As the Star Trek franchise has evolved in the last few years, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has become this era's version of Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Pike and the Starship Enterprise return in Strange New Worlds season 2 to continue "the next great age of exploration" in the 23rd century. Also renewed for season 3, which is mounting production, Strange New Worlds is primed as the new flagship series of Star Trek on Paramount+.
Strange New Worlds has the distinction of being the first Star Trek series that fans actually demanded and received. Most other Star Trek shows were studio or producers' decisions, but Strange New Worlds is the result of how popular Anson Mount was when he played Captain Pike in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Pike, Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) won fans over on Discovery, and they received their own spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which was wildly acclaimed, with season 1 receiving a 99% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, with the end of Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek on Paramount+ continues to transition and make big changes to the franchise, which leaves Captain Pike in a position previously occupied by Captain Janeway in the 1990s.
How Captain PIke Became Star Trek's New Janeway
As it currently stands, Captain Pike is now the only male lead of a Star Trek series on Paramount+. This reverses the paradigm in the 1990s when Captain Janeway was the first and only female lead of a Star Trek show. Every other Star Trek on Paramount+ series is currently led by a female Captain. Star Trek: Discovery season 5, which is the final season, is headlined by Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Star Trek: Lower Decks' USS Cerritos is led by Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis). Star Trek: Prodigy's main character is Admiral Janeway. If the Star Trek: Picard spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, happens, Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) will be the show's centerpiece aboard the USS Enterprise-G.
Captain Pike is now a singular presence in Star Trek on Paramount+, and he's both a throwback and a modernization of the classic Star Trek Captain. The mold was set by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), and Star Trek Captains continued to evolve thanks to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), and Kathryn Janeway. Star Trek: Enterprise's Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) was also a throwback, but Pike is a dynamic fusion of leadership, compassion, wisdom, and the necessary curiosity it takes to command the Enterprise. Pike embodies many of the best aspects of Star Trek's past Captains, and he's the only male in the current field.
Star Trek Is Now Very Different From The 1990s
Star Trek on Paramount+ has significantly changed the franchise and made it more inclusive and progressive than it was during Star Trek's 1990s heyday. 30 years ago, Star Trek still followed the mold set by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s, and the television industry was also very different than it is today. It was revolutionary in the 1990s for Avery Brooks to become Star Trek's first Black lead, but Benjamin Sisko had to start off as a Commander until he became a Captain after 3 seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Kate Mulgrew received fanfare as Star Trek's female Captain to lead a Star Trek series, but Star Trek: Voyager (and Janeway) were subjected to harsh studio and audience scrutiny.
After J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies reinvigorated and upgraded the franchise, Star Trek: Discovery set a new paradigm by introducing Michael Burnham, a Black female lead character. Since then, Black female leads like Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) in Star Trek: Lower Decks are now commonplace, and Star Trek has stacked its roster with female POC leads like Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, who will star in Star Trek: Section 31. As Star Trek evolves to represent all audiences, Captain Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now the reverse of Captain Janeway once was, as the lone male lead bridging Star Trek's past with its exciting future.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 premieres June 15, 2023, on Paramount+.