Star Trek: Discovery (season 4)

The fourth season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the USS Discovery exploring the future, over 900 years after the events of the original Star Trek series. The season is being produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 4
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Release
Original networkCBS All Access
Season chronology

Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, along with the returning Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, and David Ajala. Active development on the season began by January 2020, with more time spent writing than previous seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was officially announced in October 2020. Filming began in November 2020 in Toronto, Canada, with new filming processes implemented to ensure safety during the pandemic. Production is set to end in June 2021.

The season is set to be released on the streaming service CBS All Access.

Cast and characters
Main article: List of Star Trek: Discovery characters

Main

Recurring

Notable guests

Production

Development

Active development on a fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery began by January 2020, during production on the series' third season.[5] By March, a fifth season was also in development with the intention of production on the fourth and fifth seasons taking place back-to-back.[6] On August 12, co-creator and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman confirmed that plans for the season had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, though the series' writers room had been working remotely by that time. He added that "we have actually been able to get quite ahead in scripts" for the season.[7] Pre-production on the season began in Toronto, Canada, on August 17.[8] CBS All Access and showrunners Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise officially announced the season on October 16, the day after the third season premiered, with production set to begin on November 2.[1]

Writing
"Representation matters. It matters to see a version of yourself on screen. It matters there are non-binary and transgender characters. It matters that there is a Black woman in the captain's chair. It matters that there is a gay couple on our show. We will continue to do that for the show, and the world we live in, but also, to honor the Star Trek legacy. "

—Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise on the importance of representation to the series.[9]

Kurtzman stated in October 2020 that all seasons after the third would continue to be set in the 32nd century.[10] The third season ends with series protagonist Michael Burnham becoming the captain of Discovery, which star Sonequa Martin-Green said was a new beginning for the series.[11] Paradise said the character had "grown in many ways" over the series' first three seasons, and the question for the fourth season was "how can she continue to grow moving forward, even as she's a captain?"[4] The third season also ends with the previous captain, Saru, leaving the Discovery and returning to his homeworld of Kaminar. Paradise confirmed that he would return in the fourth season.[12]

Paradise said the writers always intended to form a "really lovely" family unit in the third season with Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber, a gay couple, and the non-binary Adira, and she said this would extend to include Adira's transgender boyfriend Gray moving forward.[13] As part of this, Paradise confirmed that the promise from the end of the third season to make the character Gray Tal be "seen" would be paid off in the fourth season. This refers to Gray only being visible to Adira following his death, and is a metaphor in the series for representation.[9] Actor Ian Alexander said he had a lot more "hands-on involvement" with Gray's storyline in the fourth season.[14]

Casting
Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, who is the captain of Discovery in the season

The season stars the returning Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Saru, Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber, and David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker.[1]

Several guest stars reprise their roles from the third season, including Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal,[2] Ian Alexander as Gray Tal,[2] David Cronenberg as Kovich,[3] and Oded Fehr as Charles Vance.[4] Tig Notaro was asked to reprise her recurring guest role of Jett Reno in the season for two different filming blocks. She chose not to travel to Toronto for filming in November 2020 due to the pandemic, but was hoping that conditions for travel during the pandemic would be safer in May 2021 to allow her to travel for the second block.[15]

Filming

Filming began at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto, Canada, on November 2, 2020.[8][16] Due to the pandemic, the production was unable to film on location outside of North America as they did for the third season.[10] The cast traveled to Toronto early to quarantine for 14 days before filming, per the Canadian government's requirements.[10][17]

Production was previously expected to take place from July 2020 to January 2021,[18] filming back-to-back with a potential fifth season,[6] but these plans were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Kurtzman stated in October 2020 that filming would be a "systematised, militarised operation" due to the pandemic, with the season's crew working in "pods" to minimize the potential spread of the virus.[19] The cast and crew were tested three times a week during filming.[17] Jones described filming the season as slower than the previous seasons, but said it was safe.[20]

