Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Reveals New Cast Members as Production Begins

03/12/2021 01:00 pm EST

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially entering production in Toronto. Paramount+, ViacomCBS's recently launched streaming service, announced the news on Friday along with five new cast members joining the Star Trek: Discovery spinoff series. They include Babs Olusanmokun (Black Mirror, Dune), Christina Chong (Tom and Jerry, Black Mirror), Celia Rose Gooding (Jagged Little Pill), Jess Bush (Skinford, Les Norton), and Melissa Navia (Dietland, Billions), joining the show as series regulars. Paramount+ also released a teaser video in which the show's cast recited Star Trek's famous opening lines and announced production is underway. You can watch the video below.

"In a career, there is never enough work that is pure joy. I feel that my friend Alex Kurtzman along with David Stapf at CBS Studios and Julie McNamara at Paramount+ have given me just that by letting me haunt the stock rooms of my favorite candy store and I am grateful," said Star Trek: Strange New Worlds co-showrunner/executive producer Akiva Goldsman in a press release. "With a hell of a cast and undying love for the original series, we boldly go."

"I'm incredibly grateful to be working alongside Akiva and our brilliant, multi-faceted cast to help bring the adventures of the Starship Enterprise to new life," said co-showrunner/executive producer Henry Alonso Myers. "For someone who's been dreaming of spaceships and alien worlds since I was little, this show is a dream come true."

Character information is mostly being kept under wraps. Here some background information on the new cast, provided by ViacomCBS:

• Babs Olusanmokun's notable television credits include his roles in Netflix's Black Mirror, Marvel's The Defenders, HBO's Emmy-winning miniseries The Night Of and History's 2016 remake of the miniseries Roots. His film credits include the upcoming and highly anticipated Dune and Wrath of Man.
• Christina Chong can currently be seen in the live-action adaption of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Tom and Jerry and in The CW's Bulletproof. Chong's other television credits include Black Mirror, Doctor Who, the BBC's Ill Behaviour, the ABC event mini-series Of Kings and Prophets, the hit BBC series Line of Duty, SYFY's Dominion, Halo: Nightfall and Fox's event mini-series 24: Live Another Day. Film credits include Christmas Eve, opposite Patrick Stewart, and Johnny English: Reborn.
• Celia Rose Gooding starred as Frankie Healy in Jagged Little Pill, a musical inspired by Alanis Morissette's award-winning album, until the Broadway shutdown in 2021, and received a 2020 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her work. Past theater roles also include Urinetown and Fame.
• Jess Bush starred as Helen in the indie feature Skinford and appeared in the recurring guest role of Kendall in the Channel 10 series Playing for Keeps. Bush also played the role of Bella in the Australian series Halifax - Retribution. In addition, Bush went on to guest star on the ABC series Les Norton opposite Rebel Wilson and David Wenham.
• Melissa Navia's recent television credits include a recurring role on AMC's critically acclaimed series Dietland and guest roles on Showtime's Billions and Homeland. In March 2020, she made her Off-Broadway debut in the much-applauded Bundle of Sticks at INTAR Theatre.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds occurs during the years Captain Christopher Pike was at the USS Enterprise's helm. The series stars fan favorites from the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series will follow Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock, and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the USS Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

Akiva Goldsman wrote the series premiere based on a story he co-wrote with Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers serve as co-showrunners, with Goldsman directing the premiere episode.

Goldsman, Kurtzman, and Lumet will serve as executive producers with Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth. Aaron Baiers, Akela Cooper and Davy Perez are co-executive producers.

Goldsman remains an executive producer and part of the creative team on Star Trek: Picard. CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment produce Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group distributes the series.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is one of five Star Trek series currently in production for Paramount+. Star Trek: Discovery began filming its fourth season in November. Star Trek: Picard returned to work on season two in February. The second season of animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks is in the works, and the first season of kids' animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. Paramount+ is also the streaming home of all 726 episodes from the six classic Star Trek series and a selection of Star Trek films.

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