Jonathan Frakes promises Star Trek: Discovery is “back on track” after “emo” season 4

After some years in hibernation, the Star Trek TV franchise roared back to life with Star Trek: Discovery, which took the series into the future. Soon enough, we also got throwback series like Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as well as comedic fare like Star Trek: Lower Decks. The final frontier got real crowded real quick.

Discovery has actually been among the more controversial of these new series. Some fans liked its new approach to Star Trek while others thought it was too different and unfamiliar. For its upcoming fifth and final season, it’s apparently making a course correction, at least according to franchise mainstay Jonathan Frakes.

Frakes joined the Star Trek universe by playing William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He soon transitioned into directing, helming episodes of TNG as well as the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact. He recently appeared as Riker in the third and final season of Picard and directed the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which will air sometime next year.

Star Trek: Discovery was given “marching orders” to be less of a downer in fifth and final season

Speaking to Star Trek Explorer magazine, Frakes teased what’s coming in Discovery season 5. “Discovery, by the way, is Indiana Jones this year instead of the heavy emo of season four,” he said. “Discovery is back on track as an action-adventure show, and I guess they got their marching orders to maintain that. Everybody has embraced it, from [co-showrunners] Michelle Paradise and Alex [Kurtzman], down through the cast. There’s a new energy and a new mandate.”

"It was a thrill for me to try to find some levity in some of those [Discovery] scenes. That’s why First Contact was successful, because you build and then add just a little levity to let the steam out, so you can restart. That’s why Deadpool is such a fabulous franchise, because it doesn’t hurt. Audiences can handle levity. The Indiana Jones reference is a perfect example. Nobody does that better than Spielberg."

Cutting the drama with some comedy is an age-old technique. We know Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is on tap for 2024, but we don’t know exactly when.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t TrekMovie.com