After nearly a year away, it’s almost time for the USS Enterprise to take flight once again! The highly anticipated second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will begin streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday, June 15.
Though technically a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, which helped usher in the new era of exciting Star Trek TV content, Strange New Worlds has forged its own unique separate path through the cosmos. Compared to other shows in the franchise right now, Strange New Worlds embraced more episodic storytelling rather than a season-long serialized story, allowing each episode to remain fresh and stand out on its own. Fortunately, Season 2 sounds no different as the Enterprise crew will traverse the stars and find themselves in unusual new locations each week.
Now, even though there was no overarching main story in Season 1, that doesn’t mean nothing happened - far from it! We were introduced to a diverse crew of newcomers and seasoned members of Starfleet, each on their own personal and professional journeys aboard the ship. So, with that said, before jumping into Season 2, keep reading below for a helpful cast and character guide to refresh you on where we last left these characters and who plays them!
Anson Mount as Christopher Pike
Pike is the intrepid captain of the USS Enterprise. Despite his lofty status, he is very down-to-earth and kind-hearted, always looking out for his fellow crew members, which he treats as equals. The Enterprise crew is his family, and he will go out of his way to support them, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be.
As we learned in Season 1, even though he often has a brave face, Pike is currently facing a personal crisis. On a previous mission (which took place onboard the USS Discovery), he unexpectedly saw his future. This revealed a dire outcome where he would become paralyzed, unable to speak, and badly disfigured, following a horrific accident. Throughout the season, we see Pike struggle to accept his fate before finally learning to live in the present and make his remaining time impactful.
Anson Mount is perhaps best known for his role as Cullen Bohannon in the TV series Hell on Wheels. He is also known for portraying Black Bolt, a Marvel superhero in the TV series Inhumans, a role which he recently reprised in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Ethan Peck as Spock
Spock is a half-Vulcan/half-human science officer aboard the ship. Strange New Worlds explores a younger version of this well-established character (originally portrayed by Leonard Nimoy), who would become Captain Kirk’s second-in-command in the original Star Trek series.
Throughout Season 1, we saw Spock grapple with his mixed cultural identity, attempting to embrace both sides of his heritage. Despite the Vulcans being against it, Spock enjoys learning about human customs to become more social and has formed strong bonds with his fellow crew members. We also explored Spock’s relationship with his Vulcan fiancée T’Pring (portrayed by Gia Sandhu). She assisted the Enterprise on a few missions, though her day job sees her rehabilitate criminals to think logically rather than emotionally, which led to their crimes. Ethan Peck has had recurring roles in TV shows such as Madam Secretary and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. He also recently appeared in the Netflix film, The Midnight Sky.
Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley / Number One
Una, though often called ‘Number One,’ is the first officer aboard the Enterprise and Pike’s second-in-command. While friendly with the crew, she is quite private and likes to remain focused on her Starfleet responsibilities.
Despite her human appearance, it is revealed in Season 1 that Una is an Illyrian, a race that genetically modifies itself. These modifications have given her enhanced physical strength and a stronger immune system that can burn out infections. She entrusts this secret with Pike as genetic alteration is against Starfleet’s laws. However, in the season finale, this secret is leaked by an unknown source, and Starfleet officers arrest Una.
Rebecca Romijn is perhaps best known for her role as Mystique in the original X-Men film trilogy. She recently portrayed Eve Baird in the TV series, The Librarians, and has also had recurring roles on shows such as Ugly Betty and NTSF:SD: SUV.
Jess Bush as Christine Chapel
Christine is a nurse aboard the Enterprise. Like Spock, Strange New Worlds explores a younger version of the character that first debuted in the original Star Trek series, portrayed by Majel Barrett.
As a nurse, Christine plays a crucial role on the ship as she helps run the Med Bay, as well as assisting the main team on expeditions to new planets. Despite the danger they all frequently face, she has a dry sense of humor that helps to lighten these situations. In Season 1, we saw Christine develop feelings for Spock, leading to awkward romantic tension between the two. Spock quickly made it clear that they were just friends as he loves T’Pring.
Portraying Christine Chapel is Jess Bush’s first major on-screen role. She has previously appeared in TV shows such as Home and Away, Playing for Keeps, and Halifax: Retribution.
Babs Olusanmokun as Joseph M’Benga
Joseph is the chief medical officer of the Enterprise. Alongside Christine, he runs the ship’s Med Bay and similarly assists the main team on planet expeditions. During Season 1, we learn that Joseph has a terminally ill daughter named Rukiya, suffering from an incurable disease. Joseph keeps her in stasis to slow down its effects while he attempts to create a cure, but unfortunately, his efforts are unsuccessful.
