What’s Wrong with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

A beloved, long-running property like Star Trek always attracts polarizing opinions from the many generations of its fan base. Many viewers feel that Strange New Worlds fails to meet the political moment.

Strange New Worlds is airing season 3 after a lengthy break between seasons, giving us the first new season of Trek since the change in American presidents. Episodes have varied from lighthearted examples like “A Space Adventure Hour” to the political charge of the latest entry, a mockumentary called “What Is Starfleet?”

This episode questions whether Starfleet are truly scientific explorers or the military arm of an empire, ending with the conclusion—to paraphrase—that they’re not the bad guys because Starfleet is filled with good people. It’s simple and optimistic in a politically fraught time.

What I would give for a Star Trek Andor. A Trek that actually challenged power today—that resonated not just as nostalgia, but as a rallying cry. One that spoke directly about the world we’re living in, the forces shaping it, and the struggles we face now. That’s what Trek should still dare to be.

— Jessie Gender (@jessiegender.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:27 PM

Falling under the Paramount umbrella means that Star Trek is currently under control of CBS, which recently paid a settlement to President Donald Trump’s future presidential library. Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden expressed concern that settling with Trump “would amount to bribery.”

Some felt that the settlement, in addition to the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, were maneuvers by CBS to clear the path for an $8 billion merger between Skydance and Paramount. If so, they were successful.

Star Trek has long embraced anti-capitalism and a utopian view of humanity’s future, so it’s easy to see story decisions in Strange New Worlds as shrinking away from negative attention that might endanger CBS’s standing with the current presidential administration.

Let’s be real, Trek is one of Paramount’s few money maker franchises, they’re in a good position to call shit out the way the South Park guys have been doing this season

And frankly, the fact I just wrote that sentence depresses me

— CEO of Beckett Mariner (@kariizumi.bsky.social) August 22, 2025 at 10:21 AM

Star Trek under Gene Roddenberry was legendary for refusing to be meek. The Original Series is often credited for the first interracial kiss on TV. In the midst of the Cold War, the bridge crew included a Russian character who was equally trustworthy as crewmembers with American accents. A Black woman was a senior staff member when Black women were often still represented as stereotypes, too.

Later Star Trek shows were also bold in their politics.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine spent seven seasons criticizing settler violence from Cardassians against Bajorans, which resembles Israel against Palestine. (It can be difficult to watch a later Star Trek show helmed by Anson Mount when he has criticized calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.)

Star Trek: Discovery faced frequent accusations of partisanship by leaning into it, including an appearance from politician Stacey Abrams in season four.

That said, while Star Trek often challenges social norms of its era, it also often reflects those troubling norms instead. Sexism has often been a problem with Star Trek. Depictions of race have also been deeply problematic.

Embracing Star Trek has often meant embracing these contradictions, and many fans seem satisfied by Strange New Worlds treading this familiar territory.

Star Trek has always balanced entertainment with inspirational and challenging explorations of morality, society, and progress. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect it to be a direct answer to our immediate crises or to carry such a seriousness that it stops being enjoyable.🖖🏽

— Starfleet Sohail (@starfleetsohail.bsky.social) August 22, 2025 at 2:13 AM

The simplistic assertion of Starfleet’s goodness in “What is Starfleet?” is viewed as restoring faith in the Federation almost as much as it’s seen as a failure of narrative.

Despite reservations, Strange New Worlds remains popular enough to earn this lively conversation, and it’s not so well-positioned at Paramount to save it from imminent ending. Season five will be its final, with a truncated episode order.

Author: SM Reine

Half-Tellarite SM Reine is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy. She’s been publishing since 2011 and a nerd since forever.

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