Michal Burnum Is a Commander Again

A new captain, a new century, and a new final borderland. Those are the storytelling dilithium crystals powering the quaternary season of Star Expedition: Discovery .Flavour iii dropped the time-displaced starship some 900 years into the future where the crew encountered a fractured Federation brought depression, struggling to reunite and overcome the loss of warp drive travel. It ignited a hero'southward journeying that ultimately led Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Greene) to meet her destiny, at last becoming Discovery's captain.

At present, executive producer and showrunner Michelle Paradise reveals to Idiot box Guide what'due south on the horizon for the fourth season of Star Trek's current flagship series: a fresh new course that, forth with all the new bells and whistles that come with Starfleet's 32nd Century relaunch, also brings things back to Rodenberryan basics every bit Discovery embarks on a mission of exploration and outreach, encountering new worlds cultures equally they rehab the Federation's now-tarnished reputation.

And while Klingon Empires and Mirror Universe adversaries are now literally ancient history, the crew will themselves facing a season-arcing Bad Bad unlike any other they confronted before: a cataclysmic scientific miracle that destroys without logic, reason, or motive — which, of course, will test the graphic symbol and resolve of that newly minted commanding officer in particular.

Sonequa Martin-Green, Star Expedition: Discovery

Paramount+

Given that you had a bit of a fresh slate by the end of final season, tell me what the thought process was almost this new status quo. We've got Burnham as captain. We've got a new mission for Discovery, and we've really at present very firmly established the show in the 32nd century. Tell me about what you wanted to practise with all these juicy ingredients.
Michelle Paradise: Well, obviously one of the nigh heady things is that we now have Burnham equally captain, so that'south something that going into the writing Flavour iv, we were all incredibly excited about. Nosotros have been waiting for that for three seasons, and then to finally get to run into Burnham every bit captain, it'due south wonderful and opens upward a lot of new storytelling opportunities for us.

So that's something that we definitely explore in Flavour 4: now that she's captain, who is she as captain, what kind of captain is she? And being captain is a very dissimilar thing, and there'southward a bit of a learning curve to that. And apparently, she's the best person for that chair and of grade, way overqualified to be there. But what is she going to learn while she's in that chair over the course of the season, that was something we were really excited to explore.

And then, in terms of the fresh snow of the earth itself, at that place were yet some elements from Flavor 3 that are not quite tied up at the cease. We know that the Federation is coming back together at the end of Season 3, but it'southward non a done bargain nevertheless. There's withal work to exist done. And so nosotros were excited to continue that into Flavor iv and explore what that meant for our heroes to go along that work and continue making the Federation equally potent equally it tin be. So there were just a lot of exciting new places to play.

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What was fun about envisioning where Michael was going to stand with her crewmates? She'due south been i of them and now she's their leader, and that is going to alter their dynamics a fleck.
Paradise: Yeah, it'southward a different affair for sure. The large question that we asked ourselves for her this season is what does it mean for her to be captain, and in terms of her arc over the grade of the season, it's actually about that: who is she as captain, and how does she sit down in that chair — what kind of journey is that for her?

We went into every episode asking ourselves what is Burnham'southward captain's journeying for this episode. And forth with that is how she stands abreast her colleagues in a different fashion. How the different kinds of responsibilities that she now has as captain. And obviously, it's very different being a captain than being a commander or a Number One or anything like that. Everything is falling on your shoulders. And we'll come across to what degree it falls on her shoulders very early in flavor.

Let's talk about some of the other shifting dynamics nosotros're going to see.
Paradise: What I tin say is, thematically, i of the big places that we were playing this season is in doubtfulness. And how do we deal with that as individuals? How does that impact us in relation to 1 some other as a community, every bit Federation and non Federation worlds? When you expand it across, how do nosotros all deal with that?

