| Season Number: | 5 |
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| Network: | Paramount+ |
| Num Episodes: | 10 |
| Episode List: | List of Star Trek: Discovery episodes |
The fifth and final season of the American television series follows the crew of the starship Discovery in the 32nd century, more than 900 years after , on a galactic adventure to find a mysterious power that has been hidden for centuries and which other dangerous groups are also searching for. The season was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.
Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, captain of the Discovery, along with the returning Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, Blu del Barrio, David Ajala, and Tig Notaro. They are joined by Callum Keith Rennie. Development on the season began by March 2020 so it could be filmed back-to-back with the fourth season, but these plans were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fifth season was officially ordered in January 2022 and filming took place in Toronto, Canada, from June to November. Paramount announced in March 2023 that the season would be the last for the series, and additional filming took place a month later so the series could be better concluded.
The season premiered on the streaming service Paramount+ on April 4, 2024, with its first two episodes. The other eight episodes were released weekly until May 30.
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Development on a fifth season of had begun by March 2020, when work was taking place on the fourth season, to allow the two seasons to be filmed back-to-back, but these plans were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman said there were "years and years left on Discovery" and noted the precedent of several previous Star Trek series running for seven seasons each. A 10-episode fifth season was officially ordered by Paramount+ in January 2022, with the episode count reduced from previous seasons to align it with the service's other Star Trek series. In March 2023, Paramount announced that the season would be the last for the series, which came as a surprise to the cast and crew. The decision came amid cost cutting for Paramount's streaming content.
Kurtzman stated in October 2020 that all seasons after the third would continue to be set in the 32nd century. Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise indicated in August 2021 that writing for the fifth season was yet to begin. The writers were in "full swing" by March 2022, working simultaneously with post-production on the fourth season, and some scripts had been written for the fifth season by the time the fourth season finale was released on March 17. Paradise was working on the script for the season finale by late August 2022, and completed it on September 12.
Executive producer and producing director Olatunde Osunsanmi said the fifth season would take more inspiration for its themes and storytelling approach from and than the previous seasons did, and would feature "more exploration and more adventure". Frequent Star Trek director Jonathan Frakes said the season had an action-adventure style inspired by the Indiana Jones franchise rather than the "heavy emo" tone of the fourth season, and he indicated that this change was a mandate from the studios that the showrunners and cast had embraced; the cast and crew referred to it as "the adventure season". The season's story follows the USS Discovery on a galactic adventure to find a mysterious power that has been hidden for centuries and which other dangerous groups are also searching for.
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, Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, and Tig Notaro as Jett Reno. They are joined by Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner, a war-time Starfleet captain struggling to adjust to peace. Rennie's casting was announced in October 2022, alongside recurring guests Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis as outlaw couple Moll and L'ak. Also returning from earlier seasons are Oded Fehr as Charles Vance, David Cronenberg as Kovich, Annabelle Wallis as the voice of Zora, Tara Rosling as T'Rina, Chelah Horsdal as Laira Rillak, Ian Alexander as Gray Tal, Hannah Cheesman as Airiam, and Rachael Ancheril as Nhan.
The series is filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto, Canada. Pre-production on the season began by March 2022. Osunsanmi said the season would continue to use the video wall that was built for virtual production on the fourth season, and the crew would take advantage of lessons learned about the technology the first time they used it. Filming for the fifth season began on June 13, 2022, and wrapped on November 20. Frakes directed the first half of the finale and Osunsanmi directed the second half. Osunsami did two or three days of additional filming in April 2023 to update the season's last episode so it could better serve as a series finale. Paradise said they did not need to make any changes to the rest of the season and felt audiences who did not know they made these changes would believe that the season was always intended to be the final one.
To celebrate "Star Trek Day" on September 8, 2022, a video of Cruz giving a set tour during the filming of the season's fourth episode was released. The season was promoted during the "Star Trek Universe" panel at New York Comic Con in October, with Rapp and Cruz discussing the season alongside executive producers Kurtzman, Paradise, and Rod Roddenberry. Martin-Green joined the panel virtually from set to present a teaser trailer for the season which introduced major new cast members. Justin Carter of Gizmodo said the teaser was short and appeared to be primarily influenced by Indiana Jones. Samantha Coley at Collider said the teaser did not reveal much about the plot but she felt it had a "strong undercurrent of delight" that the fourth season did not. Coley said this could be the most fun season since the inclusion of Christopher Pike in the second season.
With the announcement that this would be the final season, Paramount said there would be events around the world to celebrate the series over the next year. However, cast and crew were unable to be involved in marketing during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, which began in May 2023, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which began in July. Paramount released an extended clip from the season, introducing its new recurring characters, at the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con in late July; the panel did not include cast or crew members. Kurtzman briefly discussed the season at a Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic Con in October, soon after the writers strike ended, but the panel primarily focused on projects that were not impacted by the strikes. The SAG-AFTRA strike ended in November, allowing the cast to participate in marketing moving forward. Later that month, Martin-Green discussed the series at a "Women in Sci-Fi" panel at Fan Expo: San Francisco. She promoted the series with Paradise at CCXP in December, where another clip was released.
A full trailer for the season was released during IGN Fan Fest in February 2024. Martin-Green, Jones, Cruz, and Rapp discussed the series as part of the event. Cheryl Eddy at Gizmodo highlighted the trailer's focus on "farewells", while John Orquiola of Screen Rant noted the trailer's focusing on the season's new characters. The season's first episode premiered at SXSW in mid-March, and was also shown at WonderCon at the end of the month. Paradise discussed the series at both events with different members of the cast and crew; Cruz, who was unable to return for the additional filming, said marketing the series with the cast was cathartic.
The season was originally set to premiere on Paramount+ in the United States in early 2023, but this was delayed when the season was revealed to be the series' last. It premiered on April 4, 2024, with its first two episodes. The other eight episodes were released weekly. Paramount+ also released the season in the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Austria, and Canada. It was released in New Zealand by TVNZ, in Greece by Cosmote TV, and in other countries by SkyShowtime (a combination of Paramount+ and Peacock for some of Europe), and was broadcast in Canada on the CTV Sci-Fi Channel.
Collider named the season one of the most anticipated series of 2024. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported 79% approval based on 19 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lightening up just in time for one last voyage, Star Trek: Discovery concludes with a quest that sends this particular crew off in rousing fashion."[1] Martin-Green was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series at the Black Reel TV Awards.[2]