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We haven't even seen season 3 yet of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but what a journey it has been. 

The producers of Strange New Worlds announced today (via Deadline) that Paramount+ has renewed the show for a fifth season... which will also serve as the finale season of the show.

As with other Paramount+ Star Trek series - Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks - the series will end after five seasons, but unlike those shows, its fifth season will also have a reduced episode order, running only six episodes. 

A statement from executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers, and Alex Kurtzman read, "We’re deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew. And to the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey — THANK YOU. With three more spectacular seasons ahead for you to see and enjoy, this adventure is far from over.” 

Going off of Goldsman, Myers, and Kurtzman's statement, it seems that Strange New Worlds was always intended to be a five-year mission. And these days, in our current streaming landscape, it's good to see that they got the chance to tell that story within the parameters that they originally planned for; I'll never forget the sense of anguish that Sense8 fans released into the world after Netflix canned the show despite season 2 ending on a cliffhanger.

With Strange New Worlds, there always seemed like a logical endpoint. It is, after all, a prequel show to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. You can only have Spock go on so many unhinged adventures before you run the risk of bleeding into the work done on the original show. Not that I would mind, of course! 

Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will premiere on Paramount+ with two episodes on July 17. After that, new episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays, with the season finale dropping on September 11. 

Space may be the final frontier, but there's no end to Popverse's love of the Star Trek universe. Hop aboard the starship Enterprise with our Star Trek watch order, explore strange new worlds with our upcoming Star Trek TV shows and movies list, seek out the new life of the franchise, and boldly go where no Star Trek film has ever gone before - with Quentin Tarantino?