The long wait is finally over. CBS All Access has finally released an official trailer for the first animated comedy of the Star Trek franchise. We also have a new poster.
Watch the trailer
NOTE: Trailer is geo-locked to USA. We will add a link to the Canadian version when made available by CTV.
The version on Star Trek.com should also be unlocked for other regions.
UPDATE: Check out our complete breakdown and analysis of the trailer.
The story of Lower Decks
Developed by Emmy-winner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites), Star Trek: Lower Decks focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
The Starfleet crew residing in the “lower decks” of the U.S.S. Cerritos includes Ensign Beckett Mariner (voiced by Tawny Newsome), Ensign Brad Boimler (voiced by Jack Quaid), Ensign Tendi (voiced by Noël Wells), and Ensign Rutherford (voiced by Eugene Cordero). The Starfleet characters that comprise the ship’s bridge crew include Captain Carol Freeman( voiced by Dawnn Lewis), Commander Jack Ransom (voiced by Jerry O’Connell), Lieutenant Shaxs (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), and Doctor T’Ana (voiced by Gillian Vigman).
New Lower Decks poster
Lower Decks coming on August 6th
The new half-hour animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks will premiere on Thursday, August 6 on CBS All Access. Following the premiere, new episodes of the series’ 10-episode first season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays, exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers in the U.S.
Lower Decks will also air on August 6th in Canada on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and be available to stream in Canada on Crave. It has not yet been announced where and when Lower Decks will be available outside of the USA and Canada.
Keep up on all the Star Trek: Lower Decks news here at TrekMovie.com.
Looks like more fun than I thought…it’ll do..
From the makers of RICK AND MORTY. Hmmm….looks rather RICK AND MORTY-ish, not necessarily a bad thing….Will absolutely watch this.
I love it when Star Trek makes fun of itself sometimes.
Rick and Morty got a Star Trek cousin. Looks a lot more fun and entertaining than I thought it would be.
Who would’ve thought an animated comedy about Star Trek could be so fun.
I did. Or at least I thought such a thing had the POTENTIAL to be a lot of fun. I’m still in a “wait and see” position here.
Looks like this ones strictly for kids. Yeah, I’ll pass
You’ll be watching it. Every fan who melodramatically announces he or she will pass on it is just trying to look bold.
Yup, absolutely true. Even if it’s just one episode that insatiable curiosity will always get the better of them.
Buddy, if you think kids’ shows routinely show doctors handing random crewmen the still living heart of a trauma patient, I think you should NOT reproduce!
But that’s EXACTLY the stuff that kids ARE going to watch. Family Guy, Futurama or Rick & Morty aren’t supposed to be for kids either. They are even rated 15+ or 16+ in some countries. But that doesn’t prevent kids from watching it at all. Most parents certainly don’t care about letting them watch some “harmless” animated comedy, especially of it’s based on Star Trek.
So if it’s not for kids, it has wolf in the sheep’s clothing written all over it. That’s been my issue with most of present-day Trek. It’s part of a franchise that has always been family-friendly, suitable for kids. So even if you brand it TV-MA / R / 15+ / 16+, most parents will look the other way because it’s Star Trek…
And even if some parents take a stand, they don’t stand a chance keeping it locked up for long due to most kids having access to cell phones, the internet or buddies with more relaxed parents…
I don’t think Chuck watches a lot of cartoons…LOL I agree, and I’ve seem much worse than a heart removal in kids cartoons.
Parents who try to shield their kids from what they feel is inappropriate will only end in those kids becoming even more curious and they always find a way.
That is how the Mrs and I dealt with that sort of thing. We didn’t actively shield our kid from it but didn’t encourage or provide him access to things we considered marginal either. As a result, he was less likely to go behind our backs for things. It was a bit of a balancing act and he came out just fine. It’s too bad his senior year got interrupted by this COVID thing, though. He earned an actual ceremony.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — Skeletor removed Roboto’s heart.
You were saying?
Chuck, when did I ever say anything about kids’ shows and hearts?
So true!!
After seeing this trailer, I can give you an ironclad guarantee that I am not going to watch this.
