Actress and comedian Tawny Newsome is destined for space. Both in the upcoming animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks and the Netflix comedy Space Force, which launched just on May 29. On Lower Decks, she’ll be Ensign Beckett Mariner, and on Force, she portrays Angela Ali, Spaceman First Class.
Since her part on Netflix can be seen by those who subscribe to the service, she’s been involved in many interviews which get into her role and how she interacted with stars Steve Carell and Lisa Kudrow. But she also spent a little time talking about her part on Lower Decks, which she says is a comedy. Talk about boldly going where no one has gone before!
“It is a comedy for sure,” she told GamesRadar reporter Jack Shepherd. “But the thing about Star Trek is, at the core of Star Trek there is so much hope and optimism — like optimism as a species — and personal pride and hope in it. So there are more earnest, hopeful moments, I think, in Lower Decks that grounds a lot of the comedy.”
This lines up with what Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan has been saying to media sources as well. In an interview with ComicBook.com, McMahan said that Lower Decks would have real Star Trek topics and plots, but the episodes would last 22 minutes.
“I’d say that Star Trek: Lower Decks is going to feel like the one act of another Star Trek show where everything is happening, and stuff is really moving,” said McMahan. “That’s like us from the first scene until the last scene.”
Star Trek: Lower Decks will stream on CBS All Access, hopefully this calendar year. McMahan addressed the release date in the interview, and noted that production of the series was not disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can’t give you a specific answer on when that’s coming out, but we’re still working on it and we’re on track for when we have planned, which is this year,” said McMahan. “Animation is kind of uniquely suited for this moment. We didn’t shut down production.”
UPDATE: According to McMahan, he and the rest of the Lower Decks team are currently working on Season 2 of the show.
