Casualty

L'ak's death sets up star trek: discovery for the final battle, 'they're not really villains': star trek: discovery's moll & l'ak actors defend their characters.

Since the onset of Season 5, Moll and L'ak were particularly distrustful of Starfleet in part because of former Captain Rayner's relentless pursuit of them in the past. Now that they're in the custody of the USS Discovery's crew and returning crewmember Nhan, who left the ship in Season 3 , things are no better. Even though Starfleet is desperately trying to protect Moll and L'ak from the Breen, a mortally wounded L'ak still initiates a foolhardy escape plan. He injects himself with medicine to cause a distraction, and it ultimately leads to his death. It was a truly terrible plan.

All season long, Moll and L'ak were depicted as efficient operators . In fact, they were almost too efficient. This set up a false sense of security for them, allowing them both to fail miserably in this episode and surprise everyone. Not only did Moll not secure transport off the ship, but her worst fear comes true when L'ak dies . Even after Starfleet agrees to bring a Breen physician onboard to save L'ak, he dies just the same. Instead of throwing her lot in with Starfleet, Moll tells the Breen about the Progenitors' technology, because she knew from Dr. Vellek's journal that it could, in theory, reanimate someone who died. She doesn't care about the galaxy. All she wants is to bring L'ak to life.

In her grief, Moll seemingly forgot that L'ak would rather die than go back to the Breen Imperium . It's a frustrating decision for the characters and the viewers, though intentionally so. The only person who felt any sympathy for Moll was Cleveland Booker, who got his name from his courier mentor, Moll's biological father. He was deeply against President T'Rina's and Admiral Vance's willingness to let her go. However, beyond the strategic reasons for not letting her go, it was Moll's wish to go with the Breen. While Cleveland wanted to help her, he doesn't seem to actually care that much about what she really wants.

Michael Burnham Once Again Proved Why She’s One of the Best Star Trek Captains

Captain burnham channeled bits of captains kirk, picard and even janeway in ‘erigah’, star trek: discovery's callum keith rennie shows a new side of starfleet.

Like most Starfleet captains who lead a Star Trek series, Captain Michael Burnham is exceptional. Her perceived "perfection" annoyed some fans, almost more than her (very Spock-like) mutiny in Season 1 . Yet, Captain Burnham's excellence is on full display in "Erigah." She balanced the desires of her ex-partner Booker with Starfleet's needs. She may not have been in charge of Starfleet's negotiations with the Breen, but she was the one who figured out both sides' best hope to avoid conflict. And despite her impressive depth of compassion and penchant for doing the right thing despite what others may say, she sided against Booker when it came to deciding Moll's ultimate fate. This was an admirable but tough decision for Captain Burnham to make.

The best scene in the episode was when Burnham interrogated Moll and L'ak to figure out why the Breen were so intent on hunting L'ak down. Using her limited knowledge of the Breen and the details that the criminal duo inadvertently gave away, she figured everything out. She realized that L'ak was somehow crucial to the Primarch -- which audiences know from "Mirrors (Season 5, Episode 5)" is his uncle -- because of a claim to the Breen throne. She correctly surmised that L'ak was a direct descendant of the Breen emperor, meaning he would have to "rule" but in the shadow of his uncle. In brief, he was supposed to be a puppet ruler. Using this information, she convinced Starfleet to bluff the Primarch that they were in negotiations with other Breen royal houses.

The ploy might have actually worked, if L'ak hadn't been so foolish as to fatally wound himself. Once L'ak died, Captain Burnham's bluff was no longer relevant. Since Moll aligned with the Breen in the hopes of resurrecting her husband, the USS Discovery was now fated to have an inevitable confrontation with the Primarch and his forces . In the trailer for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 , the USS Discovery was seen fleeing some unknown alien fighters. This was clearly a sign that before they can find the Progenitors' technology, the crew will have to fight the Breen. Captain Burnham will also likely face Moll one last time before the series ends.

The Hunt for the Progenitors’ Final Clue Rested on an Unlikely Source

Sylvia tilly and adira tal sought jett reno’s help, star trek: discovery's alex kurtzman & michelle paradise talk final season.

While the rest of Starfleet dealt with the Breen, Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly and Ensign Adira worked on the final clue. They traced it to an obscure text from Betazed, the home planet of Deanna Troi. But to decipher the clue, they needed to find the text's original handwritten manuscript. Using paper in the 24th Century was anomalous, so it almost seemed hopeless. Thankfully, Commander Jett Reno -- the black licorice-loving engineer -- spent some time as a smuggler whose cover was that of a purveyor of ancient manuscripts.

