A Star Trek fan attempted to diss the animated Paramount+ series Star Trek: Lower Decks by calling it “Star Trek for girls.” Instead of becoming offended by the statement, creator and showrunner Mike McMahan (Solar Opposites), was oppositely delighted by the comment. Via Screenrant, McMahan stated, “I love that somebody the other day online said, I don’t know if I like Lower Decks. It feels like Star Trek for Girls. And I was like, you couldn’t have praised the show more…”
Star Trek: Lower Decks premiered its first season in 2020, with the series currently in its fourth season. The show takes place in the 24th century within the Star Trek universe. Main characters on the show are “lower deckers” with low-ranking jobs on the USS Cerritos starship. Each episode follows the characters’ everyday lives and the adventures they have. The captains and senior officers in this series play the supporting characters. Early in the fourth season, the “lower deckers” advance, earning promotions.
Tawny Newsome (Space Force) plays Ensign Beckett Mariner, the rule-defier; Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games) plays Brad Boimler, the rule-follower; Noël Wells (Saturday Night Live) plays D’Vanna Tendi, the optimistic one; Eugene Cordero (Curb Your Enthusiasm) plays Sam Rutherford, the extremely knowledgeable one; Dawnn Lewis (Monsters University), plays Carol Freeman, the Captain; Jerry O’Connell (Billions) plays Jack Ransom, the vain one; Fred Tatasciore (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) plays Shaxs, the bold one; and Gillian Vigman (Like Sentence) plays T’Ana, the intimidating one.
In every Star Trek series there have been plethora of independent, strong female characters, such as Dr. Beverly Crusher played by Gates McFadden (The Muppets Take Manhattan), in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lieutenant Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols (Snow Dogs), in Star Trek: The Original Series, Ensign Hoshi Sato played by Linda Park (Magnum P.I), in Star Trek: Enterprise, and more. According to Screenrant, Star Trek: Lower Decks is no outlier. Due to the writers on the series, the driven, sharp, and capable women are role models for everyone. This series features more strong women characters in the Star Trek franchise than ever seen before.
Via Screenrant, McMahan stated, “I love love love writing women in Star Trek. I love female Starfleet officers. I love female Captains. I love Orions and warrior princesses, warrior queens. Women and Star Trek is such an amazing format to tell stories in, and it’s just so powerful.”