Star Trek: Lower Decks: Tawny Newsome on the Paramount+ Series’ Finale & Possible Future

(Photo: Paramount+)

Star Trek: Lower Decks has ended on Paramount+ after five seasons and 50 episodes, and one cast member has spoken about the animated series.

Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman star in the comedic animated Star Trek series, which follows the lower-ranking officers of the USS Cerritos.

Newsome spoke about recording the finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks in an interview with Variety. She said the following:

“Making that episode was really interesting. It felt like there was a little bit of like, “Is this really ending?” Because we kept re-recording it. [Showrunner Mike McMahan] kept rewriting it, especially the ending scene in the bar. I remember the first time I recorded the episode way back, you know, 13 months ago or whenever, the scene in the bar did not exist.

I remember saying in the session, “If this is the end, we’re not ending with a big send out.” It just felt like the end of a season. I think there was a little [feeling of], like, “Well, maybe it’s not, so maybe we’re just not going to really end it that way.”

Then the rewrites started coming in that seemed like everyone was grappling with reality of it more. Then finally, Mike wrote that really lovely speech for Mariner at the end, and I was like, “Okay, this feels like an appropriate pause to the story. It’s an end of a chapter. It could go on. But I was glad that he that gave us a little button, in case this is the last we see of them.”

Could fans of the animated series see the characters pop up again in the future? Newsome is certainly open to the possibility:

“As far as the people creating it, we all would love to do that. I don’t know who writes the check for that, so I don’t know if they think it’s possible. But Mike has stories upon stories in him for these characters. He could do 10 more seasons. He is not done.

None of us are done. Me, Jack, Eugene and Noël and not to mention the rest of our bridge crew and our recurring characters. Everybody’s like, “Yep, sign me up. We’ll be the next Futurama. We’ll come back in 10 years, whatever you want.” So we’re all game. I would love a movie. I’d love a live-action movie, because we need to see Noël and Jerry and Eugene in human form — human-ish form.”

What do you think?  Did you enjoy this Paramount+ series? Are you sad that Star Trek: Lower Decks has ended?