Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is set to air Season 4 during the 2026 TV schedule, but the Paramount+ series has been filming the fifth and final season in the back half of 2025. During that time, the cast has been busy saying their farewells, and Anson Mount revealed the incredible parting gift that Jess Bush gave her castmates.
Captain Pike and Nurse Chapel haven't had a ton of screentime together during Strange New Worlds, but that doesn't mean the two stars haven't developed a bond as they filmed the show. So, Mount shared the gift Bush gave the cast, and as a Star Trek fan, I'm pretty jealous, because I would love this:
What a special gift for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast! I bet more than a few Trekkies would pay to add it to their own collections. However, if it never goes on sale, fans can get a similar experience by browsing Bush's Instagram page, which is loaded with great behind-the-scenes photos.
That said, I love the curated photo collection Jess Bush compiled. I'm torn between which pages are my favorite, because I'm stuck between the ones dedicated to cast members falling asleep in their chairs and the adorable pictures of Christina Chong's dog, Runa. Had the pet gotten more screentime in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, La'an probably would've bumped up a few notches on the best Trek characters list.
As fun as this post is, I am struck by the painful reminder that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be coming to an end. The truncated final season is a bit of a bummer, though a blessing considering that Paramount+ wanted to close out the show with a streaming movie instead. Season 5 will presumably give us much more content than we would've had with a movie.
In the meantime, it's worth mentioning again that we still have to get through Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4. The showrunners promised CinemaBlend that the upcoming episodes would have a more serious tone than Season 3, which may come as a relief to some who criticized the amount of comedy in the 2025 run.
Of course, the end goal for many Star Trek fans is some assurance that Strange New Worlds will continue in some way after it ends. It's no secret that many, including the showrunners, have campaigned for a follow-up that shows Kirk's first year leading the Enterprise, in an attempt to bridge the gap to the original series further. There's no word yet on whether it will happen, but who knows what a new year could bring in the way of announcements?
Overall, I'm ready to see Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 arrive sometime in 2026, and I will watch past episodes on Paramount+ in the meantime while we wait for the last two seasons. I'm also psyched for the arrival of Starfleet Academy in January, which isn't that far off!
