Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Debuts With a Surprising Rotten Tomatoes Score

Aaron Fonseca
1 day ago
3 min read

As fans of Star Trek get ready for the highly anticipated third season of Paramount+’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, critics are weighing in with their opinions of the new season. Compared to the previous two seasons, the third season of the Anson Mount-led Strange New Worlds has a lower Rotten Tomatoes score so far.

With 12 critical reviews, the third season of the Trek series has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with an 83%. In comparison, Season 1 of Strange New Worlds has a nearly-perfect 99% critic score on the review aggregator with 84 critical reviews. The second season of the show is also rated highly by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 97% based on 98 reviews.

Reviews are Mostly Positive So Far

The audience score is not yet available for the third season of Strange New Worlds, as the show does not premiere on Paramount+ until July 17. The first two seasons of the show have an 81% and 77% audience score, respectively. The Rotten Tomatoes reviews so far are largely positive, but some critics are not thrilled with the third season of Strange New Worlds.

Samantha Coley of Collider writes a review that states, “In a franchise known for going boldly and pushing boundaries, Strange New Worlds Season 3 has pumped the brakes in many ways.”

dditionally, Iain Robertson of Starburst had some criticisms of the third installment. “If you loved previous seasons, this is more of the same, with the same wild mix of genres and tonal shifts that has become de rigueur for the show, although in this initial batch of episodes it’s done far less successfully than previous seasons.”

The Big Takeaway is that Season 3 is “Fun”

Ryan Britt of Inverse said in his Rotten Tomatoes review that the third season is “fun.” Britt wrote, “Where the series will boldly go next might be somewhat predictable, but it’s still very much one of the most fun sci-fi shows on TV.”

Callie Hannah of FandomWire also praised the show’s more lighthearted nature. “Strange New Worlds is nothing if not fun, and the latest season fully understands and embraces that sense of fun,” Hannah wrote. IndieWire’s Christian Blauvelt wrote, “All that’s left is the fun. Hey, who are we to complain when it’s a show this fun? But Star Trek always has had the capacity to be more, and so has this show.”

Paste Magazine’s Elijah Gonzales said in his review, “All things considered, Strange New Worlds continues to do an excellent job at adapting Star Trek to this era of television, maintaining the series’ episodic structure and unvarnished optimism.”

Strange New Worlds Will Conclude After Five Seasons

As fans gear up for the third season of Strange New Worlds, Paramount recently announced that the series will end its run after five seasons. The fourth season is already in production and is expected sometime in 2026. Strange New Worlds' fifth and final season will consist of six episodes instead of the usual 10.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas, Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga, Carol Kane as Pelia, Melanie Scrofano as Captain Batel, Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk, and Martin Quinn as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 premiere is set for July 17 on Paramount+.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes