Scott Bakula Could Return To The Star Trek Universe With This Newly Proposed Spin-Off

As any Trekkie could tell you, "Star Trek: Enterprise" ended in a very unsatisfying fashion. Unlike the three "Star Trek" shows that preceded it (which lasted seven seasons each), "Enterprise" left the airwaves after only four, suggesting that viewers were just kind of done with the franchise. "Enterprise," which debuted mere weeks after 9/11, struggled to find an audience in a newly suspicious and war-happy world, never really getting a toehold. Its Starfleet crew, led by the stalwart Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), are only well-known by deep-cut Trekkies who bothered to stick with the series.

Also, the show's final episode was notoriously disappointing. Rather than wrap up the arcs of the characters the series' audience had been following, the action fast-forwarded several centuries to the events of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," where Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was shown recreating the events of "Star Trek: Enterprise" on a holodeck, interacting with holographic recreations of Archer and the others. It was a clear attempt to pander to fans, and no one is fond of the way it was handled. Archer hasn't been heard from since then, at least not in any canonical "Star Trek" projects.

Now, it seems Captain Archer could return to the small screen ... as President. Speaking with TrekMovie, longtime "Enterprise" writer/producer Michael Sussman said he and Bakula have been brainstorming a President Archer TV series together. The idea came about, perhaps naturally, after Paramount+ debuted "Star Trek: Picard." After all, if Picard can have his own show, why not Archer? Sussman evidently wrote a jokey e-mail to Bakula about the possibility of a series called "Star Trek: Archer," but they both immediately felt it was actually a good idea.

As Sussman sees it, making Captain Archer a higher-up in Starfleet Command is not just a natural progression for the character, but it's also one that's actually based on a small, barely noticeable piece of "Star Trek" canon. During "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" (the second half of one of the best episodes of "Enterprise"), an evil version of Captain Archer finds an abandoned, super-advanced Starfleet vessel called the U.S.S. Defiant, which hasn't been seen since the original series "Star Trek" episode "The Tholian Web." THere, the evil Archer looks through the Defiant's personnel files and finds his "good" counterpart's file. Sharp-eyed Trekkies will notice the file reveals Archer not only became an Admiral, but he was also the Chief of Staff of Starfleet Command at one point. After that, he served as an honorary Andorian Imperial Guard, eventually becoming an ambassador to Andoria. This tracks, given that Archer had a close relationship with the Andorian Shran (Jeffrey Combs), one of the best characters on "Enterprise."

After that, Archer served as a Federation councilman before, in the year 2184, he was elected President of Earth. His arc was, even if only barely glimpsed, now a matter of canonical record. As Sussman noted to TrekMovie:

"It occurred to me that someone on the writing staff, not the art department, needed to write this graphic. Somebody needed to think about this, right? This was going to be a graphic that spelled out Archer's life and career after the series ended. [This was after knowing that] the franchise was going into the freezer for a spell. [Archer's future] might be fully visible on the finished episode."

And if Archer is the President, then why not make a "Star Trek" series about that? "Holy s***," Sussman added, "I actually have an idea for a series, going back to that viewscreen graphic that I planted all those years earlier."

When describing the potential President Archer TV series, Sussman likened it to political shows such as "The West Wing" and "The Diplomat," only set in the "Star Trek" universe. He wants to call it "Star Trek: United" — with or without a colon — and thinks it could explore the tempestuous time in Federation history when it tries to maintain a lasting peace. As he put it:

"It's a political thriller and a family drama set in those chaotic, formative years of the Federation. [...] We did 98 hours of 'Enterprise' and I think he felt [Bakula] really explored that character, but this was a very different direction for Archer to go in. And I think he was really intrigued by that."

Sussman added that "Star Trek: United" would be more mature than previous "Star Trek" shows, hoping it could do for the franchise what "Andor" did for the "Star Wars" franchise. He also said that he's already taken his idea to Alex Kurtzman, the current head honcho of the "Star Trek" property, pitching it as a potential series. The meeting went well, and Sussman is fully prepared to return for a longer pitch meeting, should Kurtzman continue to find the idea intriguing.

Of course, the future of the "Star Trek" franchise is very much in flux. In the wake of Paramount merging with Skydance, major restructuring is happening at the property's parent company. The new bosses, however, are said to be Trekkies, so many are feeling hopeful about additional "Star Trek" projects being made in the future. As of this writing, the only "Star Trek" series still ongoing is "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," with "Starfleet Academy" also slated to be released in the early part of 2026. Is there room for "Star Trek: United" in the current landscape? Sussman and Bakula certainly hope so.