Star Trek: Discovery pauses production on season 4 as “key” person quarantines due to COVID-19 exposure

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham leads the crew in the trailer for Star Trek: Discovery season 4

APRIL 25, 2021 - Star Trek: Discovery has paused production for two weeks after a close call with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Deadline brought us the news of the halt in production, which is happening while cases of the disease continue to rise in the Toronto area, where much of the fourth season is being filmed.

CBS Studios made the decision to pause production on the series after a “Zone A individual [...] came in close proximity” with an individual known to be positive for COVID-19. The term “Zone A” refers to people who are “key cast and production members” on the series. Deadline noted that the person who tested positive is not involved with the series and never on set. The “Zone A individual” has not returned to the set since being exposed.

Production on the fourth season of Discovery began in November of 2020 after several months of being delayed due to the pandemic. The two-week pause in production will see the series continue filming sometime near May 6th, and will likely mean an extended filming schedule, originally scheduled to finish in mid-June. It isn’t the only brush with COVID that the franchise has run into lately. Earlier this month, an upcoming guest star on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tested positive after arriving in Ontario to film. Fortunately, the unnamed guest never arrived on set and had limited contact with the Strange New Worlds crew, meaning that production on the series could continue.

The fourth season of Discovery is expected to premier later this year. Until then, you can catch up on the first three seasons, along with all of your favorite Star Trek series, available to stream now on Paramount+.