End of an Era: Michelle Paradise Discusses STAR TREK: DISCOVERY's Final Season

As Star Trek: Discovery orbits its final season, co-showrunner Michelle Paradise sheds light on the series' culminating changes and its lasting impact on the Star Trek universe. Speaking to TrekMovie, Paradise articulated the distinct shift in the show's narrative and thematic structure for season five. This latest season promises a different tone compared to its predecessors, infusing more action and adventure to elevate its storytelling. 

"We knew coming into season five that we wanted that different tone... a bit more lightness—not to lose the things that make Discovery, Discovery," Paradise explained. 

This shift was partly influenced by the heavy atmosphere of season four, which was written and filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding a layer of somberness to the storyline.

Despite introducing episodic elements, Paradise was clear that the essence of Discovery remains intact. 

"It’s still fundamentally Discovery. And Discovery is built on serialized storytelling," she stated, reinforcing the show's core narrative style. 

The decision to send the crew on a quest this season allows for episodic exploration, yet the series continues to weave these adventures into its serialized format.

Paradise also discussed the season five finale, which unexpectedly became the series finale. 

“What’s really interesting about this season is when we came in we didn’t know that it would be our last season,” she said. “So we had finished shooting and then we found out. We actually felt like of all the seasons for it to happen, this was the best one because the themes are all so big.”

When it became clear that the season would be Discovery's last, some additional footage was shot, but most of the material already shot didn’t need to be changed. 

“That is all just as we shot it with maybe a couple of tweaks for the finale that we ended up shifting just some things around, but it was very minor, very minor,” she said. “But I do think that people coming into the season and not knowing that will feel very satisfied and like we had known going in. So that’s kind of cool.”