Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was one day away from production starting when the Hollywood strikes hit, but it's thankfully now able to head back into production with earnest. Based on the latest report regarding the filming schedule, it will likely be a while before we can watch Season 3 with our Paramount+ subscription. But now that some of production details have allegedly been unearthed, I have a suggestion for how the streaming service could deliver fans new episodes as soon as possible.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is allegedly planning for a seven-month-long Season 3 production that would stretch from December 2023 to June 2024. Add to that the months that it will take to bring in special effects and other post-production duties to add in the numerous special effects for episodes (and the fact that there are several other upcoming Trek shows that are also in production), and it seems very unlikely that the season will be completely polished before 2025 arrives. As such, I'm suggesting Paramount+ apply a different release schedule for the upcoming season, which would hopefully keep fans happy and entertained during what could be a massive wait.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Should Split Season 3's Release
If Star Trek: Strange New Worlds allegedly takes up half of 2024 just in the filming stages, it would take a miracle for the entirety of Season 3 to be release-ready within the same year. I don't think it's realistic or wise for the show to rush the process either, especially for the sake of quality. At the same time, I'm desperate to see the resolution to Season 2's cliffhanger ending, so a split season feels like it could be a winning solution.
If Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was able to split the release of the presumably ten-episode Season 3 into two parts, we could potentially get 5 new episodes airing in early-ish 2025 while the second would still be in prep mode for later in that year. Paramount+ went that route with the first seasons of both Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Prodigy, so it's not like this is an unheard-of release tactic. With that said Strange New Worlds has not split up its seasons in the past, though it has never really had a reason to do so.
Why Paramount+ Splitting Strange New Worlds Season 3 Is Best For Fans
While obviously not an intentionally rude move by the powers that be, there's something cruel about the idea that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fans may have to wait nearly two years between that Season 2 finale cliffhanger and whatever the resolution is in the Season 3 premiere. Sure, the coming months will bring the final season of Discovery, new seasons of Lower Decks and Prodigy, and even a Hallmark Christmas movie that Trek vet Jonathan Frakes thinks fans will like, but it's still hard to ignore the absence.
Nobody wants to wait until the middle of 2025 to see how everythings shakes out for the Gorn, nor to see what will come after the possibly real story behind what M'Benga did in "Under The Cloak Of War." As such, I'm humbly pleading for the bosses at Paramount+ and Star Trek to consider splitting up the episodes of Season 3 so we can enjoy Strange New Worlds' return as soon as possible. If nothing else, at least give us the episode that Jonathan Frakes is working on, since he confirmed to CinemaBlend that he's back working on Season 3.
Stream Star Trek: Strange New Worlds right now over on Paramount+. Anyone feeling impatient may want to hold off on re-watching the seasons right now, since there might be a wait before we can see new episodes again.
