The final few minutes of Star Trek: Lower Decks are making people cry – "I don't know anybody on the crew [who didn't] tear up a little"
Oct. 29, 2024Exclusive: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan on the Star Trek animated series' emotional “final act”
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Star Trek: Lower Decks has reached its final frontier, and it sounds like it’s going to be an emotional farewell to the crew of USS Cerritos.
“The finale has a whole extra act, an entire additional eight minutes – which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is,” Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan tellsSFX magazinein the new issue, which features Wicked on the cover and hits newsstands on November 1.
“I don’t know anybody on the crew, or anybody I’ve shown the finale to, where the last eight minutes doesn’t make them tear up a little.”
Asked if he’s laid out any pitches to the higher-ups for Lower Decks spin-offs or movie-length specials, McMahan laughs and says that would not have been appreciated.
“This is the end,” he confirms. “I’ve seen people online asking, ‘Oh, I wonder if this is a meta prank, and they’re going to do Star Trek: The Middle Decks?’ I chuckled, because I would love that to be the case. But this is the end of a very awesome, cool thing. If it comes back, I would love that. Or if this is what we did, I also just love it. In 50 episodes, I don’t think we had a single stinker. I’m really, really happy with season 5. It’s exactly the season I wanted to make.”
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Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is currently ongoing on Paramount Plus. Read more inthe latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Wicked on the cover and will be available from Friday, November 1.
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Tara is the NYT bestselling author (or co-author) of 30 movie and TV companion books including the upcoming official history of Marvel Studios. She’s also a freelance journalist with bylines at print and online publications such as: SCI FI Magazine, Total Film, SYFY Wire, Today.com, Fandom, Fandango/Movies.com, Fancast, Newsarama, Star Wars: Insider, Walking Dead Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, LOST: The Official Magazine, Alias Magazine, 24 Magazine, andVFXWorld.com. She is also the U.S. Editor for the world’s premiere sci-fi/fantasy publication, SFX Magazine. She is the host and producer for SYFY Wire’s official podcasts for USA Network’s, Colony, HISTORY’s Project Blue Book official podcast, and the Lost retrospective, Through the Looking Glass co-hosted with Maureen Ryan.
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