13 Star Trek Pitches Out There (And Where They're At)

6. Tawny Newsome & Justin Simien’s STAR TREK SITCOM

Way back in July 2024, the oddest Hall H announcement ever at San Diego Comic-Con yielded news of a Star Trek sitcom developed by comedian/producer-writer Justin Simien of Dear White People and our own Beckett Mariner (and Illa Dax and Starfeet Academy writer) herself, Tawny Newsome. I think thanks to Lower Decks breaking the 24th Century comedy barrier, far more fans were in the zen zone of a Trek sitcom than they would have been, say, even five years earlier.

What’s wild is how this broke news about a series that was not actually a done deal yet; hardly the textbook Paramount PR way. But we learned the initial take, with Tawny among the cast, would feature Federation outsiders serving a gleaming resort planet “who find out their day-to-day exploits are being broadcast to the entire quadrant.“ The format was later reported to have been tweaked a bit, but what we do know is that multiple scripts were prepped and the whole package was formally submitted to Secret Hideout just before the 2025 holidays—just in time to sit until future Trek’s big picture is settled.

If there’s anyone I’d love to see pioneer a Trek comedy, single or multi-camera, it’s Tawny and Co. But again, the “Trek Sitcom” is a submitted pitch — waiting for when or if whoever's in charge can decide on it.

Status: IN AN INBOX, SOMEWHERE