‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Drops Franchise’s First F-Bomb

Tonight’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery boldly went where Star Trek has never gone before, at least in terms of language.

The episode titled “Choose Your Pain” features the first and second use of the f-word in Star Trek history.

Both uses come in the same scene, and from unexpected places. The first came from the Discovery‘s exuberant, nervous, and innocent Cadet Tilly, played by Mary Wiseman, who made Star Trek history with the line “You guys, this is so f**ing cool,” said in regards to the work she, Michael Burnham, and Paul Stamets were doing on the tardigrade.

After Tilly sheepishly apologized for her choice of language, Stamets dropped the franchise’s second f-bomb ever when he confirmed that, “No, cadet. It is f**king cool.”

Prior to the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery, co-showrunner Aaron Harberts did warn that profanity was not off the table when it came to Discovery‘s dialogue, though they wouldn’t be purposely trying to push into the R-rated territory.

“I’m not saying we’re not doing some violent things or doing a tiny bit of language,” Harberts said. “But what’s important to the creative team is the legacy of the show — which is passed down from mother to daughter, from father to son, from brother to brother. We want to make sure we’re not creating a show that fans can’t share with their families. You have to honor what the franchise is. I would say we’re not going much beyond hard PG-13.”

While these are the first f-bombs in Star Trek history, there have been some other naughty words throughout the series’ history, entirely in the films. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was the first to break into that territory with the phrase “double dumb ass.” The android Data uttered the phrase “Oh sh*t” in Star Trek: Generations, and the word “bullsh*t” was used in Star Trek: First Contact.

This is just one example of the freedoms that come with not being on a major broadcast network

New Star Trek: Discovery episodes become available to stream Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET