If you’ve spent some time laughing at with the Star Trek: Lower Decks Beta Shift team, you’ll be happy to know that the team behind the series plans to keep you laughing through at least another season and — hopefully — with some new products.
After fans at New York Comic Con (NYCC) got to watch the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, The Pop Insider had a chance to speak with creator Mike McMahan and learn more about Season 5, potential merchandise, and more.
Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the low-ranking crew members on the starship U.S.S. Cerritos, expanding the Star Trek universe as the second animated Star Trek series. Although the series introduces new characters and missions, the team behind the show is heavily invested in respecting the events and crew members from other Star Trek content.
At the panel, McMahan highlighted how he writes the animated series with respect for other canon content. As a result, the show — which relates themes of chosen family and finding your identity in your 20s and 30s alongside your co-workers — alludes to Star Trek tropes and characters from throughout the franchise.
Lower Decks fans who attended the panel also got updates about other Star Trek properties. Specifically, Star Trek: Discovery is in its fifth and final season, Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New World is in the works, and Star Trek 31 is moving forward as planned. The panelists also announced that Tawny Newsome, the voice of Mariner in Lower Decks, is part of the writing team for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which will hopefully start shooting next year.
Here at The Pop Insider, we’re all about the merch, and McMahan had plenty to say about Star Trek: Lower Decks products. According to McMahan, there are a few specific products he wants to see made. He also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic messed up some things for Lower Decks products, as merch has to be ordered a year in advance.
“Here’s the merch I’ve actually already pitched that’s never been made, but I would love,” he said. “Number one, I want an action figure line in the style of Lower Decks, but that’s also every other Star Trek show ever. You can have Kirk or Spock or Jadzia or Archer or anybody in the Lower Decks (animation) style, so you can have this new thing that’s fun to collect and watch grow.”
McMahan mentioned his love of action figures and how he would like to see his two kids play with the Lower Decks-style collectible line, if that dream of his comes true. We’re manifesting a wave of Star Trek cats in this line, too!
The second product that he — and, let’s be honest, most Star Trek fans — would love to see? The planets of Star Trek. “I want them to make inflatable beach ball planets that have a tiny little Micro Machine ship attached to the side in orbit. I would buy every planet,” McMahan said. “I want inflatable planets and tons of action figures.”
McMahan’s final consumer product suggestion goes beyond the toy shelf and into the world of content expansion. He would love to see a series of soft-cover, Lower Decks tie-in novels that could expand the series. And he has a very specific vision for how to do it.
“I even said ‘Guys, I’ll work with them,'” McMahan said. “Let’s find great young, never-been-published fan-fiction writers, and let’s give them stories. Then make the covers all match and do a box set. Make them, like, f**k up canon and all sorts of stuff. Really good novels where you read back and you’re like, ‘This is wrong.’ But that’s what’s fun about it.” Stay tuned, fan-fiction writers! This could be your time to shine.
McMahan also expressed where he would love to see the series go, and provided exclusive insight to what could possibly happen in future seasons. He wants to explore the individual Bridge Crew members, sharing that he would like each character to have a standalone episode.
The Lower Decks team is currently writing the Season 5 finale, and McMahan noted that T’Lyn fans should get excited because she will be featured heavily next season. The creator and Star Trek fanatic also teased that “There is, if the deals work out, some Enterprise love in Season 5.” If those deals work out and Star Trek: Lower Decks features the Enterprise, fans will be in for a treat!
He also had some advice for fans, especially those who understand how easy it is for shows to randomly get canceled or removed from streaming platforms. “Don’t worry that Lower Decks is going away,” he said. “Celebrate it by watching it now. You know, you’re never going to get to do it again: watch it when it airs and be surprised by it.”
Hopefully, Star Trek: Lower Decks fans (including McMahan) will get to see the action figure line and inflatable planets sometime in the future. Until then, you’ll have to follow McMahan’s advice and keep up with Season 4 in real time on Paramount+!
