Much of Star Trek is concerned with expanding the borders and protecting the United Federation of Planets. The USS Enterprise's missions throughout Star Trek were about seeking new civilizations that might eventually join the vast intergalactic coalition of worlds. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine became about the Dominion War that threatened the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant. As varied as the members of the Federation are, Star Trek's galaxy is familiar and comforting to fans. But what about everyone who lives outside the Federation?
Star Trek’s New Frontier Is Outside The Federation & Tawny Newsome’s Comedy Can Get It Right
Tawny's Star Trek Comedy Is Looking Beyond The Federation
Speaking to TrekMovie on the red carpet at the opening night of Universal Studios Fan Fest, Tawny Newsome dropped some intel on the state of her Star Trek workplace comedy. Noting that the original idea for Tawny's show being set on a pleasure planet like Risa has changed somewhat during the development process, Tawny hinted that her series will look at what happens when "a world and a culture that is not in the Federation... decide[s] to be." Check out Tawny's quote below:
Those fundamentals are the same. But what I can tell you is what we’re really working on exploring, are the sort of overlooked sections of what happens when a world and a culture that is not in the Federation, what happens when they decide to be?… So Federation outsiders and what’s kind of the nitty gritty involved with joining the Federation and involved with… yeah, I’m really struggling [to avoid spoilers]
Tawny Newsome is writing her Star Trek series for herself to star in, and she also hopes to set it in the 25th century established by Star Trek: Picard. That would be Newsome's "dream of dreams," so that "all of our legacy actors, everyone who’s currently on a show, I want people to be able to show up with their real faces." A 25th century set Star Trek workplace comedy could let actors from Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Star Trek: Lower Decks appear with the actors relatively age-appropriate to their characters.
Characters and settings outside the Federation allow for a new perspective.
Setting Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien's Star Trek workplace comedy outside the Federation is key. Star Trek has thoroughly explored the Federation, time traveled to the past, and set Star Trek: Voyager in the Delta Quadrant for seven seasons. Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale set the stage for the exploration of the multiverse. Characters and settings outside the Federation allow for a new perspective, and even affirmation, of the tried-and-true beliefs Star Trek holds dear.
Why Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 Movie Failed Star Trek’s New Frontier
Section 31 Barely Resembles Star Trek
One of the most exciting aspects of Star Trek: Section 31 on the outset was that it was set in the early 24th century outside the United Federation of Planets. After exiting Star Trek: Discovery's 32nd century, Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) was transported to Star Trek's "lost era," decades before the beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, Section 31 eschewed Star Trek's aesthetics and iconography for a more generic sci-fi palette. Outside of a few fleeting references, Section 31 hardly even resembled Star Trek.
Even Star Trek: Section 31's strongest link to established canon, the Mirror Universe, countered what was previously known. Section 31's prologue established that young Philppa Georgiou (Miku Martineau) became the Terran Emperor in a contest derivative of The Hunger Games. When the Mirror Universe attempted to invade Star Trek's Prime timeline, San's (James Hiroyuki Liao) starship and weaponry was, again, generic-looking and didn't reflect Star Trek's established aesthetic.
Star Trek fans hoped to, at least, see Starfleet Officers wearing the popular and distinctive "monster maroon" Starfleet uniforms introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series movies.
