“A Lot of Hot People on a Ship”: ‘Strange New Worlds’ Cast Dishes on the Enterprise’s Many Romances Ahead of Season 3

The romances on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have been somewhat unexpected. The show is set before Star Trek: The Original Series, so we know that pretty much none of these relationships are "endgame," so to speak. In a way, that gives Strange New Worlds the freedom to have a little fun with love stories that are doomed, angsty, non-traditional, and/or casual. That's how we ended up with the delightfully complex La'an Noonian-Singh (Christina Chong) — yes, that Noonian-Singh — and an alternate universe James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).

And, most importantly for fans of Star Trek: The Original Series, there's the love triangle between Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) and Spock (Ethan Peck) and T'Pring (Gia Sandhu)! At the Tribeca Film Festival's premiere event for the long-awaited Strange New Worlds Season 3, the cast and crew dished about some of those love stories and what it means to make them in the Trek-verse. "We just realized that when you put a lot of hot people on a ship in outer space," says co-creator Akiva Goldsman, "shit happens." Amen to that.

Chapel & Spock's Romance Might Shock OG 'Star Trek' Fans

As moderator and NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans pointed out at the Tribeca panel, Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) harbored unrequited feelings for Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek: The Original Series — but in Strange New Worlds, it's almost the other way around. The feelings definitely weren't as one-sided as we once thought. Christine and Spock fully have a relationship, and it's Spock who ends up doing most of the yearning. Since Strange New Worlds is a prequel, how do we get there from here?

"We all have relationships that teach us about being human," says Peck, "but Spock especially does, and I think [Christine's] one of his great teachers about his humanness. I think it will be very important to take him to where he will be in the original series. The whole goal was to explore his humanness with this version, before he transforms or transitions to Nimoy’s portrayal of the character, which I think you could argue is more computer-like, and he would say thank you… right?"

"If you think about Spock as he carries through the motion pictures and as he carries through the end of [Star Trek: The Next Generation]," adds Goldsman, agreeing with Peck that The Original Series is the "most logical" time in Spock's life, "we start to see that actually his whole life has been a struggle with identity, and how he sees himself and the sweet treachery of emotion. Ethan gets to do a lot more of that, and [Strange New Worlds] fills out the personality of Spock and his life’s journey." Expect things to get even more complicated in Season 3, when Cillian O'Sullivan joins the cast as Roger Korby, the character Star Trek fans know will become Christine's ex-fiancée.

Expect Romance All Around in 'Strange New Worlds' Season 3

As for the rest of the crew, Deggans teased a "sexier" Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) in Season 3. The actress was quick to agree. “Uhura is in a really turbulent time emotionally," says Gooding. "She’s in her early 20s. It’s a really scary time emotionally. You’re understanding what you mean to the people around you. You’re trying to figure out yourself.” She cites Season 2's musical episode as a turning point in Uhura’s journey, inching her closer to the more playful Uhura that Nichelle Nichols played back in the day. "She’s gonna take up more space," Gooding says. "She’s gonna stand on her feet stronger. I love playing a more confident version of her. It’s a meal!” Hopefully this means some fun and flirty Enterprise romance for her as well! By the looks of the trailer, above, it looks like she's getting close to the younger brother of helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia).

And let's not forget Strange New Worlds' truly fearless leader, Captain Pike (Anson Mount), who's in a unique situation. Thanks to some science fiction-y goodness, Pike has been made aware of his future fate in Star Trek. He knows that, not immediately but soon, he'll be out of commission. But he has people in his life that he cares about too, including a romance with Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano).

"The journey is the destination," says Mount, "and he continues to learn that lesson as he goes along. But that doesn’t mean that there aren't gonna be questions when it comes time to trust somebody other than yourself or trust your ability to have an experience with another person when you know your time is limited." Whether this means tragic romance is in store, or something more bittersweet, remains to be seen.