Star Trek: First Contact Day Event Announced by Paramount+, Teasing New Updates, Announcements, and Footage

On Tuesday, Paramount+ announced plans to celebrate First Contact Day on Monday, April 5th. The film Star Trek: First Contact marks April 5, 2063, as the day that humans make contact with Vulcans, humankind’s first step towards the stars. The announced virtual event will, according to a press release, “honor and commemorate this future date by providing Star Trek fans exclusive programming, including themed panels with the cast and creatives from classic and current Star Trek television series and cast from Star Trek: First Contact, exclusive news from the Star Trek Universe on Paramount+, curated episode marathons, the return of the #StarTrekUnitedGives initiative and more.” Fans can find additional information at StarTrek.com/FirstContact.

First Contact Day follows 2020’s Star Trek Day event, celebrating Gene Roddenberry’s creation that has gone on to span 55 years’ worth of stories. First Contact Day virtual programming and initiatives include:

FIRST CONTACT DAY GLOBAL PANELS (12:00-2:45 PM, PT/3:00-5:45 PM, ET):

Join hosts Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton for almost three hours of free themed virtual panels and programming that will feature cast members and creative minds from Star Trek as they discuss exploration, unity through diversity and new frontiers in the franchise, while offering exclusive sneak peeks into what’s next in the Star Trek Universe on Paramount+.

The panels will serve as the global centerpiece of First Contact Day, and each will uniquely honor the legacy and importance of the core values of acceptance and exploration in Star Trek while creating a memorable experience for fans. In addition, Star Trek updates, announcements, and footage will be showcased throughout.

The First Contact Day themed panels and panelists are as follows:

• Star Trek: First Contact 25th Anniversary Panel, featuring cast members Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, and Alice Krige as they discuss behind-the-scenes memories and the film’s importance 25 years after its premiere.
• “Creating First Contacts” Panel, Costume Designer Gersha Phillips (STAR TREK: DISCOVERY), Senior Concept Designer Neville Page, VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman and Make-up & Prosthetics Department Head James Mackinnon (STAR TREK: PICARD) come together in conversation about creating the incredible worlds of Star Trek, as seen in STAR TREK: DISCOVERY and STAR TREK: PICARD.
• “Women In Motion” Panel, featuring STAR TREK: DISCOVERY’S Sonequa Martin-Green, STAR TREK: PICARD’s Michelle Hurd and Isa Briones, and STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS’ Dawnn Lewis as they look back at how “Star Trek: The Original Series” actress Nichelle Nichols helped pave the way for women of color on television and overall, her lasting impact on not only Star Trek” but science and culture.
• “Second Contact” Panel, Mike McMahan, the creator of STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, Paul F. Tompkins, the co-host of “Star Trek: The Pod Directive” and Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation discuss how some of the hilarious B-stories from past series like Star Trek: The Next Generation paved the way for new iterations of “Star Trek,” including STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, the Star Trek franchise’s first animated comedy.
• STAR TREK: PRODIGY Panel, series executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman are joined by Captain Kathryn Janeway herself of Star Trek: Voyager and Kate Mulgrew, who is reprising her role in animated form in PRODIGY, as they talk about the highly anticipated upcoming CG-animated kids series from Nickelodeon and CBS Studios.

Fans worldwide will be able to livestream the First Contact Day panels for free at StarTrek.com/FirstContact. The panels will also be available to stream for free in the U.S. on PlutoTV and Paramount+’s Twitch page.

After their initial airing, the panels will be available on-demand on Paramount+’s YouTube Channel and on Paramount+.

#STARTREKUNITEDGIVES CAMPAIGN

On April 5, for every person that tweets the hashtag StarTrekUnitedGives (#StarTrekUnitedGives), Paramount+ will donate $1 to organizations who do the real-world work of championing equality, social justice and the pursuit of scientific advancements.

“BEST OF FIRST CONTACTS” EPISODIC STREAMING MARATHON, PRESENTED BY PARAMOUNT+ (9:00 AM, PT/12:00 PM, ET)

For fans based in the U.S. only, First Contact Day celebrations will kick off with part one of a streaming marathon of episodes featuring iconic first contacts from 10 different Star Trek series. The marathon will pause for the duration of the First Contact Day global panels and will resume with part two after the panels conclude.

The “Best of First Contacts” streaming marathon schedule on Monday, April 5 is as follows:

• 9:00 AM, PT/12:00 PM, ET – “Best of First Contacts” Star Trek Episodic Marathon, Part 1 begins
• 12:00 PM, PT/3:00 PM, ET – Part 1 of Marathon Concludes; First Contact Day panels begin
• 2:45 PM, PT/5:45 PM, ET – “Best of First Contacts” Star Trek Episodic Marathon, Part 2 begins
• 6:00 PM, PT/9:00 PM, ET – Marathon concludes; First Contact Day panels replay

The “Star Trek” episodes included in the “Best of First Contacts” streaming marathon are as follows:

• Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 1, Episode 18 – “Arena”
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 1, Episode 1 – “Second Contact”
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 4, Episode 7 – “Little Green Men”
• Star Trek: Short Treks: Season 2, Episode 6 –”Children of Mars”
• Star Trek: Voyager: Season 4, Episode 1 – “Scorpion, Part 2”
• Star Trek: Discovery: Season 2, Episode 2 – “New Eden”
• Star Trek: The Animated Series: Season 1, Episode 7 – “The Infinite Vulcan”
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Season 1, Episode 6 – “The Andorian Incident’
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 4, Episode 15 – “First Contact”
• Star Trek: Picard: Season 1, Episode 8 – “Broken Pieces”

The marathon of episodes will be available to stream for free at StarTrek.com/FirstContact for viewers based in the U.S. only.

OFFICIAL “STAR TREK” MERCHANDISE SALE

The official Star Trek Shop is offering 20% off all merchandise, including special First Contact Day products. Please visit https://shop.startrek.com/ on April 5 to access and learn more about the sale.

FIRST CONTACT DAY SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR FANS

Calling all Star Trek fans! On April 5, fans are encouraged to share their point of “first contact” with the Star Trek Universe, whether it’s a memory from when they first connected with a series or film or the moment they felt represented on screen. Use the hashtags #StarTrek, #FirstContactDay and #FirstContact for a chance to be retweeted by the official “Star Trek” Twitter handles.

Are you excited to celebrate First Contact Day? Let us know in the comments.