Commanding the USS Enterprise is no easy feat, but Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his Number One, Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), are more than up to the task. As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns for its second season, Pike and Number One face all new trials and tribulations, from Chin-Riley going before a Starfleet tribunal regarding her illegal genetic modifications to Pike having to host an envoy of Vulcans. Through it all, the two friends and officers embody the ideals of Starfleet, even if Starfleet Command sometimes needs the reminder themselves.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn share how they upped the ante in Season 2, talk about the various challenges Pike and Chin-Riley face as they return to the final frontier and tease what fans can expect as Strange New Worlds boldly moves forward for new adventures.
CBR: Anson, I love the scene where you host Vulcans on the Enterprise. It gives some of the most comedic moments from Pike that we've seen since the cast went medieval in Season 1. How was it leaning into those colors?
Anson Mount: I actually questioned the writers about whether I actually needed to be in that scene for obvious reasons. They said I needed to be there, so we could see it through his eyes and I went "Okay!" I honestly didn’t realize how much I was doing in that scene until I watched it playback. [Laughs] I wasn’t trying to steal the scene or anything, but I guess they liked what I did in the editing room.
I think that they were right in the end because, with all the drama that’s going on, if we're just seeing it as an audience, [that's] one thing. If we're seeing somebody seeing it, that helps to take the pressure off the drama so that we can laugh at it. Rebecca, how was it going full courtroom drama this season?
Rebecca Romijn: It was a beautifully written episode! There are a number of courtroom dramas within the Trek world, so it’s an honor to have an episode added to that great legacy. I think the analogy is important, to have flaws that still exist in this futuristic, utopian Trek world to see that we're still tethered to these human flaws of prejudice and persecution. Fighting for the right not to hide and live authentically still exists in Trek, [and it] was an important story to tell. It was great.
Both of you have scenes with Carol Kane this season. How was it having her as a season partner?
Mount and Romijn: Amazing!
Romjin: I was starstruck! She's incredible. She's such a seasoned, talented, hilarious and gorgeous human being. She does this thing on set where she acts like she has no idea what's going on, and it adds this beautiful innocence to her performance. She's like no Trek character that you've ever seen, but she's [the] perfect Trek character.
Mount: Absolutely! Maybe she does forget what she's doing every scene, I don’t know. [Laughs] There's a gorgeous innocence about her that keeps it fresh for her, keeps it fresh for us and keeps it fresh for the character.
In a lot of ways, both of your characters start Season 2 having exorcized the ghosts of Season 1, be it Una's Illyrian heritage or Chris's visions of the future. How was it building on the foundation you laid in Season 1 for Season 2?
Romijn: I think you're going to get to see a freer Una now that she’s become unburdened by her lies. From an episodic standpoint, the writers really just went all-out and took some big swings genre-wise. It was really fun for us to receive our scripts and really dig in.
Mount: Yeah, the network is giving us a lot more freedom, so we're taking much bigger swings.
Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres June 15 on Paramount+, with new episodes released Thursdays.