While it is technically the newest member of the Paramount+ family of Star Trek shows, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has blazed a trail among the fan base, uniting factions of classic purists with those looking for innovation and surprises.
Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn, as the Enterprise’s Captain Pike and First Officer Una Chin-Riley, respectively, were left at a crossroads by the season finale, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 10, when Chin-Riley was taken into custody for concealing her Illyrian-ness.
Meanwhile, Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun face a dramatically different season as Chapel and M’Benga. Their characters grapple with powerful emotions, with Chapel’s relationship with Spock deepening and M’Benga facing a future without his daughter’s presence.
Speaking with the press via Zoom, Mount and Romijn share how they felt embarking on making Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 when Season 1 had been lauded so highly.
Romijn recognizes their success as a double-edged sword. “Sometimes it’s a little more pressure, you know? As Anson has mentioned before, we’ve seen shows where the second season doesn’t compare to the first season.
“So we really wanted to make Season 2 bigger and better than Season 1, and we took some real chances, took some big swings, genre-wise, and tried a lot of things. We’re excited to share it with everyone.”
Mount credits Season 1 with building Paramount+’s confidence in the production team.
“We really had the benefit of a network that had learned to trust our showrunners when they wanna take big swings. [It’s] also their investment. As you see, we continue to build out the ship. Just tremendous ship support from the network in that way.”
Romijn acknowledges that the most exciting thing in Season 2 for her is Una facing her biggest secret.
“Having worked on [Season 2] Episode 2 and seeing how Una finally frees herself of having lived inauthentically for so many years, I think freeing herself from that and moving forward and letting her crew and everyone know who she is feels like it is a great metamorphosis for the character. It’s going to be fun moving on from that.”
As captain and first officer, Pike and Una’s teamwork epitomizes a successful partnership. While both have their personal vulnerabilities and insecurities, they lean into their connection to be the best leaders for their crew.
Mount shares how he and Romijn have built a backstory for Pike and Chin-Riley’s bond. “We were just talking earlier about how our sense of our relationship, the corners you kind of write in yourself as an actor, in that we’ve been friends since the Academy.
“I believe that Una has become that friend and confidante for Pike that actually is able to show him those things that I’m always so critical about, that are swirling around in my head, that I think are my weaknesses.
“When you turn those around, those can be seen as strengths as well. But you can’t dwell on it. You gotta be active, and that’s why she’s so important to his being a captain.”
Romijn adds, “I think there’s a level of family there also that bleeds down into the crew. I think that we’ve developed this family dynamic — and I guess we’re the mom and dad in a way [laughs] — but I think that there’s been a deep support and level of trust within their relationship that [affects] the rest of the crew.”
Romijn and Mount promise that Season 2 will be full of surprises for viewers.
Romijn lauds the writers with the delightful energy the season sustains right to the end. “We have a few episodes coming up after [the first six] that are really out there, so we’re very proud of them. We’re very excited.
“Anson mentioned earlier that sometimes when you get to Episode 9, which is almost at the end of the season, everyone’s kind of tired, everyone’s sort of almost ready to go home. [But] they brought us this episode that was so out there.
“It required us to work on weekends, and we were all so excited about it; it was like this extra wind behind our sails we needed at that point in the season. So we’re really excited to share all these different genres we worked in.”
Mount reiterates the importance of the freedom the network’s given the showrunners after proving themselves with Season 1’s success.
“Y’know, we had a couple of episodes in the first season that they weren’t too sure about, and both of those episodes were ones that popped for us. So they gave our showrunners a lot more freedom to play with genre.
“Akiva [Goldsman] ‘s mantra continues to be Star Trek can be a lot of things. So we’re not just playing with the message that can be told, but within the episodic structure, we can play with how we get there.
“And genre has been a fun way of us talking with the writers about what we haven’t done that what we would like to do that makes everybody excited to be there, right? I think [the excitement level] is often an undervalued currency in filmmaking. Especially in television.”
With all the changes in store for Una and Pike, it’s reasonable that the actors find new ways to approach their characters.
Romijn points to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 2 again as the turning point for Una. “I think after Episode 2, Una gets freed up and is no longer hiding, is no longer living in shame with this shameful secret she’s been hiding all these years.
