40 fantasy and sci-fi shows to watch this year
By Daniel Roman
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2
Last year was also a pretty big year for Star Trek, what with legacy sequels like Star Trek: Picard season 2, animated hits like Lower Decks and Prodigy, and debuts like Strange New Worlds. There was a lot to keep up on, but it meant that any Trek fan could easily find something to suit their tastes.
2023 looks to be no different. The first Trek show to hit the air was Picard season 3, which began airing in February and saw Patrick Stewart return as the intrepid starship captain Jean-Luc Picard. The show’s third and final season brought even more characters from The Next Generation, such as Michael Dorn’s Worf, while wrapping up the many plot threads established in the first two seasons. From all accounts, Star Trek: Picard ended on a high note.
Next up is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, which follows James T. Kirk’s predecessor Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew as they explore the galaxy aboard the USS Enterprise. Strange New Worlds has received a lot of praise for returning to the adventure-of-the-week sort of programming that was so beloved in earlier Star Trek series. Its 10-episode second season begins airing on June 15.
And yet more Star Trek!
Beyond Picard and Strange New Worlds, there are a few other Star Trek shows either coming out this year. Both The Lower Decks season 4 and Prodigy season 2 are expected to premiere this year. Lower Decks doesn’t have any sort of release window yet, but it’s been announced that Prodigy will hit sometime this winter.
One Trek show we won’t see in 2023 is the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery. That one was originally slated for a 2023 release, but has since been pushed back to 2024. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of other Trek to hold us over in the meantime.