Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 Trailer: Mariner Is Taking It To The Limit

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" is proving to be — most definitely by design — the black sheep of the Trek franchise. Animated, irreverent, and endlessly self-effacing, "Lower Decks" lets its showrunners poke fun at some of the more ridiculous conceits of "Star Trek," while still endlessly paying homage to them; not an episode will pass without a massive basket of Easter eggs for fans. But "Lower Decks" is more than a fun game of spot-the-reference. It also understands the vital workplace element of Trek, depicting a cast of characters who occupy the lowest positions, and have the crappiest jobs, of anyone on a starship. And it's not even a great starship. The U.S.S. Cerritos is a dinky, low-power vessel assigned to menial Federation tasks like Second Contact (the bureaucratic mission that follows up the exciting First Contact). 

In the final episode of the show's second season — "First First Contact," which aired on Paramount+ on October 14, 2021 — several dramatic wrinkles took place. Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) was unexpectedly arrested, Ensign Tendi (Noël Wells) learns that she'll be moved from medicine (her passion) to the sciences, and Ensign Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) learned that his cybernetic implants may not have been installed by his choice. 

In true "Lower Decks" fashion, many of these things may be merrily glossed over or solved simply in season 3 (e.g., a dead character from season 1 was merely back for season 2, and little explanation was given other than that happens in "Star Trek" occasionally). The newest trailer, hot out of San Diego Comic-Con, can be seen below.