Interview: Dawnn Lewis And Phil Lamarr Talk Freeman “Space Family” In ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Season 2

At the Star Trek: Lower Decks block party premiere, TrekMovie had a chance to speak to voice actors Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman) and Phil Lamarr (Admiral Freeman) about what’s up for the Freeman family in season two.

Dawnn Lewis

What is new for Captain Freeman in season two?

Wow, Captain Freeman in season two no longer has the burden of trying to pretend that she’s not Mariner’s mom. And you get to see more of her raw side. We’ve got a brand new ship because if you were paying attention at the end of season one, we got pretty smashed to pieces. So we’ve got a new and improved version of the Cerritos. And we’re going to encounter some different aliens, some familiar aliens. And there are some storylines, that if you’re a Trekkie, you’re going to go, “Oh man! They pulled that from this series or that series.” I’m really excited about it.

Does the ship have new features, or is it just shinier?

It’s shiny. It’s special. It’s roomy. It’s homey. There’s a combination of pastel colors and bold, strong colors. And that’s all I am going to tell you. [laughs]

Phil is back playing Admiral Freeman, so are we going to see more of the full Freeman family together?

I don’t know if I can tell you that specifically. But yeah, it’s a lot clearer that we are a family – working, not working so much, but yeah, because the cat’s out of the bag now.

Dawnn Lewis talks to TrekMovie at Lower Decks season 2 premiere event

Even though the show is about the lower deckers, will we be seeing more storylines with the bridge crew?

Yes, you will see more of the bridge crew. You will see more of the dysfunction of the communication between lower decks and the bridge crew. But at the same time, you’ll see that through that dysfunction, we really are a well-oiled machine. We really get how the other works and doesn’t work so that we can fill in those gaps for each other.

If you could get Mike [McMahan] to do one thing, what would you like to see for Captain Freeman’s arc as a character?

I’ve been hinting since season one. There is this series [Undercover Boss], and I want to do that on Lower Decks so badly. I want to go in with some kind of disguise and they have no idea it’s me. I want to become a lower decker because I want to spy. I want the information. And I also want to get just a sense of what they’re really doing down below. So that’s one thing, and the other is I want to be captured by some alien where they transform me. I want to be like a Romulan or a Klingon with the teeth as Captain Freeman. Kind of like how Picard became a Borg. I get to be kidnapped and transformed into some kind of awful alien and they have to spend the whole time trying to turn me back.

Some members of the cast have talked about doing a live-action version of the show, are you up for that?

I kind of wore my Captain Freeman-esque vibe today with the red top and the black pants. This is my salute to Captain Freeman and the Cerritos crew. Yes, I would love to do that. I think it’s a fantastic idea.

Hopefully, we’ll get to do it soon before I leave. I am on my way back to New York. They are reopening Broadway and I was doing the show Tina, and we are getting geared up to reopen the show again.

Maybe you can sing again on Lower Decks?

I did in the first season, and I didn’t sing well and I love that. One of the favorite things for a singer to do is act like they can’t sing. I had such a ball singing off-pitch, off-rhythm. It was the episode where we did a nightclub and I was doing a jazz number, very, very badly.

Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner and Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman in preview for season two of Lower Decks

Phil Lamarr

Did working on season two feel different to you?

That’s an interesting thing, because it actually felt the same. Which is weird, because normally for the first season everybody finding their footing and figuring things out. And then the second season is more relaxed and easy. But I credit Mike with this. It was smooth from the start.

So should I just call you Admiral, do you have a name on the show?

Actually, it’s sort of like Samurai Jack. There is a name, but it is not part of the canon until it is introduced, for a reason.

Phil Lamarr talks to TrekMovie at Lower Decks season 2 premiere event

But could you say we learn more about the Admiral this season?

I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say you learn a little bit more.

Well, Dawnn just told me that you guys are a full family, even though we just see you on screen…

[Laughs] Even though I am never there. I never stop by. It’s a space family.

It would be nice to see you talk to someone besides Dawnn, the captain.

I exist in her orbit. So far that remains the same.

Do you see yourself more as a husband or more as a commanding officer to Carol Freeman?

Okay, see now you are tempting me. This season, I am a little more of a commanding officer.

Phil Lamarr as Admiral Freeman in preview of Lower Decks season 2

More Lower Decks

Season two arrives on Thursday, August 12th, and we will have more interviews from the red carpet premiere coming up all week long. TrekMovie’s full recap and review will be posted on the site on Thursday, August 12th, which will be followed up with our regular Easter egg analysis. This Friday’s All Access Star Trek podcast will discuss the red carpet event and other interviews plus give a full review and discussion of the season two premiere.

Check out our other interviews from last week:

Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid

Noel Wells and Eugene Cordero

Mike McMahan

Jerry O’Connell

ICYMI: SDCC 2021 trailer

In case you missed it, here is the trailer released in late July.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season two arrives on Paramount+  in the USA and CTV in Canada Sci-Fi on Thursday, August 12th. It will be available internationally on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 13th, and in Latin America in September.


Keep up with all the news and analysis for Star Trek: Lower Decks.

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His first name should be Marvin. Or, in keeping with the family tradition, Marvinn. :-)

I’m so glad Lamarr’s Admiral is back and that we get to know him better.

I sort of assumed Mariner’s dad was Admiral Mariner, because otherwise where did she get the name from?

Maybe Beckett Mariner is a nom de voyage?

Considering she doesn’t want people to know her mom is the captain and uses a different last name then her, I’d assume she really doesn’t want people to know she’s related to an admiral. So I’m guessing it’s a different last name entirely.

Also note that we do not know the Admiral’s name (first or last yet), it may be that his last name is Freeman.

It’d be cool if Pulp Fiction veteran Phil Lamarr has a cameo in the forthcoming Tarantino-conceived Star Trek film that Jim Gianopulos knows is too good to pass up.

It feels like we’re getting a lot more promotion for Season 2 than we did for the season that kicked off the whole series; it felt like the promotion for S1 was a bit on the light side compared to now. Did the pandemic disrupt the original promotion and release plans in that regard?

Certainly, the release date was changed. Originally, Discovery S3 was supposed to go first.

I love that the voice of Hermes Conrad and Samurai Jack is Mariner’s dad!

And Dawn voiced LaBarbra on Futurama. When I realized that, the Futurama fan swooned. Also, with Boimler’s hair being purple and always in a cow lick, I kinda see him as the son Fry and Leela never had. And I’d love to see Boimler’s parents be voiced by Billy West and Katey Sagal.

Billy West?

What a stupid, phony, made-up name.

Pls no insults in this forum. Probably just your spontaneous reaction, otherwise I don’t quite get why you’re publicly bashing another person’s name? BTW, although the name’s a shortening of the voice actor’s full name, there are lots of William Wests out there, so Billy West is actually a perfectly ordinary name, while it’s also catchy and probably serves this voice actor well as a stage name in the industry. Cheers!

You got me there Drew :-) …hm, you know I’ve been thinking maybe LD should go all the way with references and install a permanent thread for fans to bring on their fav references for selection to be included into LD

I love this head canon Futurama crossover :-)

Haha right!…well to the non futurama-fluent, it did seem random :-D So now you know what I’ve not had the chance to watch.