“Moving forward, that’s gonna be very different for her.”
Mount shares how the writers and the actors now collaborate because the characters are established in the actors’ psyches. “There is this great thing that happens around Season 2 of a TV show when you’re working with smart writers like we are.
“You’ll find them starting to come to you a bit because there is a sense of the character you have from the inside that they’re trying to get to from the outside. Conversations about arcs can often lead to really fruitful ideas, and they have been very proactive about doing that with us.”
Throughout Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Mount’s Captain Pike carried the weight of knowing his future self would end his days bitter, brutally mutilated, and in great pain. The Season 1 finale saw him come to terms with that. Mount recognizes it as a significant part of the character’s arc.
“That was THE question that we had to deal with. We had to deal with that, not to get past it, but to get Pike back on mission and through the existential crisis for the most part.
“You don’t want to entirely forget it because then you’re leaving behind a very important aspect of the character, which I think makes him brave in a different way than we’ve seen every other captain.
“But you want to get the navel-gazing out of the way, so we did that. It’s always been an aspect of the character that his challenge continues to be – and I want it to continue to be for a while – reminding himself that the journey is the destination and not the other way around.
“I think that the introduction of the relationship with Captain Batel has been a very important part of that.”
One of the most highly-anticipated episodes of the upcoming season is the Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover, wherein Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid board the Enterprise as the live-action representations of their respective characters, Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Bradward Boimler.
Romijn — whose IRL husband, Jerry O’Connell, plays Commander Ransom, the Number One on the USS Cerritos — can’t say enough about working with Newsome and Quaid. “[It was] ridiculously fun. Just so fun. They both have such great backgrounds in improv, and they never did the same thing twice. They did something different. They took it off the page and played with it in every single take.
Mount interjects, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen guest stars come with such ownership of the material before.”
It helped to have yet another Number One behind the camera; Romijn adds, “Having Jonathan Frakes there was very important to sort of massage the two worlds so that it was cohesive.
“They come from this animated show, and now they’re on the Enterprise, which is a very, very different tone. It was really important that he was there to meld those tones.”
Mount agrees, “I don’t think anybody else could’ve directed the episode.”
The Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover will air as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 7.
Sitting down next with Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun, it’s hard not to draw parallels between the ship’s command team and their medical leads, Doctor Joseph M’Benga and Nurse Christine Chapel, another stellar professional pairing whose partnership carries the wellness and safety of the crew in the strength of its bond.
Both Bush and Olusanmokun feel making Season 2 has been a glorious stretch for the series that elevates it even above the excellence of Season 1.
Bush illustrates the feel of Season 2 with a kinesthetic comparison. “The vibe on set was like we had worked out that we were making something good so we could lean into that.
“It was more of a freedom it felt to push boundaries. I didn’t experience it as pressure. I think that that’s because the writers did such a good job of leveling it up in every way.
“They created this framework for us to just push it, and there was a lot of confidence. It was a hoot! It was great! It’s like when you try a cartwheel for the first time, and it’s rusty, and then you’re like, ‘I can do this!’ so you then really do the cartwheel, ya know? It was great.”
Olusanmokun isn’t so sure about the comparison. “My cartwheels are terrible. [But] there was no pressure. The pressure comes from within, but within that pressure, there is a freedom because we love doing this work.”
As seen in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 trailer, both Chapel and M’Benga find themselves in more physical situations. Did the actors enjoy the change of pace?
Bush is totally on board with this kick-ass version of Chapel. “It was awesome. I was so excited about it.
“Me, Jess, is really physical, and I’m happiest when I’m expending all of my energy outwards and climbing things and jumping off things and rolling around, so for me, it was great.
“I loved getting that first script and seeing that ahead. And for Chapel, it was really interesting to tap into what would drive her to that point emotionally. Because she’s naturally a loving and caring person, it was cool to investigate that for her.”
Olusanmokun agrees, ‘Yeah, it was fantastic, it was fantastic. It was really exciting to prepare for those things. To make sure we got it right. That it looked fresh. And different. So it took quite a bit of work, but we were very excited to do it.”