No thanks.
Sure, Jan.
OK, Boomer.
Let us know your opinion after you watch it.
Well, I guess that explains Tim Lynch’s riveting reviews of VOY, ENT, DISCO, and PIC…
what about that part at the end where there is a starfleet officer naked at a the helm?
That would be rated “FSK6” in Germany anyway. Like the Simpsons movie 😉 or at least FSK12 like Family Guy….
This show is not for kids.
You mentioned recently you just graduated from high school. As an adult, I don’t like it at all. So if its not for kids and not for adults, perhaps it’s primarily for teenagers then given it resonates with you?
It resonates with me and I’m in my 40s.
Ninja, I agree. This isn’t for the little ones. Or even primary graders. What kids would like to see isn’t always what’s healthy for them.
Ours are moving into their teens, so we’re hoping this will be suitable to watch with parents.
We’ve been the kind of parents that pay close attention to content and use parental controls vigorously, and rely on sites like Common Sense Media to give us a heads up on inappropriate content for their development level.
I really hope that the Star Trek global marketing team will be clear on who they are pitching this to. It doesn’t sound as though it should have kid targeted marketing. But then they did market Picard to 7 year olds, graphic violence and tobacco smoking product promotion notwithstanding so we have grounds for concern.
Common Sense Media? The next generation of Philistines has to come from somewhere.
I’ll watch at least the first two episodes, to give it a chance, but I’m afraid the trailer looks DIRE. Of course, different people like different things, and all of you who think the trailer looks like fun, I’m happy for you. But to me, it looks juvenile and rather embarrassing. But then, I’ve always taken my Star Trek a bit too seriously. :-)
And really, in Roddenberry’s utopian future, shouldn’t we have robots to clean stuff, so that people don’t have to? Shouldn’t rickety ships be decommissioned? None of this “life is ugly at the lower levels” feels like Star Trek to me; the Trek future is one where drudgery is a thing of the past.
Yeah, well that ship sailed with “Good Shepherd” episode of Voyager.
Yes, all basic maintenance should be automated and every job on a starship that is not automated should be awesome (challenging, interesting, valuable). That is the Trek universe. But things vary – some is in service of a good story and some is in service of humor. As long as the story is good, I can live with it.
I think it is nice to have human crews trained to do bad stuff, even though most of it is automated. Ya know, just in case. And the ensigns on the lower decks should be the ones to do it. It is a LEARNING experience, not a JOB.
I’m with you, Corylea. Happy for the folks who are excited. I’m a fan of Discovery and especially Picard, so it’s not like I’m starving for content. I imagine I’d feel differently if this were the relaunch series rather than a live-action one. But aye, it looks dire to me as well.
I agree with both of you. This is not for me. It just looks so juvenile.
Corylea, I get that you’re really into the idealism of Trek, but have you thought about what most people outside the elite are doing?
As much as Roddenberry wanted to create the image of a perfect advanced society, I see a lot of evidence of status and rank that aren’t necessary in a society that’s post scarcity. The “everyone is doing what they find personally fulfilling” doesn’t quite add up.
More, the one thing that seems to be most rationed is exciting and fulfilling work in Starfleet.
I can agree that much of the drudgery should have been engineered out, but some systems need human oversight, maintenance or repair.
e.g. On one hand, holodeck waste disposal automatically transporting waste from holosimulations to the main waste processing seems like an obvious solution. On the other hand, given how many things have gone wrong with holodeck simulations, perhaps maintaining it as a closed system is necessary, and human oversight of transport of materials in and out is required. Sending in a robot to pick up the canisters, but that could void some of the security.
As a Star Trek fan, I’m going to watch each of every Star Trék series. A shitty Star Trek episode is even better than anything else in this planet.
Well said Zed!
This looks very much like everything I had hoped for…but I am easy to please where Trek I’d concerned.
New Trek shows can be a bit like meeting a friends dog for the first time. If you approach it with fear, hesitation or anger, nobody’s going to have fun.
All Trek content is good Trek content. Multiple viewings remains to be seen.
Remembering all the hoola about the brief klingon nudity in Discovery from the Trek fans, I wonder what the reaction to this gonna be and to the juvenile humor here. Personally I don’t mind a little Trek comedy but this will really rub some of those stuck-up, always serious Trekkies the wrong way.
The trailer was actually funny but everyone has their own definition of comedy. You don’t have to take Star Trek too seriously. It will rub some people the wrong way.
The juvenile humor like a naked man at the helm could trigger some people. Klingon nudity in Discovery didn’t bother me, I’ve seen worse.
“The juvenile humor like a naked man at the helm could trigger some people. Klingon nudity in Discovery didn’t bother me, I’ve seen worse.”
Really? This “man” (=animated character) being “naked” is NOT what I’d consider “nudity”… Because…erm…he is ANIMATED! Drawn. Painted. You can only be nude if you actually exist.
It doesn’t bother most people to look at naked paintings in churches or historical paintings. I even don’t consider hentai to be offensive. It is NOT REAL on the production side so it actually is no transgression at all in my book.
The problem isn’t sex or nudity as part of the fictional story, the problem I have is actual, real-life nudity on the actors’ part. Now that Klingon sex scene probably wasn’t actual nudity either because she wore a rubber suit of sorts I take it. But it was hard to make that out whereas any “nudity” on Lower Decks by definition cannot be offensive at all… At least not to me.
I’m just not buying what you are selling here. No!
You don’t buy what exactly? That I don’t consider animated sexuality an issue at all? Or that I grievously oppose actual nudity in mainstream movies and shows?
Well, it’s what I feel. Thematically, the issue doesn’t bother me when it’s literature, animation, CGI or any sort of “unreal” creation. But actual nudity is a transgression. Not on the content side but on the production side. If the Emilia Clarke’s breasts are real it’s a completely different thing from drawn, painted or otherwise animated “nudity”. There’s an ontological difference of epic proportion. It’s just that.
If all was a holodeck program, or VR, I’d be fine with almost anything. And there are actually people out there considering “hardcore” stuff as fake just because it’s staged or stylized. It’s REAL, that’s what it makes so hard to accept. Hentai or CGI images do not offend me one bit…
To be honest, some of the revealing costumes of the Edo in “Justice” were way more inappropriate and left less to the imagination than that quick shot from Lower Decks.
Well, the Klingon nudity was in the context of a rape scene which brought into being all sorts of debates about taste, how graphic the franchise should get, and the show’s suitability for children.
Juvenile humor is a lower bar to me – unless he was doing something overtly sexual, there’s probably nothing much more outrageous to this than seeing Tuvok dream he was naked, having Trip fight the Ferengi in his underwear, or seeing Damon Bok or Q’s son remove women’s clothes for their amusement. At least we’re shifting away from the objectifying male gaze with this one, no?
It wasn’t rape. It was consensual sex between two Klingons. Ash Tyler at the time did not know he was really Voq and was remembering consensual sex and not rape.
…and that revelation happens several episodes later. It’s salaciously depicted as a rape until then, that distinction hardly makes it easier to handle in the moment. It’s just one of several clumsy and ill-judged adult “OMG we can swear and show boobies now!” moments in the All Access shows that add nothing to the franchise and needlessly narrow its appeal.
Fair enough. I actually feel the same way about the new “Perry Mason”. The in-your-face stuff really adds nothing to the show. It’s just there ’cause they can.
Oof, Perry Mason is just relentless. Gratuitous and depressing slog just to get him to the point where he even thinks about becoming the man we know from the old shows. And where is that glorious theme song?
It will get a pass because of the juvenile humor. Fans will get it. It’s when it’s supposed to be taken seriously and misses the mark that fans get upset.
Star Trek TAS in 2380
OMG… This was horrible. I guess it’s because I never really liked animated comedy like The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, Rick & Morty.
Someone making fun of Trek never bothered me as long as it is OUTSIDE the world of ST. I love Galaxy Quest and The Orville. And if I was into animated comedy, I’m sure I would enjoy some Futurama or R&M. But INSIDE official, canonical Trek?
This is just way over the top to be part of anything serious canonically!
