The fun appears to be over for Captain Burnham and her crew on the USS Discovery. Paramount+ has announced that Star Trek: Discovery, its longest-running original drama series (and semi-prequel to the original Star Trek series from the ’60s), will end with its fifth season, set to debut in early 2024. Showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise confirmed the news in a letter addressed to fans on the official Star Trek site today, thanking them for their support and pointing out that the show has had a good run, having lasted 65 episodes since its premiere back in 2017—a time when Paramount+ was still known as CBS All Access. Star Trek: Picard is also on its last legs, currently in its third and final season.
“Star Trek: Discovery is a perennial favorite on the service, near and dear to the hearts of legions of Star Trek fans as well as all of us here at Paramount+,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at Paramount Streaming.
“The series and its incredible cast and creatives ushered in a new era for Star Trek when it debuted over six years ago, embracing the future of streaming with serialized storytelling, bringing to life deep and complex characters that honor Gene Roddenberry’s legacy of representing diversity and inclusion, and pushing the envelope with award-winning world-building. This final season will see our beloved crew take on a new adventure, and we can’t wait to celebrate the series’ impact on the franchise leading up to its final season early next year.”
From the official Star Trek website:
Dearest Disco Family,
You discovered the mycelial network with us. You were there when we greeted Georgiou, Spock, Pike and Una … as we jumped into the future … as our heroes restored the Federation, solved the DMA and left their home galaxy … as Michael Burnham, former mutineer, sat in the Captain’s chair for the very first time.
There is much adventure yet to come in season five – but today we share the bittersweet news that after 65 incredible episodes with Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, the upcoming season premiering in early 2024 will be our last. No series continues forever, of course, so this day was always going to come. We are forever grateful to have been able to share such an amazing journey with you.
Thank you for your love of DISCOVERY. Thank you for inviting us into your homes, and for trusting us with this show. Thank you for appreciating and supporting our incredible cast and crew. Thank you for the passion and excitement you’ve brought to this fandom – online, at conventions, and when we’ve seen you out in the world. We’ve loved meeting you, hearing what DISCOVERY means to you, and getting to share what it means to us, too. And rest assured, we’re not going anywhere just yet! There’s still work to be done to finish season five and we’re excited for you to see our exciting and satisfying conclusion. We also have some very special fan events planned for the months ahead, so that we can all celebrate DISCOVERY and our incredible cast together. More details to come on that – and on our premiere date – very soon. Until then, as Burnham would say: Let’s fly!
With much love and gratitude,
Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise