Star Trek: Discovery becomes first series to spawn two direct spinoffs

Movieweb reports that Star Trek: Discovery has become the first Star Trek series to produce two direct spinoff shows, after the parent series aired its final episode in May 2024.

The first direct spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, grew out of Discovery when the recast USS Enterprise crew had prominent roles in Discovery Season 2, with Anson Mount's Captain Pike and Ethan Peck's Spock among those cast for Discovery before moving into their own series. The franchise later added a feature-length spinoff, 2025's Section 31, built around Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Philippa Georgiou after her jump from the 32nd to the 24th century in Discovery Season 3's two-part finale "Terra Firma." Section 31 has been described as the franchise's first traditional spinoff movie but was, according to the report, widely panned and largely forgotten.

Discovery's post-Season 2 timeline also led to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which debuts in January 2026 and is set after the core events of Discovery's final season in the 32nd century; the new show is described as a soft sequel to Discovery. If viewers want to follow Discovery and its direct spinoffs in order, the sequence given is Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Section 31, and Starfleet Academy. The report notes other Star Trek series have come close to multiple spinoffs but none match Discovery's tally without caveats.

Key Topics

Culture, Star Trek: Discovery, Michelle Yeoh, Sonequa Martin-green