The third season of the American television series Star Trek: Discovery follows the crew of the starship Discovery as they travel to the 32nd century, more than 900 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and learn that Starfleet has nearly been destroyed by a cataclysmic event called "The Burn" that has left the galaxy disconnected. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serving as showrunners.
Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, first officer of the Discovery, along with the returning Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, and Wilson Cruz. They are joined by David Ajala and Rachael Ancheril. The season was ordered in February 2019, with Paradise promoted to co-showrunner alongside series co-creator Kurtzman. They ended the second season with the Discovery travelling to the future, beyond existing Star Trek continuity, which allowed them to explore a new time period for the franchise including new designs and technology from production designer Phillip Barker. The season introduces the first explicitly non-binary and transgender Star Trek characters, respectively portrayed by recurring guests Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander. Filming took place from July 2019 to February 2020 in Toronto, Canada, and on location in Iceland. Star Trek: Discovery was the first visual effects-heavy series to go through post-production during the COVID-19 pandemic, with work on the season's visual effects, as well as editing and music, taking place remotely.
The 13-episode season premiered on the streaming service CBS All Access on October 15, 2020, and concluded on January 7, 2021. It was estimated to be the most in-demand All Access series of 2020, and received positive reviews for its new setting which critics felt had freed the series from the franchise's existing continuity and allowed it to tell the story it was meant to tell. Other praise went to the season's real-world parallels and cast (especially Martin-Green, as well as the introduction of Ajala, del Barrio, and Alexander), while Burnham's character development and the resolution of major issues received mixed responses. It won a Primetime Emmy Award for its visual effects, and received several other awards and nominations. A fourth season was announced in October 2020, and the third season also sets-up a planned spin-off series to star recurring guest Michelle Yeoh.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main
Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham
Doug Jones as Saru
Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly
David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker
Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber
Rachael Ancheril as Nhan
Recurring
Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou
Tig Notaro as Jett Reno
Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal
Ian Alexander as Gray Tal
Oded Fehr as Charles Vance
Noah Averbach-Katz as Ryn
Janet Kidder as Osyraa
Notable guests
Annabelle Wallis as the voice of Zora
Sonja Sohn as Gabrielle Burnham
Hannah Cheesman as Airiam
Paul Guilfoyle as the Guardian of Forever
Rekha Sharma as Ellen Landry
Kenneth Mitchell as Aurellio
Production
Development
On February 27, 2019, CBS All Access renewed Star Trek: Discovery for a third season, shortly after the second season premiered, citing the positive fan response to the premiere as well as the service's increased subscription count in that time. After joining the series in the second season, writer Michelle Paradise was promoted to co-showrunner for the third alongside series co-creator Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman explained that Paradise had been essential to his process during the second season, becoming a partner for him while he oversaw multiple Star Trek series in addition to showrunning Discovery. By the end of the second season he felt that Paradise was already running Discovery with him, so it was an easy transition to her becoming official co-showrunner during the third season. In October, Kurtzman said the season would have 13 episodes, and this was unlikely to be extended as happened for the previous two seasons. The season was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman's production company, Secret Hideout, as well as Roddenberry Entertainment.