Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is Ending With Season 5

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showrunner Akiva Goldsman explains why the show is set to end after its fifth season. Debuting as the 11th Star Trek TV series, Strange New Worlds premiered in September 2022, and received positive reception for its storytelling and talented, diverse cast, winning two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Per Collider, Goldsman discussed how Paramount+ only wanted the show to run four seasons, but that he and the team were committed to concluding the show in the most satisfying way to make the transition to The Original Series as smooth as possible. The studio agreed and allowed them to do a truncated final season to help with this.

The original messaging from the studio was that they wanted us to be done after 4. We had made a commitment to the fan base, and to the narrative, that we would get right up against [The Original Series], like we'd abutt it.

Because there are a lot of folks from canon who are either different or who seem to have vanished by the time TOS happens, and so we wanted to fill in those gaps. And the studio said, "Oh, yeah, we agree. We were part of that bargain, too." So, they sort of said, "We can't do a full season. What do you need to close it out?" We said six, and they said six. So that gets us right up to Kirk's first day on the job.

What This Means For Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Conclusion

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 could have wound up being the conclusion to the series, but it seems from Goldsman's comments that the show has organically evolved beyond the point that was initially planned. He clearly believes the series needed a fifth season to wrap it up, as Pike's classic Captain's Oath states the Enterprise is on a five-year mission.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 will run only six episodes.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ending with season 5 means that the show has run its course, and will bookend the series' run in a way that helps round out the show's impact. The fact that Goldsmith knows he has a fifth season to round out the show means he can plan in advance, and make sure the show concludes in a way that feels satisfactory.

Our Take On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Ending After 5 Seasons

It is common for a lot of TV shows to overstay their welcome, which tends to see a dip in quality. However, Strange New Worlds feels like it will run the length it needs to, and the final season has been renewed to allow the show to tie up its loose ends in the right way and conclude as one of the strongest Star Trek TV shows of recent times.

There have been many Star Trek shows since The Original Series debuted in the '60s, with varying degrees of popularity and success. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been one of the strongest shows in the franchise.

Daryl Dixon Season 3 Left London Quick For Good Reason, Says TWD Boss

The popular Walking Dead spinoff, Daryl Dixon, has switched locations for its upcoming third season, and The Walking Dead senior producer Greg Nicotero has explained why. At the end of Daryl Dixon season 2, the title character, alongside Carol, ditches France and decides to travel to London.

Daryl Dixon acts as the fifth spinoff of The Walking Dead. The show's third season will premiere September 7, 2025 on AMC, and will also be available to stream via AMC+. Daryl Dixon stars Norman Reedus in the title role, and also stars Melissa McBride, who was part of The Walking Dead's main cast.

In season 3 of The Walking Dead spinoff, Daryl and Carol do end up in London, but the main setting of the season is Spain. In an interview with ScreenRant's Owen Danoff, Nicotero revealed that the idea for Daryl Dixon is to set it in a different country each season. This is to ensure the series feels like its own thing. Check out Nicotero's comments below:

ScreenRant: "How did you all land on Spain for this? Was there ever another country in the running, or even just staying in London? Because even that first episode is really visually captivating."

Greg Nicotero: "Well, I think it was about halfway through season one, when we were in France, that the idea of having Daryl be more mobile came up. I remember thinking, 'Wow, that’s a great idea; every season [could] be a different country, and we could really spread our wings around all of Europe.' We spent 15 years of the show in Alexandria and in Georgia, and being able to see what the reset would be once the zombie apocalypse happens in France or in Spain. I do think at one point we talked about maybe there being an entire season in London. I know Ireland came up at one point, and I think the thinking was, 'Well, it’s really green there,' and we didn’t want it to feel too similar to The Walking Dead in Georgia where green was everywhere. So we made conscious decisions to explore locations that we felt had a lot of rich material [and] culture to mine, and we’re talking thousands of years of culture, which really was exciting to us."

What This Means For Daryl Dixon

The first two seasons of Daryl Dixon took place in France. However, Nicotero implies in his interview that no season will take place in the same location as the last again. It seems like the show is becoming an anthology of sorts, but with only the location changing instead of the overarching story.

Daryl Dixon's first season premiered on September 10, 2023.

Spanish actors Eduardo Noriega, Óscar Jaenada, Alexandra Masangkay, Hugo Arbués, and Candela Saitta have joined the main cast for Daryl Dixon season 3. This indicates that the season will hopefully accurately depict Spanish culture. The season may also revisit some old Walking Dead plot points.

Our Take On Nicotero's Comments

The fact that Daryl Dixon continues to move between different countries is exciting and fresh. It almost feels inspired by The White Lotus, but in a different kind of way, since the central characters will stay the same in Daryl Dixon season 3.

Nevertheless, this approach will help lure in more viewers, especially international TV fans. Daryl Dixon is a truly promising Walking Dead spinoff that tries new approaches to help it stand out even further.

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