I somewhat feel reminded of the vintage animated fan comedy “Sev Trek: Pus in Boots”… That was sort of enjoyable because it WASN’T actual Star Trek but a parody.
A parody however cannot exist within the same fictional world as the original it makes fun of. Scary Movie is not a sequel to Scream, Spaceballs isn’t part of the Star Wars saga.
But this, this is supposed to BE Star Trek. And that simply doesn’t compute on a meta level… It gives me a headache.
I didn’t even see the comedy in this! I suppose this is what you get when you take out all the humour that could offend someone, anyone… the equivalent of a lukewarm shower or medium wet sock ;)
I am totally up for this! Or down. Heck, there is no up or down in space. Uh, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. I’m someone who saw TAS during first run. I loved it then and I still have nostalgic feels for it now, but I can’t wait to see something fresh. This fits the bill nicely. I sense not only humor, but an underlying sense of companionship and devotion to duty and the ideals of the Federation Not bad
For those who cringe… just imagine it’s a “retelling” of stories from the actual lower decks crew being recorded in that fake captain’s log. It’s a mockumentary….
Based on the trailer I think I will like this series more than DIS and PIC. It looks fun and upbeat and it seems there will be a lot of different missions, planets and aliens.
Looks fun. If we over-the-top easter-egg hunters get a few deep cuts here and there, it should do the trick.
This actually looks like a lot of fun. I could use a lot of fun right now. I’m excited!
To quote Scotty: “I like that ship! Its so exciting!” 😄
This trailer reminds me yet again that some star trek fans on the Trek Movie comments section still remain sensitive morons.
This looks like fun. I loved the gag with the phaser at the end. Every time somebody stuns their allies in Trek, I always wonder if they triple-checked that the thing wasn’t set to vaporize.
Did the trailer make you laugh?
Was it supposed to be funny?
Or just dumbed down?
I didn’t see any humor in this.
Pass. Maybe children will find it hilarious.
I’m 41 and find it hilarious. But maybe I’m a kid at heart.
Yep. Funny stuff. A little levity in a year that’s been swirling around the galactic toilet, but just won’t flush, is a good thing.
Colonic irrigation humour isn’t my thing, and this seems definitely to lean to the “low” in the “Lower Decks” concept, but so far I’m doing my best to keep an open mind.
The trailer did make me smile. And the ensigns do seem to be making all the “crazy things we do in our twenties when we’re still in our first or second full-time job” kinds of things.
It made me smile and I’m dead inside.
Android or Vulcan?
It did not make me smile.
Vulcan here ;)
I definitely laughed a little but not as much as I hoped either.
Very nice, and different! Getting old I guess. This is definitely for a younger audience, mainly teenagers and college students. Glad we will have different shows, all at the same time. I welcome all this. Would like to see our favorite characters as special guests.
The rest of Trek (except of PIC) is definitelly too.
Definitely checking this out as we need to see the underdog aspects of Star Trek that are lighthearted. First animated series since 1973.
I know some people may like this, and I know you can’t judge a series from a trailer, but this looks like it’s not for me. I will give it a chance and watch a couple of eps but this trailer is not buying me.
A comedy set in the ST universe is fine, but I’d prefer something a little more Red Dwarf (and, yes, I know the RD and ST connections: JMC and Diva Droid on the DS9 promenade). This feels too much like we all expected The Orville to be. Too juvenile.
I suppose it was always clear from the character names. I mean Brad Boimler makes it pretty obvious he’s the loser. I know prejudice is a weakness, but we all make preconceptions based on names. It’s a subconscious thing. And as inexcusable as anything else. Apologies to anyone called Brad Boimler.
Wow, it’s pretty bad.
Annoying with repetitive joke themes. I will give it a sample viewing but it is definitely not must see viewing. Bevis and Butthead in space. With the quarantine there might be little that’s new, so maybe occasional desperation viewing. Yuk….
Star Trek: Rick and Morty. But with more manic hyperactive screeching. The trailer gave me a migraine.
Consider it the equivalent of a nicotine plaster for heavy smokers – but for hyperactive kids instead ;)
I’m actually surprised by how much I’m into this. The visuals and the references are all clearly well researched. Looks like a bunch of fans were involved with this.
