‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Jonathan Frakes to Direct Two Episodes of Season 2

Jonathan “Two Takes” Frakes will step behind the camera on Star Trek: Discovery for two episodes of the show’s second season.

According to Trek FM host Justin Oser, Frakes told a panel audience at El Paso Comic Con that he will direct both the second and the tenth episodes of Star Trek: Discovery Season Two. He also revealed that the show’s second episode will feature Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise as well as young Spock and young Michael Burnham in flashbacks.

Frakes directed the Chapter Two premiere of Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season, “Despite Yourself.” He got started as a director working on episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he also played the role of Commander Will Riker of the USS Enterprise-D. He went on to direct two Star Trek movies, Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection, and episodes of spin-off series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.

Frakes revealed at a convention earlier this month that he’d be returning to Toronto to work on the new season of Star Trek: Discovery.

“Yes, I’m about to go back,” Frakes said.”I just read the first script of the second season and the outline for the second script and it’s on fire now.”

Frakes is also set to direct a season two episode of The Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s comedy love letter to Star Trek, particularly the Star Trek: The Next Generation era, which has several Star Trek veterans working on it behind-the-scenes. Frakes has expressed an appreciation for both Discovery and The Orville and the way they feed different appetites for new Star Trek stories.

“The Star Trek that we have has really found its voice, and Discovery has really found its voice,” Frakes said. “And The Orville has filled in a void. For a lot of people, The Orville is their new Star Trek because it does tell stories like [The Next Generation], and it’s got wild humor in it.

“[Seth MacFarlane] clearly wanted [The Orville] to look like [The Next Generation]. So, he hired the cinematographer [Marvin Rush] and the camera operator, and Brannon Braga, who wrote First Contact among other things that are fabulous. Robbie Duncan McNeill, one of our wonderful directors from Voyager, James Conway, who directed a bunch of great Next Gen episodes; he hired me. He filled the room with Next Gen people so that the show would look and feel like it. I think he did it.”

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream in its entirety on CBS All Access in the United States, through CraveTV in Canada, and through Netflix in other international markets.