Strange New Worlds counts Lt. James T. Kirk and his brother Sam in its cast, and it's time for a Kirk story Star Trek hasn't seen before.

Anson Mount told CinemaBlend in 2022 that Strange New Worlds is a prequel and implied that fans didn't have to worry about PIke leaving before the series' end. Paul Wesley echoed that viewpoint to CinemaBlend in 2023, noting that when Kirk does take control of the Enterprise, it'd likely be as a new and separate series from the current one.

Strange New Worlds' musical episode worked wonderfully thanks to two ingenious tricks woven into the characters and story. Written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, and directed by Dermott Downs, with original songs composed by Tom Polce and Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo,