Star Trek: Discovery goes where the series has never gone before - The Verge

But the series I’m most interested in is Star Trek: Discovery, because it boldly goes where no other Star Trek series has ever gone before.

Discovery leaping forward 950 years into the future, from the 23rd Century to the 32nd, which is to say an era where no Star Trek show has ever been set.

Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), the series protagonist, begins the season the way the previous one ended: in a time travel suit, plunging into a wormhole, with the Discovery and its crew following her.

Across the first four episodes made available to critics, Burnham and the rest of the crew unite and have a series of mostly standalone adventures, touring a transformed galaxy?

This is the kind of wonky stuff Star Trek is all about, and it’s thrilling to see Discovery go all-in while also doing some pretty great sci-fi action.

Apart from the narrative, Discovery also strides towards better real-world representation — new faces include Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander, the first trans and non-binary actors cast in Star Trek — but the success of those leaps forward largely hinges on whether or not later episodes take new characters in new directions, beyond the episodes they’re introduced in.