The biggest surprise of the Star Trek Universe panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con was the announcement that a live-action Star Trek comedy was in the works. The project will be led by Lower decks Star and Starfleet Academy Writer Tawny Newsome works with Dear White Producer/Director Justin Simien. And there are some new comments from Simien that provide insight into their approach to a completely new kind of show for Trek.

Live-action comedy inspired by DS9 (and TNG)

In a just-released SDCC video, Simien tells TVLine that he and Newsome are still in the “very early stages” of developing the show, which doesn’t even have a title yet, but he “feels really good” about the project. He talked about how he and Newsome first came into contact when he was a guest on the official Star Trek podcast (the Pod Policy in 2021), which Newsome hosts. And those discussions evolved into a pitch they made to Alex Kurtzman. Simien talked about how Star Trek was his first fandom and explained what inspired him and Newsome:

“(The) comedy pitch for Star Trek actually came from our natural love of those bottle episodes, particularly on DS9, where there were no adventures, but it was more like a character drama/comedy.”

Simien added:

“I think DS9 is a big, big inspiration. But also … those episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation where it wasn’t so plot-heavy. Where it was more like hanging out with a character for a day and getting to see their perspective on a bigger thing. Those were always my favorite episodes and so we just decided to make a show that was made up of our favorite parts.”

Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome (Sarah Coulter/Paramount+)

Simien agreed with the interviewer that he and Newsome look back at the Trek tradition of standalone episodes as opposed to the modern, more serialized era:

“Yeah, because (in modern shows) there are 13 episodes and you have to keep the story arc in the script. But yeah, we kind of craved episodes that exist within a 39-episode season where you have time to just hang out with Quark for a second. So we came up with something in that space.”

The new show is being developed by CBS Studios for Paramount+. At SDCC, CBS gave us this official logline for the project:

Federation outsiders serving a shining vacation planet learn that their daily heroic deeds are broadcast across the quadrant.

During the SDCC panel, Simien and Newsome hinted that the film would be set in the 25th century, last seen in Star Trek: Picard. It has also been suggested that the “shiny resort” is Risa, the tropical vacation planet featured in several Star Trek series. The series was conceived as a workplace comedy in the style of The office And Parks and Recreation. It makes sense that the potential series would reference DS9, as it is Tawny Newsome’s declared favorite show. Perhaps we could see some of the old DS9 characters and actors in the new show if it ever gets the green light.

Picard relaxes on Risa in the TNG episode “Captain’s Holiday”

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