Puerile drivel. The idea is that people are meant to pay to access this? Misfire of all misfires.
I smell a winner here….Emmy award, anyone?
Looks kind of terrible to me, but I’d guess that the trailer was cut to appeal to fans of animated comedy moreso than to me. So maybe the show itself will be good. My interest level just plummeted, though, that’s for sure.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I like Futurama and Simpsons but I dislike Family Guy and Rick & Morty so this really could go either way.
As I expected, I’d really love to watch this. If I legally can, that is. They unfortunately haven’t announced any airing opportunities for this in Europe though. :(
More like Star Trek: Rick and Morty. That’s what it looks like judging from the trailer.
Not a fan of these American animated comedies. I think they’re all the same, except The Simpsons, South Park, Bojack Horseman and Rick and Morty.
Wait and see.
I love how varied the opinions are here, although they fall into two camps: those who found it funny, and those who viscerally hate it and are actively bashing the people who enjoyed it. Who knows where I’ll fall by the time I see the actual series? Maybe I’ll feel like I do about Discovery, where I liked it at first, but then kinda came to loathe it. Maybe I’ll feel like I do about Picard, where I didn’t like it at first, liked it at the end, and now that I’ve thought about it kinda despise it.
For me, this trailer worked, and I’m excited to see this – and so soon! Less than a month away and this is the first we see of it? They better get a good ad campaign together to drum up the hype, or I could see this being a quiet flop if it isn’t good. That’s really the deciding factor: if the show embodies good storytelling, like the best episodes of Rick and Morty, then I’ll enjoy it a lot. If it’s more schlock like Disco and Picard, I’ll just have to wait for the Nick series to hang my hopes for the future of Star Trek.
It doesn’t look like it’s for me at all but I’m not bashing anybody. I’m sorry that some of these folks are doing so.
Humour isn’t as universal as people tend to think it is.
In particular, this show seems to be in a specific style of American humour that isn’t for everyone, even if it’s trying for a fairly low common denominator.
That does make it a risk with those fans who take the franchise very seriously. It certainly sounds like there is a contingent that can’t accept that not all Trek humour will be for them, just like not all Trek series will be for them. I hope that they can see the love that the creators have for the franchise rather than vocally recoiling and calling the show disrespectful.
I’m also not sure how well this show will travel internationally. As a Canadian who grew up with both British humour and American available on television, I’m often suprised how much humour doesn’t travel, and conversely what does.
Our own kids had key scenes from Monty Python memorized by the age of 12, but when I lived in the United States I found much of it just didn’t register with my fellow students, and Black Adder was definitely a select taste. I’ve been surprised though that some of the more “out there” Canadian humour such as Letterkenny, Corner Gas, Trailer Park Boys have found niche followings in the United States. Such shows are unapologetically made for a Canadian audience and don’t even try to be accessible for others.
Mine was in the middle. I was looking forward to it so maybe I was expecting a little more. There was some fun stuff and lame stuff in the trailer. So while I am still looking forward to this I’m not hoping they saved the better gags for the show.
Note for those in Canada: although CTV Sci-fi channel hasn’t posted the trailer yet, the version linked on StarTrek.com (the official site) is not blocked for Canada.
I’ll watch it through once, but it does not look I’ll be rewatching.
We willl see. But I’m not paying CBSAA until all episodes are available
Hmm, that is an interesting comment. Normally people dismiss a whole season or even a whole show based on a teaser, but I don’t think I have ever seen someone dismiss a rewatch of a show based on the first teaser.
This looks great! I can’t wait to see the first episode.
This clip was everything I had hoped for and expected of the premise. I can’t wait for the series to begin! :-)
o m g . This series looks dreadfully bad.
This is Discovery isn’t it? Same dialogue.
Looks like very good fun. I look forward to it.
Seems like a Futurama wanna be, but not funny. Perhaps it’s a age thing (I’m 47). Just have to wait see.
Not for me, personally, but I wish it luck.
Annnnd “the franchise” has officially jumped the shark (as if it didn’t already, several years ago).