And then I call back with Tilly in particular, there'south going to be quite an interesting journey for her this season, with respect to that and how she responds to that, and the kinds of questions she asks of herself as a consequence. I think to a degree...All of our characters will be experiencing uncertainty, merely they'll reply to information technology in different means. And it volition cause them to get in sometimes unexpected directions and it'll affect them emotionally in different ways. To a degree, that's kind of what we are all every bit a global community living in right at present, and so exploring that through our characters felt very rich from the storytelling perspective.

And in Season three we actually kind of established a family dynamic with Stamets and Culber and Adira and Gray, as Gray came more into the moving picture. And yeah, we're excited to go on that this season and run into what that means for Stamets every bit a character as well, and how can we accept what we established in Season 3 in terms of family dynamic and go along to grow that, and proceed to come across how these characters grow and change, both in that dynamic and so separately exterior of information technology.

Anthony Rapp and Sonequa Martin-Green, Star Trek: Discovery

Paramount+

It sounds similar you've got a really fresh and unique concept for what this season's overarching Large Bad is. Tin can y'all tease a lilliputian bit near that and how y'all kind of arrived at that approach?
Paradise: The thing that we are dealing with equally a global customs correct now is it's the thing that is bigger than us all. And something that as a global customs we've been struggling to understand, and there was a lot of unknown and a lot of uncertainty with that. And taking that reality and placing it in a sci-fi realm and exploring what that does to our characters, what information technology does to them emotionally, how exercise we accept those ideas thematically and play them through our flavour? Information technology felt like something that Star Trek is kind of uniquely built to do. Information technology's in the DNA of this show that it can reverberate the world around it.

And in many means, of grade, it doesn't accept to — at that place'due south e'er the adventure and wherever — but reflecting what'due south happening in the world around us is the neat opportunity of Star Trek, and and then nosotros took that and nosotros're exploring that via our characters. I thought information technology felt just like a very rich place to explore. And very resonant given where we all are equally a global community.

How did making that shift to the future complimentary you up in terms of your storytelling — not being kind of stuck in this i somewhat undefined zone of Star Trek, simply where we e'er kind of knew a sure caste of what the futurity held. Now we don't — how did that modify your dynamics working on the testify?
Paradise: Oh, wow! It was freeing in many ways, and hugely challenging in many ways. I mean, with Flavor 2, nosotros sort of knew where the guardrails were, if yous will. Because nosotros knew where Pike needed to country. We knew where Spock needed to go. And it was our job to tell a backstory for them that would fit nicely into what nosotros know of them from their own futures. So that had its artistic challenges, and information technology was also really fulfilling to become to tell some of those stories and see those characters in new means.

It was a lot of fun, but when we jumped into the futurity, of course, and so yous've got just all kinds of fresh territory, and with that comes really cool creative opportunities to explore unlike species. How are these species different in this new future? What are the relationships like? What are the alliances like? Who are the Andorians and Orions, and who are they now versus who were they and so? All of that is a lot of fun. And and so it's too very creatively challenging: what is the technology of this new future? What does it visually await similar? What practise our ships wait like?

All of that stuff that we really dug into in Season iii, nosotros continue in Flavor 4. And we're ever looking for means to continue to push button the world itself forward and go on to push button forward the kinds of things that our heroes are interacting with: new technologies, new worlds, new kinds of ships, new relationships, all of that. There'south nevertheless so much fresh snow alee of united states of america. Nosotros're continuing to try and build up that world and see what else we do.

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And the universe of Star Trek continues, as ever, to expand, and it'due south such a really rich and heady identify right at this moment. Four seasons in with Discovery, do you have a sense in your listen of what that bear witness's very distinguishing identify in the franchise is?
Paradise: We've got serialized storytelling of form. We've got our specific episodes. But, I call back we've got basically xiii episodes of a big mystery, or a Big Bad, or some large idea that's at the heart of it, and it's going to take us the season to figure that out. That kind of serialized storytelling, I think is pretty specific to us. Along with the idea of a movie every week — that's what nosotros're trying to practise.