The team figured out that the manuscript was likely hidden in a galactic library that contains texts and artifacts from across the galaxy. The metal "card" they found in the fourth clue was likely a "library card" for this very institution. Though the USS Discovery's crew failed to save L'ak and prevent a conflict with the Breen, Tilly, Adira and Reno gave them a much needed win . Next week's episode, "Labyrinths (Season 5, Episode 8)," is likely the final search for the last clue before Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's grand finale gets underway. Whether or not Tilly, Adira and Reno really deciphered the final clue, the Breen are not going to stop chasing the USS Discovery.

Commander Rayner Grew Closer to Captain Burnham After a Heated Clash

Captain burnham’s past with the klingons helped her connect to her second-in-command, 'bittersweet and shocking': star trek: discovery star addresses the series getting canceled.

One reason why Captain Burnham was blamed for the Klingon War was because Klingons killed her parents. Commander Rayner found himself in a similar place in "Erigah." In the 800 years since the Kellerun people were introduced on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the Breen decimated Rayner's homeworld. His legitimate concerns and aggressive stance in a meeting with Starfleet and Federation leadership regarding the Breen's threat led to him being expelled. This didn't stop him from helping Captain Burnham hatch her plan, and facing the Breen when they were executing their bluff.

At the end of the episode, instead of chewing out her subordinate officer for his disrespect, Captain Burnham complimented him. She understood his fears of the Breen wiping out Starfleet, which is the only home he has left. When he confessed he indeed thought of that, Captain Burnham promised him that such destruction at the Breen's hands would never happen again. Instead of creating tension, this moment further solidified the captain's relationship with her gruff and unorthodox Number One. This was a nice payoff to their season-long animosity that came just in time for their coming final confrontation against one of Star Trek's deadliest enemies yet.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

• The episode allowed the characters to be at their best and still lose.
• The reintroduction of the Breen demystifies one of Star Trek's coolest alien antagonists.
• As fun as Season 5 has been, the hunt for the Progenitors' tech has real, galactic stakes now.
• The deliberate choices leading to Moll and L'ak's poor decisions could frustrate some viewers.
• While nice to see Nahn again, her presence in the episode felt superfluous.
• The absence of Saru is a missed opportunity to further tie his Ambassador promotion to the larger story.

Star Trek: Why Are Romulan and Klingon Starships So Similar?

They may be renowned blood enemies, but have the Romulans and Klingons ever formed a military alliance?

Quick Links

How are romulan and klingon starships similar, did the klingons and romulans have a military alliance, have klingon and romulan ships ever fought in star trek.

• The Romulan and Klingon empires are the major forces in the Beta Quadrant and have a long history of complex relations with the Federation and each other.
• Both empires utilize cloaking technology, and this is vital to understanding their interactions, alliances, and military strategies.
• While there have been many skirmishes between Romulan and Klingon ships, hardly any conflicts have been depicted on screen.

Fans of Star Trek who grew up with The Next Generation or later series may think they know the relationship between Romulans and Klingons inside out. It’s not good, with the two species even called “blood enemies.” That phrase was painfully illustrated in the third season TNG episode, ‘The Enemy,’ in which Lieutenant Worf refused to grant a life-saving blood transfusion to a Romulan, and the dying Romulan wasn’t willing to accept it. Things were bad, but that’s not the whole story of two alien races who have been a significant part of Star Trek since the beginning.

The Federation sits precisely between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, with the Romulans and Klingons their dominant neighbors on the Beta Quadrant . History suggests that relations between the two are influenced by how either gets on with the Federation. Still, details of conflict and alliances are surprisingly rare. As Star Trek has jumped periods, the canon has scooted around the issue at impulse power, filling in but also contradicting events. However, what evidence there is that a link exists between the two is mainly found in the two empires’ space fleets.

6 Most Powerful Weapons In Star Trek History, Ranked

Fans first encountered the Romulans in a thrilling early episode of the Original Serie s. ‘Balance of Terror’ referenced a devastating Human-Romulan War in the 22nd century, but this was the first time the races had ever seen each other. The explanation was a lack of viewscreen technology during the war, an idea prequels have struggled with in the decades since.

The episode was a memorably taut game of cat and mouse between the Enterprise and a Romulan Bird of Prey that would heavily influence Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and even be replayed in a parallel timeline in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . One of the most memorable parts was the Romulan ship , which sported a stunning full mural of a bird on its ventral hull. Its threat wasn’t in doubt, having destroyed several Federation outposts, and its markings and agility immediately associated the Roman Star Empire with predatory birds.

