- calendar_today August 30, 2025
Strange New Worlds Season 3 Adds New Recurring Cast Members
Paramount+ has officially released the first trailer for season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the fourth season of which premieres July 17, 2025. The studio had previously only shared a teaser trailer for the season back in April, but now, fans finally get to see some extended footage for what’s to come next for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Season 2 of Strange New Worlds saw the crew under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) exploring an uninhabited Federation colony world when they were ambushed by the Gorn, who were in the process of also invading the planet. The Enterprise crew was then forced to defend the colony as they were attacked, and several members were ultimately captured along with a group of other hostages and survivors. At the end of the season, Pike was forced to make a tough decision: either follow orders and leave the hostages behind or defy Starfleet and risk his career by going after them. Fans know what decision Pike ultimately made, and season 3 will continue his efforts to save those left behind.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will continue to follow the Enterprise under Pike’s command. The series has already confirmed that the crew will see a conclusion to the storyline with the Gorn, but they will also encounter a new villain, who will test their loyalties, their bravery, and their tenacity to their very core. While the third season will continue to see some more standard Trek episodes in it, as well as ones dedicated to faith, duty, and romance, fans can also expect genre episodes, some centered around comedy and others around mystery. The trailer teases some episodes that will have more of a comedic tone than others as well, saying that the show “will take you on genre adventures, something Star Trek series have not done before.”
The main and recurring cast of the series will all be returning for the third season, with many of them reprising their roles from Strange New Worlds or other Star Trek series. New to the third season will be Cillian O’Sullivan, who is set to play the role of Dr. Roger Korby, an original character who has previously been portrayed by Michael Strong on Star Trek: The Original Series. In the Strange New Worlds canon, Korby was an award-winning archaeologist specializing in medical archaeology and was Chapel’s missing fiancé, who had suddenly resurfaced. His reappearance will undoubtedly cause tension and drama both personally and professionally for Chapel, as she and Spock (Ethan Peck) are now in a relationship.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will also have guest appearances from both Rhys Darby and Patton Oswalt, who are both expected to play their comedic characters. The teaser trailer for the season, in April, played up some of the variety in terms of the genres that the show will play with in the third season, showing both action scenes, but also a seemingly lighter side subplot. The new trailer also continues to play into this mix of tones.
In the final clip teased in the trailer, James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) is in the captain’s seat, where he sits to be trained by Pike as the new captain. While it’s unclear how directly Kirk will be involved in the events of the season, it is established in the teaser that he only sits in the captain’s chair for this one scene. For the few moments that Kirk is captain, Pike gives him advice on what it means to be a Starfleet captain: “The choices you make in that chair, they are yours to make and yours to live with.”
The trailer, however, ends on a more comedic note. After sitting through the dramatic first moments of the trailer, fans are treated to a Spock and Oswalt’s Vulcan character comedic exchange. The scene, which was likely left at the end of the trailer to show the viewer that this show will indeed have comedy mixed in with the typical Trek moments, has Spock beginning to teach the Vulcan how to do a “high five.” First, he demonstrates it, and it is a success, then the Vulcan says he wants to go “down low,” so Spock uses the now-famous “too slow” move, to which the Vulcan replies, “Why would you do that?” Spock deadpans, “Because you are too slow.”
Episode 1 and Premiere Date of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will officially premiere on Paramount+ on July 17, 2025, with new episodes released every Thursday through September 11, 2025. This will give fans of the series almost two months of new content in the third season.
The show has already been renewed for a fourth season. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been one of the more popular new entries in the Trek franchise in recent years. This is because it is combining episodic adventures, grander story arcs, and visual flair to help it stake its claim as a unique show. The third season, with its blend of both more character-driven plots as well as action-packed and sometimes more comedic ones, will hopefully be no different.