After concealing his daughter’s existence inside the medical bay’s transporter for much of Season 1, M’Benga was forced to let her go on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 8 after a non-corporeal entity offered her a life without pain or death.
As much of M’Benga’s energy had been focused on finding a cure for his daughter, how has M’Benga’s motivations changed with his daughter’s absence?
Olusanmokun is thoughtful in his response. “I believe he’s still finding his way initially. He’s decided he’s going to soldier on, shall we say, and try to find the beauty of his daughter in the rest of humanity, but it’s a struggle, of course.
It is not an event that can simply be washed away with time. But he goes forward, goes forward to see what the future will bring.”
When asked what the biggest Season 2 challenges were, Bush and Olusanmokun are tantalizingly vague.
Bush opens the door a crack. “I think as a performer myself, the ones that are the most challenging emotionally are the ones that are the most enjoyable. It’s where there’s the most to be found artistically, and there’s a lot of that in [Season 2] Episode 8.
“I loved doing Episode 8 with Babs. It was one of my favorites from the entire two seasons, and working with Jeff Byrd, he’s incredible. He’s an actor’s director. He’s really, really, really wonderful, and I think he made us both feel really safe to find the truth of that episode. That stretched me and stretched Chapel a lot, that experience.”
Olusanmokun concurs, “Likewise. Discovering or revealing the vulnerability of the characters. There’s always something, and it’s always a challenge, but revealing it truthfully is also a bigger challenge. If one can get through it, if one can make something of it, it is very rewarding. It is a part of the work that I embrace very much also.”
Similarly, they are irritatingly spoiler-free when asked what Season 2 moments are most rewarding.
“Surprisingly,” begins Bush, “This surprised me when it happened, but it was the times when Chapel got to lean into a pure joy, really soften into a pure joy.
“That was really illuminating for me about her, and it was also extremely vulnerable in a way that I didn’t expect. I found that very, very rewarding.”
“Perhaps somewhere in Episode 8 – we can’t reveal much of it,” teases Olusanmokun, “But somewhere in there, there was a moment where I was like, ‘Okay, this is going much deeper.’
“It felt epic. I hope that was captured. I hope that is what you see onscreen, but it felt epic as we made a good chunk of Episode 8 for me personally.”
As with Pike and Una’s history, it’s clear that Chapel and M’Benga have done more than run a sick bay together. Will Season 2 reveal that backstory?
Olusanmokun assures us that it is in the cards. “We’re going to see some of their past history, how they came to be, how they came together as compadres. It’s written beautifully, and of course, we then tried to mold it as much as possible with our performances.
“It’s been something. It was really lovely to do. It was really lovely to experience. We maybe go over a scene together while waiting.
“I know what I do [to prepare], but I also see that Jess comes quite prepared, and so when we land in front of each other, or the camera’s rolling, there’s a lot to work with. That’s all you can ever ask of your scene partner. There’s a lot of giving and taking and being open.
Regarding their scene sharing, Bush acknowledges how close Chapel and M’Benga are. “Speaking for myself, I think it’s just about staying open and curious when we’re together on set and in discovery mode.
“There is definitely a lot of deepening of the relationship with Chapel and M’Benga in this season, and we get to go through a lot together. It’s something that I’ve really enjoyed. I think it’s been a beautiful deepening of both of their stories separately and entwined. Very heartful, very heartful.”
Chapel’s relationship with Spock is a major throughline of Season 2, both scandalous for canon-watchers and titillating for shippers. Bush remains cagey in responding, “It’s just going to get really complicated. I [have to] keep it vague, but I can tell you that much. Complications intensify. Let’s say that.”
At the same time, Olusanmokun is bemused as M’Benga has to watch the shenanigans unfold as objectively as possible.
He prioritizes M’Benga’s working relationship with Chapel but can’t help but see the sparks fly. “I think with our history, I just try to look away but then try to be supportive as much as possible. It’s your workmate, so you gotta be respectful. [But, it’s also] Spock. Hats off to you, Mr. Spock.”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres on June 15 on Paramount+.
Diana Keng is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond ’til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on Twitter.