Star Trek: Most Powerful Klingon Starships, Ranked

Klingons wouldn’t appear for another 12 episodes, and their ships weren’t seen until Season 3’s ‘Day of the Dove’ (although recent remasters have added them to earlier episodes). However, the eye-catching D7 battlecruiser featured a long neck and wings, becoming a design classic and earning an origin in Star Trek: Discovery .

While the D7 design resembled a bird, it was still a surprise when the Romulans were shown to be using the ships in the third season of the Original Series . As Spock quickly explains in ‘The Enterprise Incident,’ “Intelligence reports Romulans now using a Klingon design.” The giveaway on the Romulan variants of the D7 was red and yellow feather motifs on the grey hull.

Star Trek: 10 Best Klingon Stories

After the leap to movie theaters, a new design of Klingon ship debuted in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock before it took a vital role in the classic time-traveling installment that followed. Commanded by Kruge, it was a new green Bird of Prey, but it wasn’t Romulan. This iconic new design was to become the Klingon Empire’s most ubiquitous ship well into the 24th century of The Next Generation .

When the Romulans roared back at the end of TNG ’s first season, it was hard not to see their new ship as a statement. By the time of ‘The Neutral Zone,’ the Romulans had been in isolation for over 50 years, but they hadn’t stopped working on their fleet. When it uncloaked, the gigantic Romulan D'deridex-class Warbird dwarfed the Enterprise-D and would become the intimidating lynchpin of their space fleet over the following decade.

Star Trek: Romulan Neutral Zone, Explained

The Romulan Warbird gained a fascinating new perspective when Enterprise introduced a previously unknown Klingon Warbirds in the 22nd century. These appeared during the pilot ‘Broken Bow,’ which recounted the problematic first contact with the Klingon Empire and would appear in the Kobayashi Maru scenario of the Kelvin timeline.

By the 24th century, when Deep Space Nine showed us more of the Romulan and Klingon fleets than ever, the two species were sworn enemies, and the strange crossover in technology and ship naming conventions remained unexplained. However, in the rich fabric of Star Trek , there are plenty of answers to be found.

During Deep Space Nine , the threat of the Dominion forced an alliance between the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. However, it doesn’t appear to be the first time the great powers of the Beta Quadrant found an advantage in working together. Aside from the designs and names of their ships, the two were united by their use of cloaking devices. While Klingons often dismiss the Romulans as untrustworthy, that technology is too good to overlook and allows the warrior race to pounce on its prey.

Fans saw cloaking technology firsthand through the Klingons thanks to the Bird of Prey that Kirk and crew commandeered when they time-traveled back to 1986 in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .

For years, it was generally accepted that Romulans pioneered cloaking technology. ‘Balance of Terror’ was considered Starfleet’s first proper encounter with cloaking technology, but prequel series haven’t been able to avoid diluting or contradicting this. The reputation stood in the 24th century when the Romulans allowed the USS Defiant to be kitted with a cloaking device from Deep Space Nine ’s third season.

Star Trek: Enterprise – What Happened To T'Pol?

Enterprise revealed several enemies had used cloaking technology during Starfleet’s formative years. The shows’ creators have expressed regret they let the tech creep into the Romulan arsenal in the 22nd century, but Star Trek Discovery also raised questions when it showed Klingons using cloaking technology as early as 2256.

There has been plenty of evidence that Klingon and Romulan cloaking technology differs. That’s covered perceived Romulan superiority with the technology, the level of imperfection when cloaks are active, and even, as mentioned in Deep Space Nine , the weight of the device. Still, it’s central to any idea of a Romulan-Klingon pact. It was an infiltration mission to gain access to the Romulans’s powerful new and improved cloaking technology in ‘The Enterprise Incident’ that first revealed Romulans using ships of Klingon design. Expanded universe information has been keen to reinforce that link.

Star Trek: Klingon Starships, Explained

In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , it’s revealed that the Klingons, Romulans, and Federation established a joint colony on Nimbus III in the spirit of “galactic peace" in 2267. It clearly worked out better for two of the parties, given that this was just one year before ‘The Enterprise Incident.’

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Journal states that the Romulans traded a cloaking device with the Klingons in exchange for several D7 cruisers. The Klingon Bird-of-Prey Owner's Workshop Manual expands on that, suggesting that cloaking was rolled out through the Klingon fleet after the exchange (explaining why Klingons don’t demonstrate the ability during the Original Series ), but that the technology diverged after the alliance collapsed.

