Following Saturday’s surprise release of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode with Lower Decks Paramount released a special weekend edition of The Ready Room [shot prior to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes]. It features a behind-the-scenes look at the episode as well as an extended interview with director Jonathan Frakes, and Lower Decks stars (now Strange New Worlds guest stars) Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid.
Newsome and Quaid talk Lower Decks S4 and Starfleet Academy
We got our first look at season 4 of Lower Decks yesterday with a trailer from Comic-Con and the announcement of a September 7 release date. On The Ready Room Jack Quaid (Boimler) offered a little hint, saying:
Season Four is going to be very very fun. Our first episode is like a big love letter to fans. I can’t exactly explain why… but it’s really exciting.
After joking with Quaid about how they could say more spoilers but they would get bleeped by Paramount, she went on to try (only to get bleeped)…
I don’t remember enough about it, but yeah, there’s a lot of [BLEEP] in there, it’s great.
Newsome did have a lot to say about being hired to join the writing staff of the previously announced Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series and how it all started with the SNW/LDS crossover:
Well, first of all, all credit and thanks goes to my friend and boss Alex Kurtzman. Because of this crossover, he called me on the phone after he saw a rough cut and he said, “I can tell you’re a writer, send me everything you’ve written.” Because he watched all of our ad-libs and stuff and he was like, “Just send me everything you’ve written.” He really like invited me in a way that said ‘I see you because I saw you do this complex thing which was a mixture of writing and on camera and stuff.’ And he went “…and I bet there’s more in there.” And I was so grateful because half the time in this business, you’re just trying to get people to see you. So he really invited me in a way that very few executives have in my life. So I’m so eternally grateful.
Go inside the crossover episode on The Ready Room
Most of The Ready Room focused on “Those Old Scientists” including a behind-the-scenes package with interviews with cast and crew along with Wil Wheaton’s interview with Frakes, Quaid, and Newsome. This includes talking about how some moments of the episode were improvised like Quaid’s “Riker!” moment with Pike’s saddle. There is also a clip from the next episode of Strange New Worlds.
New episodes from season 2 of Strange New Worlds drop weekly on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Season 2 is also available on SkyShowtime elsewhere in Europe. The second season will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in South Korea, with premiere dates to be announced later.
Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.
Getting some real talent like tawny in the writers room might make 31st Star Trek palatable.
I really hope that it does. Two seasons of Discovery have explored it very unevenly.
As much as I feel protective of and enjoy Discovery, I have to admit that the 31st century feels very thinly sketched.
That’s cool for Miss Newsome.
Tawny Newsome is such an attractive, smart, funny woman. Love her to bits!
Agreed, and kudos to Alex Kurtzman for recognizing her writing talent and getting her involved more in the franchise beyond the cartoon thing.
In light of the writers’ strike, how is she able to appear on THE READY ROOM and discuss her role as a writer for the Academy show?
They shoot that show weeks, sometimes months in advance. Whedon confirmed it on Reddit. Sometime they shoot half the seasons of shows in a single day and it’s usually before the season itself starts.
I enjoyed her work in SPACE FORCE.
But is there any evidence — beyond her portrayal of a blathering idiot on LOWER DECKS — that she can write Star Trek? I get that portraying a character isn’t the same as writing, of course. But what else has she written?
She needs her own Live Action ST show.
That photo is funny. I’ve noticed serval interview photos with them in the past that Tawny frequently has this look on her face when she’s across from Jack that’s like, what in the hell is this guy talking about? lol
It’ll be interesting to see what Tawny brings to the writing table for Starfleet Academy.
I’d still be very surprised if the academy show really gets made. I know it was green lit, but the streaming world is changing and Star Trek is expensive.
I think the academy show will get made. A few months ago it seemed unlikely Section 31 would ever see the light of day.
streaming world is changing
The streaming world is pretty much the same as it was a year ago. There’s lots of ups and down but streaming isn’t going away. Expect more streaming in the future as broadcast channels switch completely to the internet.
Star Trek is expensive
Yeah I’m pretty sure they factored in that making a TV show is expensive.
The new Flag Show Starfleet Academy, The S31 movie, SNW S3, and Lower Decks S5 is a go after the strike.
This was a great Ready Room episode and I always ALWAYS love hearing Frakes talk about Trek and directing. I always learn something new from that guy. And he did another phenomenal job here too.
You can tell how proud everyone was of this episode and the great job they did. Even though I was very excited about it the day they announced it, I was also very nervous this could turn into a train wreck. But it really shows the people making these shows today are out and out fans and you really see it on LDS and SNW. And I didn’t realize the same writer, Katherine Lyn, who also wrote Wej Duj and SNW’s Charades also helped write this episode too. She only has three writing credits so far but they are some of the best Trek episodes around. She is becoming a rising star on this franchise so please, please, please keep her on these shows.
It was also very nice to see the genuine love that Frakes and Wheaton have for each other. They work on a show together like 35 years ago, and you can tell they have such a nice relationship to this day. You can tell that the newer cast members look to them and see what they could also have for years to come. Quite nice.
Did they kiss?
All true and the TNG cast have become famously known for how close the cast has always been. That was very evident in season 3 of Picard. And newer casts like Newsome and Quaid have become the next generation of Star Trek actors themselves carrying the legacy on and have people like Frakes and Wheadon to help guide them.