Some of the most beloved episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series are laugh-out-loud comedies. Although the 1966-1969 series is often lauded for its ahead-of-its-time diversity and heady science fiction concepts, what all of this serious praise leaves out is that Star Trek was really fun, and often, quite funny. In fact, for decades, the most consistently cited fan-favorite episode of them all was David Gerrold’s 1967 romp, “The Trouble With Tribbles.” And when you start looking at some of the bright spots of TOS, more and more comedic episodes start cropping up. From “Shore Leave,” to “I, Mudd,” to “A Piece of the Action,” Star Trek is often hilarious.
And so, one surprise announcement at San Diego Comic-Con shouldn’t really come as a surprise at all. During the massive Hall H “Star Trek Universe” panel, the franchise revealed several trailers and developments for projects that have either completed filming or are currently in production. But right in the middle of all of that, Lower Decks star Tawny Newsome also dropped a bombshell: She and Justin Simien are developing a live-action comedy series set in the Star Trek universe. This show has not been greenlit officially nor does it have a full series pick-up at this point. According to The Hollywood Reporter: “Sources have said the show may have workplace comedy tones of The Office or Parks and Recreation.”
While we can’t start calling this show Parks and Trek just yet (as many pundits have suggested), the idea of thinking of any Star Trek as a workplace comedy is basically embedded in every iteration of the franchise since 1966, and especially since the famous second season in 1967, which gave us those pesky Tribbles. The concept of a bunch of quirky characters on a starship getting into strange, new shenanigans every week can certainly lend itself to serious drama. But, even when you take the serious Trek episodes, and write new descriptions, those episodes can sound funny, too. In other words, everyone knows that “City on the Edge of Forever” is a romantic tragedy, one in which an entire alternate timeline hangs in the balance, but you could also describe it as: “When Bones gets way too high, Kirk and Spock don’t know what to wear.” And of course, one of the highest-grossing Star Trek movies of all time — The Voyage Home (the one with the whales) — is also one of the funniest films of the 1980s.
Clearly, Simien and Newsome understand that sometimes what helps make the important and profound messages of Star Trek click, is the underlying warmth, which comes from a lot of humor. As Simien said: “Dear White People could not exist without The Next Generation.”
So, while a live-action sitcom set in the Star Trek universe might seem like a step in a strange direction — or a kind of live-action version of Lower Decks — the truth is, rewatching some of the best of the best of Trek, fans will probably agree on one thing. Sometimes the boldest thing about thoughtful science fiction is that dares to be funny.
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