We saw that Klingons had solved the power problems that prevented firing under cloak by the time of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293). The Romulans wouldn’t demonstrate the same ability until the Reman takeover of the Romulan Star Empire revealed the gigantic warbird Scimitar in Star Trek: Nemesis (2379).

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Ending, Explained

If there was a deal before the third season of the Original Series , it seemed stacked in the Klingon empire’s favor. However, prequel series suggest it was unlikely to be the first time the technology was shared. As the Romulan Star Empire’s primary goal has always been to disrupt and delay the expansion of the Federation in the Beta Quadrant, it’s understandable they would have explored all options since humanity achieved warp flight and drew links to the Vulcans.

The real reasons behind similarities and gaps in explanation were far more prosaic. There’s some suggestion that any fourth season of the Original Series would have explored the idea of a Klingon and Romulan alliance, and when that didn’t happen fans were just left with heavy hints.

On the big screen, the similarity was down to a last-minute change of villain. The Search For Spock seemed readymade for the Romulans, as the movie saw the rescue of the most famous Vulcan, and it would have been a great precursor to later storylines about reunification between the two races in TNG and Discovery . However, director Leonard Nimoy, the first cast member to direct Star Trek , favored the more theatrical Klingons as the film’s threat. It was to be a starring moment for the warrior race after their new aesthetic and forehead ridges were introduced in a cameo at the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

Star Trek: 5 Impressive Things Spock Did Before Joining The USS Enterprise

The film seized the chance to add a new dimension to its villains. The new-look Klingons were set in stone by Christopher Lloyd’s Commander Kruge, and the Romulans were forgotten. The Klingon Bird of Prey remained. Decked in green with swooping wings, it was well-named but a leftover from earlier scripts that set up the Romulans as foes.Writer Harve Bennett suggested he deliberately kept the ship’s name after picking up on the plot point of technology sharing in the Original Series .

The writers can take the blame for the Klingon Warbird that appeared early in Enterprise, too. Braga confirmed to Star Trek magazine that it was a writer mix-up, where Bird of Prey had been intended, but Warbird made it to the shooting script.

The show has never shown us a war between the empires on the scale or reputation of the Human-Romulan or Federation-Klingon war. But skirmishes have been mentioned. In the Deep Space Nine episode ‘Blood Oath,’ Kor recalls a memorable victory over the Romulans at the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt in 2271, suggesting any Romulan-Klingon pact during the Original Series can’t have lasted long. The subsequent inconsistent mentions of conflict are most easily explained by a series of on-off alliances.

In the TNG episode ‘Reunion,’ Geordi La Forge mentions that the Romulans and Klingons saw each other as "blood enemies" by 2292. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , set a year after that date, saw the Romulans attempt to sabotage the Khitomer Accords between the Federation and Klingon Empire that would lead to the alliance of the 24th century. That was another failed plot by the Romulans that only helped Earth form alliances against them.

Star Trek: 8 Times The Klingons Were Dishonorable

Subsequent skirmishes recorded in canon include the Romulan attack on a Klingon colony on Khitomer that killed Worf’s parents. The Enterprise’s Security Officer suggests that the attack went some way to painting Romulans as traitors as they were still considered allies in 2346. Three decades later, TNG ’s season 5 revealed that the Romulans were purposefully seeking to influence the Klingon civil war.

Star Trek history would throw disaster at both the Klingons and Romulans, forever changing their role in the galaxy. The destabilization caused by the destruction of the moon Praxis forged the way for an alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. A century later, the destruction of Romulus would inadvertently create the Kelvin timeline and set up the galaxy for the time of Star Trek: Picard . The galaxy remains unpredictable, including the relationship between the two great empires of the Beta Quadrant.

Star Trek: 7 Most Iconic Ships In The Franchise

Blu Del Barrio Had An Ironic Reaction To Their Final Star Trek: Discovery Scene

"Star Trek: Discovery" is in the midst of its last official mission, as the Paramount+ series is set to sign off at the end of May after five seasons. The first "Star Trek" series of the streaming era has seen its share of highs and lows over the years, but the casting of Blu del Barrio, the first openly non-binary actor in the "Trek" universe, is undoubtedly a high point. The actor spoke to Comic Book Resources ahead of the show's ending, sharing takeaways from the experience and revealing that their last day on set was emotional -- just not in the way you might expect.

"I could not stop laughing," del Barrio revealed when asked about how it felt to give these characters their "final send-off" in a portion of the "Discovery" finale that was filmed after the rest of the episode. "Everybody was crying, but I couldn't stop laughing," they reiterated. The actor compared their incongruous giggles to someone reacting oddly at a funeral. "I like, I went into it like when you cry at a funeral, I don't know what it was," they explained. "The direction was 'Cry. You can cry. You can be sad.'"

