Star Trek is about to boldly go where no one in the franchise has gone before—an animated comedy series. CBS All-Access has ordered the half-hour show titled Star Trek: Lower Decks, which will delve into what goes down with "the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships." The series will be penned by Emmy-winning Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan.
A more comedic turn for Star Trek has been something explored by others, such as the cult classic 1999 film Galaxy Quest and FOX’s The Orville, but never tackled by the franchise itself. In order for Star Trek to take this chance, it needed to be in good hands, and McMahan, a self-proclaimed "life-long Trekkie," seems more than qualified to do this series justice. "As a life-long Trekkie, it’s a surreal and wonderful dream come true to be a part of this new era of Star Trek. While Star Trek: Lower Decks is a half-hour, animated show at its core, it's undeniably Trek — and I promise not to add an episode at the very end that reveals the whole thing took place in a training program," he said, perEW.
In 2011, McMahan started a Twitter account where he created fictitious plots contained within the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The account earned him a book deal that allowed him to take those tweets, and create what would become Star Trek: The Next Generation: Warped: An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season.
Star Trek: The Lower Decks executive producer Alex Kurtzman admits that it was McMahan’s knowledge on the tiniest details related to the franchise that immediately won everyone over. "Mike won our hearts with his first sentence: ‘I want to do a show about the people who put the yellow cartridge in the food replicator so a banana can come out the other end,'" Kurtzman confesses. "[McMahan’s] cat’s name is Riker. His son’s name is Sagan. The man is committed. He’s brilliantly funny and knows every inch of every Trek episode, and that’s his secret sauce: he writes with the pure, joyful heart of a true fan. As we broaden the world of Trek to fans of all ages, we’re so excited to include Mike’s extraordinary voice."
