Star Trek: Lower Decks, created byMike McMahan(Rick and Morty,Solar Opposites,theTNGSeason 8 Twitter feed), spotlights the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos — specifically, the ship’s junior officers, who otherTrekseries rarely acknowledge. It’s an eclectic mash of personalities: Ensign Boimler (Jack Quaid) wants to advance in the ranks with an ambition fueled by his worship of Starfleet, while the usually-loud often-drunk Ensign Mariner (Tawny Newsome) might be Starfleet’s most promising young officer, if she’d stop finding ways to get herself demoted. They serve alongside newcomer D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and new-to-being-an-cyborg Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), handling some of the more mundane aspects of starship life while finding ways to enjoy the ride.
Trekhas never avoided comedy — every series ever produced has featured lighter episodes with plenty of good laughs:The Original Serieshad “The Trouble With Tribbles,“The Next Generationloved holodeck misadventures andmerry men, and there’s an entire episode ofDeep Space Ninethat’s literally just a James Bond satire. ButLower Decksis the first series to be officially billed as a comedy, with the promotional materials playing up the irreverent side of the series.
Fortunately, based on what’s been made available to critics,Lower Decksisn’t here to make fun ofStar Trek— even the roughest jokes are clearly written by people who genuinely love this franchise. And not only is the show clearly a labor of fan love, but it even manages to bind comedy stories with the sci-fi action that’s typically happening in the background. Set during theNext Generationera (and featuring someTNG-esque visual touches as a result),Lower Decksmanages to pull off the trickiest challenge inherent in its premise: It’s pretty damn funny, but even as a half-hour comedy, it still manages to feel likeStar Trek.
Part of why that is definitely comes down to the clear joy that the writers found in creating wild sci-fi scenarios for animation, freed from the budgetary and physical limitations of live-action production. But really, what makesLower Deckswork is the fact that while the show’s core characters are all flawed in various ways, those flaws don’t eclipse the fact that all of them are talented and loyal members of Starfleet (to varying degrees). There’s no mystery as to why they show up to serve, and the biggest obstacle they face is more often than not their own inexperience.
This definitely hearkens back to one of creatorGene Roddenberry’s major principles when it came toStar Trek, that the men and women serving in Starfleet represented the very best of humanity. Building a series around aspirational characters was a big part of Roddenberry’s hope that the people of the 23rd century would have grown and changed for the better, but it’s tricky to balance that idealism with the need to anchor a show with interesting and complex characters. And most interesting of all is the rebellious Mariner, whose love of breaking the rules is matched only by her innate talents as an officer. While ol' Gene might not have approved of Mariner’s casual attitude towards the job, he would hopefully be able to admire how her unconventional approach represents a young Kirk in the making.
A major factor in what makes Mariner as a character so compelling is the wry energy and raw emotion of Newsome (in her second space-set role this summer, following a scene-stealing turn in Netflix’sSpace Force). In general, the voice cast excels at finding the right level of comedic balance, with Quaid finding different nuances in Boimler’s frequent freakouts, Cordero capturing Rutherford’s joy for his work, and Wells showcasing Tendi’s hyper-positive attitude. The cast also featuresDawnn Lewisas the captain of the Cerritos (who frequently butts heads with Mariner) andJerry O’Connellas first officer Jack Ransom, withPaul ScheerandHaley Joel Osment, among others, popping up as guest stars.
The clean animation style keeps the action relatively grounded — certainly, the show adheres to modern rules of physics, notLooney Tunesphysics, with no touches of the grittier style thatStar Trek: Discoveryoften adopts. The four episodes provided to critics also stand out in contrast to modern television by virtue of the fact that they’re all pretty stand-alone adventures; perhaps a more fleshed-out connective thread will emerge by the end of the season, but in the meantime, there’s something to be said for concise storytelling. Also, there’s the occasional moment of rude humor, but by and largeLower Deckswould make for completely acceptable family viewing — especially for a family whereTrekis already one of the shows everyone can agree on.
Not every joke lands perfectly, but so much ofLower Decks' humor is impressively well-calibrated to celebrate this franchise for its quirks, while also poking fun at concepts that are relatable no matter the century, like boring business meetings, professional jealousies, and awkward first dates. It’s not easy, trying to find a new way to singStar Trek’s song, but so farLower Deckshas found a way to nimbly balance some tricky concepts and look good doing it. The U.S.S. Cerritos crew might not become the stuff of legends, but they’re definitely a crew you can count on for some fun.
New episodes ofStar Trek: Lower Deckspremiere Thursdays on CBS All Access.