Kurtzman revealed in October 2020 that CBS was constructing a video wall to allow for virtual production on the season,[10] based on technology developed for the series The Mandalorian.[21] This was still being installed by the time production took a break for Christmas in late December. The majority of filming for the first two episodes had been completed by then, but scenes requiring the video wall were set to be filmed after the break once the technology was ready.[20] Filming on the season is set to end on June 10, 2021.[8]

Music

Composer Jeff Russo confirmed in December 2020 that he would begin work on the fourth season once the third season was completed.[22]

Release

The season is set to be released on CBS All Access in the United States. Bell Media broadcasts the series in Canada on the specialty channels CTV Sci-Fi Channel (English) and Z (French) on the same day as the U.S., before streaming episodes on Crave. Netflix has streaming rights for the series in another 188 countries, and releases each episode of the series for streaming within 24 hours of its U.S. debut.[1]

References
  1. Petski, Denise (October 16, 2020). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Renewed For Season 4 By CBS All Access, Gets Production Start Date". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  2. Vary, Adam B. "Inside the Groundbreaking 'Star Trek: Discovery' Episode With Trans and Non-Binary Characters". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  3. Vary, Adam B. (December 11, 2020). "David Cronenberg on His Mysterious 'Star Trek: Discovery' Role: 'I Still Haven't Figured Everything Out' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  4. Lovett, Jamie (January 7, 2021). "Star Trek: Discovery Showrunner Michelle Paradise Explains What That Game-Changing Finale Means For the Show's Future". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  5. Pitt, Alison (January 10, 2020). "Star Trek: Discovery season 4 is reportedly in "active development"". Daily Star Trek News. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  6. Kaya, Emre (March 2, 2020). "Exclusive: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Renewed for Season 5 at CBS All Access". Geeks WorldWide. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  7. "'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4 Writing Already Underway, 'Strange New Worlds' To Shoot In 2021". TrekMovie.com. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. "DGC Ontario Production List" (PDF). Director's Guild of Canada. October 7, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  9. Britt, Ryan (January 8, 2021). "Discovery Showrunner Says Season 4 Continues a Beloved Star Trek Tradition". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. Blauvelt, Christian (October 18, 2020). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Is TV's First VFX-Heavy Show to Do Entire Post-Production from Home". IndieWire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  11. Maloney, Devon (January 8, 2021). "Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green on Why Michael Burnham Is Ready for the Captain's Chair". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  12. Nemetz, Dave (January 8, 2021). "Star Trek: Discovery Boss Talks Finale's Big Promotion, Season 4's Mission". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. Jacobs, Meredith (January 7, 2021). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Boss on the Captain's Chair & Season 4 Themes". TV Insider. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  14. Glennon, Jen (December 31, 2020). "'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4: Ian Alexander Teases Gray's Future". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  15. "Tig Notaro Returning As Reno For 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4, But Limiting Time Due To COVID Concerns". TrekMovie.com. December 29, 2020. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  16. "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' will shoot in Ontario in 2021". Pop Goes the News. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  17. "Doug Jones And David Benjamin Tomlinson Talk 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3 Hints And Season 4 Prep". TrekMovie.com. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  18. Kaya, Emre (February 6, 2020). "Exclusive: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4 Production Set to Begin July 2020". Geeks WorldWide. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  19. Garbutt, Emily; Scott, Darren (October 7, 2020). "Star Trek showrunner Alex Kurtzman reveals current status of all Trek shows". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  20. Pascale, Anthony (December 24, 2020). "Interview: Doug Jones On The Human Side Of Saru And Keeping The Captain's Chair In 'Star Trek: Discovery'". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  21. Snowden, Scott (November 20, 2020). "'Star Trek: Discovery' borrows from 'The Running Man' in season 3, episode 6 'Scavengers'". Space.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  22. Britt, Ryan (December 16, 2020). "Star Trek Composer Teases Picard Season 2, Discovery Season 4, and More". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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