Since 2020, the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks has been boldly doing something no other Star Trek show has done before: Making fun of itself while also paying loving homage to what came before it. When it debuted between Picard Season 1 and Discovery Season 3, Lower Decks quickly asserted itself as a cheeky throwback. Sporting Next Generation vibes and set at a point in the Trek timeline that reminds everyone of the 1990s, Lower Decks assimilated the core demographic of diehard Trekkies to its cause fairly quickly.
Somewhat uniquely, the entire run of Lower Decks is notable for one specific thing: At no point did the series undergo a radical reinvention or shift in tonal style. Rotten Tomatoes will tell you that Lower Decks got better in Season 2, but the truth is, the show has always been good. And with its fifth and final season dropping October 24 on Paramount+, Lower Decks isn’t going out with a bang or a whimper. It’s simply being itself. The show will have 50 episodes under its belt by the end of this final season, and relatively speaking, these episodes represent the most consistent Star Trek writing of the 21st century.