When the Enterprise encounters a hyper-intelligent entity, an alien consciousness without a body, it offers to take Rukiya into its care by removing her mind from her dying body. Despite the unfortunate outcome, Joseph accepts this and says goodbye to Rukiya, knowing she will finally get a chance to live her life. Babs Olusanmokun has recently starred in films such as Dune and Wrath of Man. He has also had recurring roles on TV shows such as The Defenders, Sneaky Pete, and The Widow.
Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura
Like Spock and Christine, Nyota is also a younger version of the character that debuted in the original Star Trek series, portrayed by Nichelle Nichols. In the original series, Nyota was a translator and communications officer that specialized in linguistics. However, in Strange New Worlds, her younger counterpart is a new cadet at Starfleet that is only now learning to embrace these impressive traits in the field. Given her inexperience, Nyota feels out of her element aboard the Enterprise, but fortunately, strong mentors like Pike and Una are helping guide her through her early Starfleet journey.
Nyota Uhura is Celia Rose Gooding’s first major on-screen role. Her award-winning breakout role was Mary Frances "Frankie" Healy in the Broadway show, Jagged Little Pill, which was also her Broadway debut.
Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh
La’an is the Enterprise’s young chief of security. Like Una, while friendly towards the crew, she is quite private and initially not looking for any deeper relationship. During Season 1, we learned that this stems from her traumatic childhood when her family was murdered by the Gorn. She struggles with survivor’s guilt and has remained largely closed off from people ever since, not wanting to get attached to anyone she might lose. However, as she opens up more, La’an realizes that the Enterprise crew has become her new family, making her proud to be able to protect them.
As a big surprise to fans, it was also revealed that La’an is a descendant of iconic Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh. Portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán, Khan appeared in the original TV series, as well as the follow-up film aptly titled The Wrath of Khan.
Christina Chong has recently starred in TV shows such as Bulletproof, Heirs of the Night, and Line of Duty. She also played the role of Lola in the live-action Tom & Jerry film.
Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas
Erica is the Enterprise’s hotshot helmswoman, whose impressive piloting skills have played a pivotal role in many missions. She is a quick thinker, capable of creating new maneuvers on the fly to keep the ship’s crew safe during attacks or hazardous space sectors. Apart from safety, though, part of her is wildly excited to test her abilities and the ship’s limits truly. Erica is also very sociable among the crew, being close friends with Christine.
Melissa Navia has recently appeared in guest roles on TV shows such as Billions, Homeland, and Bull. She has also starred in films such as Bel Canto and Tower of Silence.
Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk
Without a doubt, all Trekkies will know the name, James T. Kirk. Portrayed by William Shatner in the original series, he was the captain of the USS Enterprise, ultimately being Pike’s successor. However, in Strange New Worlds, we’re not that far into the franchise timeline yet as it is set ten years prior. After having a small cameo in the Season 1 finale, it’s unclear what role Kirk will play in the series moving forward, so we’re eager to find out!
Paul Wesley is perhaps best known for his role as Stefan Salvatore in the TV series, The Vampire Diaries. He has also recently starred in the anthology series, Tell Me a Story.
Dan Jeannotte as George Samuel “Sam” Kirk
Sam is James’s older brother. As a close friend of Captain Pike, he was personally invited to join the Enterprise as a crew member, working within the sciences division aboard the ship. Sam is also a family man, being married to Aurelan and having three sons (all of which have yet to appear in the show).
By Sam having a solid bond with Pike, Strange New Worlds could use this link to fill in some gaps within this largely unexplored period of the franchise’s timeline. It’s possible that the series could explore both Sam and Pike’s collective history, as well as James’s early years in Starfleet serving on the USS Farragut.
Dan Jeannotte has recently appeared in TV shows Reign, Good Witch, and The Bold Type. He has also starred in TV movies such as Lease on Love and Sweeter Than Chocolate.
Carol Kane as Pelia
Pelia is a new recurring character that will be introduced during Season 2. Following Hemmer’s (Bruce Horak) sacrifice to protect the crew from Gorn hatchlings late in Season 1, it has been revealed that she will become the Enterprise’s new chief engineer, We don’t know much else about her character yet. Still, she has been described as highly educated and intelligent with many years of experience in the field.
Carol Kane has recently appeared in TV shows such as Gotham, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Hunters. She has starred in films such as The Sisters Brothers and The Dead Don’t Die.
Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid as Mariner and Boimler
Coming up from the lower decks are Mariner and Boimler. These two characters are the stars of Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated series that features some of the more obscure and often forgotten members of the Enterprise. Both Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid return to play the live action versions of their characters in the series. The crossover episode between Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds will be a major highlight of the season.
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