Alex [Kurtzman] has said that from the very beginnings of the testify that we're trying to create a movie every week — non that the other shows are not doing the same because I hateful, you lot picket Picard or Strange New Worlds coming out soon, and they wait but incredible, then I recollect that's true of all of these shows. But for us in particular, I think information technology'southward the heavily serialized sort of nature of storytelling and the action-adventure and the effects and fun. It's also a focus on our family of Discovery and this is our new pattern, with Burnham at the head of it.

Merely it is, when you talk about it being a universe, it really is! And we do proceed that in heed as we're going through and figuring out the stories. We very much desire Discovery to have its unique place and its unique experience, but information technology's also very important to the states that it feel part of the larger universe. Even though we're and then far alee time-wise than all of the other shows, we are always looking for opportunities to connect back. Whether it's via references and dialogue or whatever it may exist; species that were big hits on 1 prove, nosotros tin see them in a new way on our show.

We're e'er looking for those ways that creatively we can ensure that Discovery feels part of this larger universe, considering it is the universe. It'southward this incredible universe with all these different characters and shows in diverse times along the way. And we actually work hard to make sure that, fifty-fifty though Discovery is so far ahead, we experience a part of that.

Mary Wiseman, Star Trek: Discovery

Paramount+

With that connective tissue in listen, is there anything sort of further downwards the road in Season iv, especially things that are going to appeal to fans of Discovery from the outset, or maybe long-term fans of Star Trek in full general, that you can tantalize them with? Upcoming connections, references, characters that you tin can tease ahead of fourth dimension?
Paradise: Oh, gosh. I must say if I tease annihilation, I'll give something away inadvertently. Yous'll see a tribble this season. How about that? That's ane of my favorites. It won't be taking over a ship or anything like that, but it'southward simply something that makes me happy, getting to put a tribble in there somewhere.

I know your actors were pretty happy with their new uniforms, and you did likewise got to kind of reset the look of the show by upgrading Discovery for the future. Tell me what was fun about having still another run a risk to kind of reimagine what Starfleet looks like in its next iteration?
Paradise: It'southward just really fun to get to put Discovery's postage on what things might look like. And we accept such an incredibly talented squad. You mentioned the uniforms: that's Gersha [Phillips] and her team. And they are so incredibly creative and talented and we're so fortunate to go to work with them. And when you set them loose on something similar that, you're going to get back amazing, amazing designs.

And beingness in this new futurity and having the opportunity to sort of explore that via things like costumes and props and the expect and feel of the sets. All of that is just, information technology feels of a piece with this new time. And it's as well just a lot of fun to get to practise that and to have our actors play in those spaces. And information technology's another mode of telling the story of this crew in this new future, fifty-fifty equally the new hereafter becomes less new to them. It continues to exist new to us as an audience. And there [are] always more things to explore, so what nosotros see visually is such a huge part of that.

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You guys did put a guidepost to even further in the future with the "Calypso" episode of Short Trek, which the fans but adored. Do yous have a vision to kind of keep bridging Discovery to that detail future? Are there some fun plans ahead to practice that?
Paradise: Perhaps. So, over again, nosotros really demand all of these things to connect, and we desire — whether it's the shows that are currently going, Picard, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, us, Prodigy — All of these shows are office of the same universe, and the Short Treks that have been done are all part of the same universe. And ultimately information technology needs to feel like a big universe, that it's all of a slice. And so I would imagine that whenever that happens, it volition... All of these things will connect. I don't mean "connect" — Picard'south not coming on our show, you know what I hateful? Nosotros're not going to be The Avengers.

Although that'due south non the worst thought for a show!
Paradise: "The next Star Expedition prove's only all the captains from all the shows." [Laughs] Yeah, I guess just the idea is that, yes, if something is in the Star Trek universe, we need to make sure that whether the connection feels gentle and referential if you will. Or whether it feels baked into some storytelling, information technology all does need to feel at peace.

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Source: https://www.tvguide.com/news/star-trek-discovery-boss-teases-a-bold-new-future-in-season-4-with-captain-michael-burnham/

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