I’ll agree Vokar that there have been some “jumping the shark” moments in live-action cinematic Trek, starting with Nemesis.
But we are also talking about a franchise that provided a “bugle” in space with “da-da da-da nah-da da-da music in the 1960s and still managed to be create credible dramatic tension.
Lower Decks is branded as a comedy and a loving tribute to the TNG era. Let’s not get too worked up about dignity.
I’m looking forward to the action figures! I really hope we will see this license return to Playmates Toys. These would fit in nicely with their other licenses. I’m sure the other series old and new could all find their way back into our eagerly waiting hands if this show hits it off with a younger fan base. Rick and Morty is definitely successful with the age group they are going for!
What would be really nice Brandon would be to have action figures for a show that is age appropriate for kids who are the primary market for action figures.
Yes, I know that there is a kind of novelty/collectors market for action figures for 14+ shows, but that isn’t what takes up a full aisle at ToysRus (which still exists in Canada).
I understand that the Nickelodeon show is intended to target that age group, but we really need one new series that’s appropriate for all ages.
Star Trek had “jumping the shark” moments as early as TOS. But Star Trek is the kind of franchise that can really get away with doing that over and over again.
You’re right Legate Damar.
WNMHGB and the Gorn.
Nothing more needs to be said.
Love the trailer…Can’t wait :)
Wow, that’s a lot of negativity for something that hasn’t even aired yet!
This looks like a LOT of fun, and we could all use a little bit of levity these days, wouldn’t you agree? And for what it’s worth, I’m on the high side of 56, so I’d disagree with the notion that Lower Decks is aimed solely at teenagers… though perhaps I’d agree it’s aimed at Trekkies who don’t have fibrous wooden rods permanently docked in their waste extraction ports. 8-)
Hmm… Some fun stuff there. Some not so much. Hopefully they did not pile the best gags into the trailer. Which often happens for comedies.
Still hoping for something good…
I’ve watched plenty of post-Simpsons animated comedy, but this looks loud, cheesy, and annoying. Of course, that could stem from the way the trailer is put together. Let’s hope the actual show is not so overboard with the zany & wacky madcap hijinks. Yes, Rick & Morty has some of that, but it’s offset by a certain intellectualism. Hard to imagine that esoteric quality being approved of in an Alex Kurtzman Joint.
I’ll be frank — if this was live action, I’d watch it. It’s animated and I will STILL WATCH IT.
It’s funny.
I have to say I’m looking forward to this! :)
It looks really fun to me and I don’t know why but I lol at the blast shield song. The trailer basically lined up with my expectations of what we were going to see so I’m very interested now. BUT I certainly understand why others don’t. I first saw the trailer when it was released after a few hours and the comments were b-r-u-t-a-l to say the least. It was so bad looks like they turned off the comments section when I looked at it again today.
So I don’t know what kind of demand this thing is going to have. HOPEFULLY it will be good and funny to get some of the naysayers onboard. But with the less than stellar popularity of both DIS and PIC, well…
I’ll be watching at least!
Animated Trek will never be as canon as the live action shows to me, but I could accept a Futurama-like Trek show, more delving into absurdist humour.
I am really looking forward to this! Looks awesome and fun!To bad and really sad that there ist still no announcement regarding a release on netflix or amazon for us international viewers (besides Canada). That is really annoying and hurts Star Trek. Just like the same BS with the second season of Short Treks which still do not stream international. I don’t get it: we are willing to pay and watch and they can’t figure out a way to collect the money while saying they want to build a mighty global Star Trek Universe… It’s not even possible to subscribe to CBSAA as someone outside the US… I prefer (as I presume most international Trekkers) the english version so I don’t care for a German language version. Please find a solution CBSAA/Alex Kurtzman! (And no thanks I don’t want to wait a year and buy a physical disc. The time of physical discs is long over)
could they at least try to be funny? this was awful
Looks good. Assuming you’re about 9 years old.
Pretty funny, can’t wait!
Starfleet’s finest. A bunch of 6th graders running around the ship acting like…well…6th graders. It looks mind-numbingly dumb. More of the same cranked out of the clueless CBS Sausage factory.