Lower Decks Star Tawny Newsome Admits Her In-Development Star Trek Live-Action Comedy Is A Self-Insert: "I Create Roles For Me"

Last year, it was announced that Lower Decks actress Tawny Newsome would be spearheading a new Star Trek live-action workplace comedy. In a new interview, she admits it’s a self-insert.

Almost every Star Trek idea in the Alex Kurtzman era has had little to do with Star Trek but attempts to use the brand to make “different styles” with a slight Trek twist. We can see early on in Star Trek: Discovery how the show completely abandoned everything that made Star Trek the show it was and leaned into this dark action sci-fi that seems to permeate every show since Battlestar Galactica. Section 31 was an attempt at an action comedy that didn’t seem to have any connection to Star Trek, and Lower Decks has been the ultimate silliness as they made a Rick ‘n Morty in space show.

Poor ratings of these shows didn’t impact development, however, as Kurtzman and company greenlit Starfleet Academy, set in the future Discovery timeline, where it’s said to be a college-age personal drama akin to Melrose Place, something Trek fans are not interested in despite their trotting out Robert Picardo as the Doctor once more.

One show that’s been in development for a while is Tawny Newsome’s “workspace comedy,” in which she has described a Star Trek show similar to The Office in a concept that’s about twenty years too late and doesn’t fit the ethos of Star Trek at all. The original pitch was supposed to be on a vacation planet similar to Risa, where hijinx ensues among the staff.

She said of the project in a recent interview with Trek Movie, “What is the magic of development–and the magic of developing something I know so well, like Star Trek–is supposed to find what works best. And so with Trek, I know it like the back of my hand. I also know comedy like the back of my hand. Figuring out where those two things intersect is like the divine chore, the incredible fun, but also the incredible work of making sure this show is perfect. That said, the original pitch of the series has shifted in a way that makes me very excited, because I feel confident that we have really found the sweet spot of where those two things intersect. So I’m very excited about it.”

She continued to discuss the concept vaguely, “What I can tell you is what we’re really working on exploring, are the sort of overlooked sections of what happens when a world and a culture that is not that was not in the Federation. What happens when they decide to be?… So Federation outsiders and what’s kind of the nitty gritty involved with joining the Federation and involved with… yeah, I’m really struggling.”

When asked what era it would be in, she said, “The era is still shifting, but my dream of dreams is to keep it in the 25th century.” It seems she wants to have the show set in the Picard era, something which already messed with Star Trek’s future history and was lax on continuity from The Next Generation or Deep Space 9.

Then, she admitted the show would be a self insert when asked if she planned on starring in the show. “Yeah, I’m developing it for myself,” she said.

The interviewer tried to pry whether the character of Beckett Mariner from Lower Decks would be the one she’d play, but Tawny Newsome refused to answer.

She did elaborate on how the show acts as a self insert, saying, “That is why I sent Alex Kurtzman scripts in the first place. Every script I had written was for me because this business is so hard, so you have to create opportunities for yourself. So I write to create roles for me so that is the goal for this show, should we get to–that is the other thing I have to say. I love how much everyone is interested in asking me about it. It is not greenlit. I am not dying to talk about it because I tend to be more cautious. But, I love that you guys are asking about it.”

At least fans know the show has not been greenlit, though Kurtzman keeps encouraging her to write. Rumor has it that Kurtzman is on the hot seat with the recent Skydance acquisition of Paramount, and he’s tasked with bringing forward Trek shows under a strict budget, so we will see if this makes the cut.

What do you think of Tawny Newsome admitting her vision of Star Trek is a self-insert? Leave a comment and let us know.”

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