Jerry O’Connell Says Star Trek: Lower Decks “Is Not Done” & Reveals Ultimate Strange New Worlds Crossover

Jerry O'Connell says that Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan "is not done" with his beloved animated comedy, while Jerry also has a personal idea for another crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Star Trek: Lower Decks ended in December 2024 after five seasons, a casualty of Paramount's sale to Skydance Media and Paramount+'s overall shift in direction that resulted in the streamer canceling all of its Star Trek TV series. However, Mike McMahan recently revealed on Bluesky that he has ideas for "at least two seasons more" of stories about the crew of the USS Cerritos.

TrekMovie spoke to Jerry O'Connell, who represented Star Trek: Lower Decks at Paramount+'s San Diego Comic-Con Hall H panel honoring Star Trek's 60th anniversary. O'Connell revealed that he's part of "a group chat with Lower Deckers," who swear they will all return if Mike McMahan is able to relaunch Lower Decks. Encouragingly, Jerry promises that McMahan is "not done with Starfleet." Read his quote below:

Jerry O’Connell: “There is a group chat with Lower Deckers. It’s mostly happy birthday to so and so. A lot of it is, ‘Are you going to the Las Vegas con?’ But man, whenever I see Mike McMahan, I just say, ‘Dude, whenever you’re ready, we will be there.’ He is such a talent, Mike McMahan. He’s our showrunner on Lower Decks. He is such a huge fan of The Next Generation. When I took the train down with Michael Dorn yesterday, I was like, ‘Mr. Dorn, I've got to get a photo with you,’ and I sent it immediately to Mike McMahan, and he wrote ‘Starfleet heroes.’… The group chat is whatever Mike McMahan wants to do. He’s not done with Starfleet, Mike McMahan, it’s in his blood.”

Jerry O'Connell voiced Commander Jack Ransom, the USS Cerritos' musclebound First Officer, in all five seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks. However, the series ended with Ransom being promoted to Captain of the Cerritos, replacing Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis). Ransom immediately made Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) his co-First Officers.

Mike McMahan's ideas for more Star Trek: Lower Decks included taking Captain Ransom's USS Cerritos into the Delta and Gamma Quadrants and meeting "a weirdly nice leftover Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs)." Mike also hinted at more stories with the Beluga whales in the Cerritos' Cetacean Ops, another Vindicta holodeck movie, and learning more about fan-favorite Vulcan, Lt. T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz).

Meanwhile, ScreenRant also spoke to Jerry O'Connell at the Comic-Con press line for Star Trek's 60th anniversary. When asked what he would like for Captain Ransom in the future, Jerry mused about working with his wife, Rebecca Romijn, on another crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds:

Jerry O’Connell: “You know what I'd like. I mean, I know the timelines are different, but my character is a captain now. Spoiler alert: the show's been off the air for a couple of years. I would love to, at some point... My wife's character, Una Chin-Riley... My wife has to serve under my captainship. There would be a lot of sexual tension. We don't condone that sort of stuff in the workplace, but there would definitely be some sparks.”

O'Connell and Romijn's Star Trek characters were both First Officers for years, but the balance of power shifted when Jerry's Jack Ransom became Captain. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 promoted Rebecca's Una Chin-Riley to full Commander, but she is still outranked. Jerry's provocative idea for Una to serve under Captain Ransom has a shelf life if Number One gets her own Captaincy at the end of Strange New Worlds.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is dearly missed by its fans, who take solace in the possibility that it could still return, just as other animated sci-fi series like Futurama have found extra lives. The advantage that Star Trek: Lower Decks enjoys over live-action shows is that the characters never need to age. With Jerry O'Connell and the rest of the cast committed to return if Star Trek: Lower Decks does, it's hopefully just a matter of time.

All 5 seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks are streaming on Paramount+.