Read more: 12 Reasons Why The Original Series Is The Best Star Trek Show

Discovery Filmed An Ending That Called For Its Actors To Cry

Though fans haven't seen the sequence in question yet, it's one that Comic Book Resources described as a "coda," and it was apparently filmed after principal photography wrapped. Director Jonathan Frakes previously told Variety that the show's planned two-part finale was suddenly turned into just one episode, leading to the need for additional footage "to actually make the finale the finale." Executive producer and director Olatunde Osunsanmi apparently finished the episode. Whatever happened behind the scenes, it resulted in a quick added shoot that called for the actor to cry, and as del Barrio told CBR with a laugh, they just "couldn't stop laughing."

It's tough to predict just how "Star Trek: Discovery" will end, given that only two "Trek" shows from the modern era have reached their conclusions so far. "Star Trek: Short Treks" seems to have fizzled out after season 2, but given its standalone nature, the show didn't have to offer up a grand finale (it also doesn't seem completely gone, as Paramount released "Star Trek: Very Short Treks" in 2023). "Star Trek: Picard," on the other hand, ended with a sentimental conclusion that satisfied fans of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," reuniting its cast in a meaningful way and signing off with style. Given the apparent compression of the "Star Trek: Discovery" finale, we have no idea what it might look like -- but as with all things "Discovery," we trust it to be interesting and offbeat.

Del Barrio Is Proud Of Being Part Of Trek History

All laughter aside, del Barrio got serious with CBR to relay the pride they feel at having brought one of TV's few romantic relationships between transgender characters to life. Their character, Adira Tal, ended up in a relationship with Gray, a trans character played by Ian Alexander . "I'm most proud of being able to portray a really wonderful and beautiful trans relationship," del Barrio said, adding, "There is very little stuff out with one trans character and we got two. I got to make something really beautiful with Ian that I'm very proud of, and I also now have a lifelong friend." It's true that trans couples are rare on screen: while Netflix's "Sex Education" recently broke down barriers by featuring a love scene between two trans partners, depictions of relationships like these are few and far between.

It makes sense that such a relationship would flourish in the diverse world of "Star Trek," a franchise that has spotlighted many different types of love over its half-century-plus existence. "Star Trek: Discovery" will always have a special place in "Trek" history, thanks in part to the way it's embraced queer characters in a franchise that has always had queer fans -- even when their stories weren't portrayed on screen. "Being able to show a queer trans relationship in that way, in this universe so many years into the future [in] all its intricacy, I think is great, and I'm very proud of that," del Barrio told CBR.

Season 5 of "Star Trek: Discovery" is currently streaming new episodes on Paramount+ each Thursday.

Read the original article on SlashFilm

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…and of course, this full-cast photo was released by the streamer earlier this year.

The final season of  Star Trek: Discovery runs through May 30 on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery  Season 5 continues on Paramount+ May 2 with “Whistlespeak,” followed the next day on SkyShowtime in other regions.

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Errand of Mercy

• Episode aired Mar 23, 1967

With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives. With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives. With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives.

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• Trivia Introduces the Klingon Empire. Klingons were named after Gene Roddenberry 's friend, Bob Clingan.
• Goofs Although Spock observes that Organia is a "a primitive society" which is "totally stagnant" and making no progress toward mechanization, neither Spock nor Kirk appears to notice that the doors to the Organian council chamber open and close by themselves when someone approaches. There is no evidence of any Organian opening or closing the doors.

[Spock prevents Kirk from reacting to a Klingon's provocation]

Captain James T. Kirk : You didn't really think I was gonna beat his head in, did you?

Mr. Spock : I thought you might.

Captain James T. Kirk : You're right.

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Edited from This Island Earth (1955)
• Soundtracks Theme From Star Trek Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

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‘star trek: discovery’ co-showrunner teases the final episodes and her message for fans.

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Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise with her "Star Trek: Discovery" cast and crew.

For five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery has taken audiences on the ride of a lifetime. With its series finale now in sight, I sat down with executive producer and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise at SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado to discuss the beloved show’s journey and what fans should expect from this ever-expanding television universe on Paramount Plus, before we say a proper farewell to the U.S.S. Discovery.

So for starters, what has Paradise enjoyed most about the evolution of Star Trek: Discovery , since it first premiered in September 2017?

“That’s a really great question,” Paradise said. “I have loved being a part of it. I joined halfway through season two, and it was starting to know what it was and it’s really found its way. I’ve really enjoyed the character arcs and getting to take them all to these different places. It’s also hard for me to separate out the evolution of the show from my evolution on the show and stepping into co-running it with [co-showrunner] Alex [Kurtzman] and starting to take over more of that in later seasons. It’s been the highlight of my career.”

Mary Wiseman as Tilly and Blu del Barrio as Adira in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 7, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise is no stranger to television production. She was previously an executive producer on such television projects as Exes & Ohs and The Originals , but I wondered what it might be about her Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew that perhaps feels special.

“It’s like a big family. First of all, our cast is incredible. They’re all insanely talented actors but they’re lovely human beings. They approach one another and they approach the project from just a place of love and respect for one another and for the material, which is always a wonderful place to start. You can’t say enough of [actor] Sonequa [Martin-Green], our number one and the tone that she sets on the show and on the set. We have a lot of folks on the show and the crew who come back, year-after-year. They all really love the world of Trek and they love one another. We try and go bigger and better and bolder every season, and there’s never a feeling of Oh, we can’t do that . It’s always a feeling of How do we do that? ”

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Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in "Star Trek: Discovery" streaming on Paramount+.

Since the original Star Trek series first premiered on television in 1966, the Star Trek story and fictional sci-fi universe has evolved into several iterations, including Star Trek: The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Voyager , Enterprise , Strange New Worlds and Picard - not to mention the numerous Star Trek movies over many decades, including the three recent blockbuster films, starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, with another sequel in the works.

Throughout all of these years, Star Trek fans have remained quite loyal and vocal, both when they love a story and even when they don’t. So, how does Paradise and her Star Trek: Discovery creative team try to appease Trek fans, but also not allow the chatter to stop them from taking on some creative risks?

Wilson Cruz as Culber and Anthony Rapp as Stamets in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 6, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise said, “I think the best way to answer that is we always try to honor what Trek is - where it came from, what is the DNA of any Trek series, which of course goes back to the original series, and then also honoring what is this version of Trek and knowing that it’s our job to make the best version of Discovery . Someone who loves Discovery may not love Strange New Worlds or someone who loves Strange New Worlds may not love Discovery. By design, these are all very different shows. To a certain degree, it has to be okay that not everyone is going to love this iteration. We always feel like if we can do justice to the franchise as a whole - what it means, do justice to the characters and do our best version of Discovery , then we will have succeeded.”

Ever since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes ended late last year, there have been signs of movement and optimism within the entertainment industry, but also a sense of some standstill with television and film productions. So, what is Paradise seeing around the current state of Hollywood?

“I think it depends on who you talk to,” Paradise said. “It feels a bit like a mixed bag to me. There are a lot of people who are still very much struggling - writers, crew members, directors - because things have not picked up in the way that they would normally at this particular time of year. By in large, there’s not really a pilot season, as we used to know it. That’s very difficult for people. Of course, there’s still a lot of wonderful opportunities, but it seems like the compression that happened - it’s the combo platter of the [Covid-19] pandemic and the strikes, just after that. It does feel condensed - there are fewer things but I feel like, to some degree, that had to happen because in the big balloon of streaming, that in retrospect, it doesn’t feel like it was necessarily sustainable. Hopefully it will ease up, sooner than later, and kind of calm down because there’s still a lot of people who are struggling to get back into work right now and I feel for them - it’s hard.”

On more of a positive note, when asked what Paradise is enjoying most about the television landscape today, she says that she feels there is a lot that can be done, applauding the way that every week, Star Trek: Discover y is a “cinematic storytelling into television,” though she admits that the visual design of Discovery is not sustainable for every network and studio.

While our real world faces divisive times with war, political unrest and other conflicts, I wondered if Paradise and her team keep in mind the real-life issues occurring, when crafting its stories for the screen on Star Trek: Discovery .

Mary Wiseman as Tilly, June Laporte as Ravah and Wilson Cruz as Dr. Culber in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 6, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

“That comes from just the DNA of the show itself. The original series did not shy away from what was happening societal at that time. It did not shy away from tackling those things in the way that it could. That’s one of the cool things about sci-fi - aliens can stand-in for another culture, different relationships can stand-in for whatever is happening in society at the time. That’s kind of baked into any Trek show, is that reflection of what’s happening in the world at that time via sci-fi and the different ways we could do it.”

Paradise added: “In Discovery , we were very much aware of that and very thoughtful about what are the types of stories we want to tell, how does that reflect certain things that are going on. Trek means so much to so many people and where people are actively looking to Trek to reflect themselves in some way or actively looking to Trek as an answer to what’s happening in society and for hope that, as divisive as things are right now, as challenging around the world and in our country, that there is hope and we can overcome it with our better selves.”

Blu del Barrio as Adira, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman as Tilly in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 7, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

When asked about what fans can expect ahead in the remaining episodes of Star Trek: Discovery , which drop every Thursday during this final season, Paradise teases that fans “might see more of our bad guys this season.” She added: “We did not going into the season [knowing] that this would be our last season. We’re so fortunate - CBS Studios and Paramount Plus gave us the opportunity, after the fact, to go shoot some additional material, and I feel like the thing I just want to keep reiterating for fans of the show is it has a proper ending. Our Discovery is not going to end on a cliffhanger of Are they all going to die? and then we never find out. It was worth the investment and I do think when people finish the season/series, they will feel like this season - again, we didn’t know going in - but it does feel like if you didn’t know that, you would think we knew going in because of what we’re doing thematically and where our characters go. So, I think people will feel very satisfied.”

As the conversation with Paradise concluded, she was left with one last question: For Star Trek: Discovery fans, people who have followed these five seasons - as they soon finish these final episodes, what message do you as a co-showrunner want to say these people, after investing their time in the series over the past seven years and falling in love with these characters?

Mary Wiseman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Paradise.

“I just would want to say thank you. There is no Discovery without the fans and they are always so loving and supportive and passionate, even when they don’t like what we’re doing, they’re passionate. As writers and creators and actors and the directors, we love that! We love that passion and their passion means so much to us.”

Paradise added: “It was a gift. Hopefully, we’ll all get to do it again someday.”

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I've been missing detmer & owosekun in star trek: discovery season 5.

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Where’s Saru? Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Sidelined The Kelpien Hero

Star trek: discovery proves starfleet's prime directive is useless, star trek: discovery’s elias toufexis reveals how long moll & l'ak ran from the breen.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

• Detmer and Owosekun's absence in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 has been keenly felt by fans and the crew of the USS Discovery.
• Lt. Commanders Detmer and Owosekun have only made brief appearances in two out of the six episodes of season 5 so far.
• Star Trek: Discovery season 5's new bridge characters makes it feel like the USS DIscovery has a new crew.

Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) have been conspicuously absent from Star Trek: Discovery season 5. Both Detmer and Owosekun have been serving on the bridge of the USS Discovery since season 1, as the helmsman and the operations officer, respectively. Although they have not been featured as prominently as some of the other characters, Detmer and Owosekun are compelling characters who have always been a welcome presence . More than any other Star Trek show, Discovery focuses on its lead, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), but Detmer and Owo have been a part of her story since the beginning.

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 expanded the roles of Lt. Commanders Detmer and Owosekun, as they both helped the USS Discovery uncover the truth about the Dark Matter Anomaly. In Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 8, "All In," Owosekun accompanied Captain Burnham on a mission to a black-market casino, where her hand-to-hand combat skills proved incredibly useful in earning money in a fighting ring. Detmer, too, was part of an away team a few episodes later, in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 11,"Rosetta," when Discovery visited the homeworld of Species 10-C. Star Trek : Discovery season 5 is the show's final season, and it's likely Detmer and Owo will return before the end, but their absence throughout much of the season so far has been keenly felt.

Detmer's piloting skills have also come in handy on multiple occasions, and both officers excel when stationed on the bridge.

Despite the potential for a great storyline in season 5, Doug Jones's Saru has been absent for much of Star Trek: Discovery's final season.

Detmer & Owosekun Have Been Noticeably Absent From Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Detmer and owosekun have only appeared in two out of discovery season 5's six episodes so far..

Detmer and Owosekun have briefly popped up in a couple of episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but have otherwise been completely absent. Lt. Commander Asha (Christina Dixon) and Lt. Gallo (Natalie Liconti) took over Detmer and Owo's stations on the USS DIscovery's bridge, while Keyla and Joann were only mentioned in dialogue. After the events of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," Detmer and Owo were ordered to polit the ISS Enterprise back to Federation Headquarters. This means they will likely remain absent for the rest of Discovery's search for the Progenitors' technology, which is disappointing, as both characters would be fun additions to this intergalactic treasure hunt.

When Captain Burnham brought Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) aboard as the USS Discovery's new First Officer, he did quick meet-and-greets with the ship's crew members. Detmer and Owosekun were conspicuously absent from these scenes as well, again replaced by Asha and Gallo. Despite all their talk of family, Discovery's crew has not fully coalesced into a solid core group the way other Star Trek casts have. As Star Trek: Discovery season 5 was filming, the cast and crew were unaware that it would be the show's last season, making it all the more unfortunate that Detmer and Owosekun do not have more of a presence in what will be Discovery's final episodes.

Star Trek: Discovery Feels Like The Starship Has A New Crew In Season 5

Star trek: discovery changes its dynamic every season..

Since the days of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Starship Enterprise crew, most Star Trek shows have featured ensemble casts. While the Captains were more or less the main characters, the other senior officers also featured prominently in certain episodes. Star Trek: The Original Series came to focus on the iconic trio of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), while Star Trek: The Next Generation would have episodes that often showcased one character. Star Trek: Discovery has always centered Michael Burnham by design, but that means some of the other characters have been sidelined.

Discovery has struggled to find its identity, experimenting with different kinds of stories and cycling through crew members.

Over the course of its five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery has struggled to find its identity, experimenting with different kinds of stories and cycling through crew members. When Michael Burnham became Captain of Discovery at the end of season 3, it finally felt like the show had found its rhythm. Star Trek: Discovery season 4 still focused on Burnham, but allowed more of the characters to play a larger role. Burnham is a great character, and she will always be Discovery's star, but the crew felt more like a family than ever in season 4, and Star Trek: Discovery season 5 has shifted the dynamics yet again.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Jax Is Back! (Again): Bravo Renews ‘The Valley’ for Season 2

By Kate Aurthur

Kate Aurthur

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Despite the fact that not one, but two of the show’s four central couples have split up recently, Bravo has renewed “ The Valley ” for a second season. And yes, the full cast is expected to be back — even those who seem to be heading toward divorce.

“The Valley” — years in the making — premiered on Bravo on March 19, in the Tuesday timeslot after “Vanderpump Rules,” its progenitor. In the announcement, part of a broader set of renewals made by parent company NBCUniversal, the company called the show “its most-watched freshman series in nearly a decade.”

Popular on Variety

But last year, after the news of the Scandoval broke — launching “Vanderpump Rules” in its 10th season to unforeseen heights of popularity — Doute, Taylor and Cartwright became sought-after pundits about the cheating scandal at the center of the show. Doute, who had dated Tom Sandoval for years, even appeared on the hastily filmed Scandoval finale of Season 10 at Ariana Madix’s side. And Taylor and Cartwright scored a “Watch With” show on Peacock, in which they commented on and gawked at “Vanderpump Rules” as they viewed it. All three of them were welcomed back to Andy Cohen’s nightly talk show “Watch What Happens Live.”

Whether they were actually redeemed was besides the point: They were in the spotlight again, fans clearly wanted to hear from them and they were making good TV. “The Valley,” an idea executive producer Alex Baskin had had years earlier, was fast-tracked last summer . The cast was easy to fill out — since it revolves around a group of friends — and couples Danny and Nia Booko, Jason and Janet Caperna, and Jesse and Michelle Lally joined Doute, Taylor and Cartwright. (Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham rounded out the Season 1 cast as “friends.”)

Most of all, though, the marriages of Taylor and Cartwright and the Lallys have fallen apart. And these “Scenes From a Marriage”-like vicissitudes — if Ingmar Bergman had created reality television in Los Angeles in 2024 — have propelled “The Valley” to its great heights. Yet despite these splits, and the fact that both of the Lallys are now in new relationships, all four cast members will likely return for Season 2.

For all these reasons, this commitment to excellence is why, anecdotally on social media, viewers who’d previously sworn they never wanted to watch this show or these people ever again have one by one been swept up by the dark magic of “The Valley.” A supersized season finale will air on June 4, and after both couples split, production restarted to capture the aftermath of the separations. There will be no reunion for the show, which has caused an uproar on Twitter .

Over the course of the show’s first season, several “Vanderpump Rules” cast members have appeared on “The Valley,” including Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, Scheana Shay and Brock Davies. And they might all be jealous soon enough, since “The Valley” is expected to begin filming this summer, and “Vanderpump Rules” has been paused after a logistically difficult, sour 11th season in the wake of the Scandoval.

“The Valley” is produced by Baskin’s company 32 Flavors Entertainment, Haymaker East and Evolution Media, an Amazon MGM Studios company. Baskin and Jeff Festa executive produce for 32 Flavors. Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert and Jessica Chesler executive produce for Haymaker East. Barry Poznick and Lucilla D’Agostino executive produce for Evolution Media. Keith Burke, Chaz Morgan, Anne Swan, Lisa Vanderpump and Ryan Revel also executive produce.

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