“Star Trek: Lower Decks” Sounds More Like An Animated “The Orville” Which, Of Course, Is A Series Inspired By “Star Trek”

For my money, the @SwearTrek handle has always been my favorite parody account, though I enjoyed the reveal a couple of weeks ago that Mike McMahan is actually responsible for the @TNG_S8 handle which has largely been abandoned. In any event, Mike is embarking on quite the impressive career as he ventures off more from Rick and Morty as he’s handling duties for both Hulu’s Solar Opposites and CBS All Access’ upcoming Star Trek: Lower Decks. Despite the fact that both shows are premiering next year, the latter is the one coming out with way more promotion and information.

At San Diego Comic-Con, we got to full character reveals, plus we learned that Star Trek: Lower Decks is very much a canon animated franchises to the live-action classic fair, a rarity in the adult animation circles. That said, the pitch sounds similar to some of Seth MacFarlane’s earliest interviews about his series The Orville where he’s been reported to have said that Star Trek is very much an inspiration, except the idea for that series was for space ship pilots who are only kind of good at their jobs. Likewise, Star Trek: Lower Decks and the cast of characters on the “USS Centrinos” who get into situations that are more inspired by “B stories”, Star Trek: Second Contact, if you will as opposed to First Contact that features characters with prestige and stature. It’s still all very canon, however, just with scenarios where the stakes aren’t quite as high.

It’s fascinating to see that the Star Trek franchise is still just as influential today and how it’s touched generations after all these decades. With new Star Trek coming in the form of additional series, films, and now cartoons, future generations to come will get to have that same experience.