The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Lower Decks Crossover Episode Is Dropping Early
Forget "Barbie." Forget "Oppenheimer." The real pop culture event of the weekend is the surprise early drop of "Those Old Scientists," the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 2 and one that crosses over with the characters of the animated comedy series "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Following the episode's world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con, "Those Old Scientists" is streaming on Paramount+ from 4 p.m. PDT/7 p.m. EDT today, nearly a week earlier than originally scheduled.
This episode lives up to the hype and you'll want to watch it as soon as possible to enjoy its best gags (it's extremely funny!) and most emotional beats (it'll melt your heart!) before the internet spoils them for you. And then you'll want to return to /Film to read our extensive coverage of the episode, which will begin ... well, shortly after this article goes live.
Naturally, bumping this episode up a few days has impacted season 2's schedule a bit. So here's what you need to know.
Here's the updated schedule for Strange New Worlds season 2
With "Those Old Scientists" now arriving today, July 22, the schedule for the rest of "Strange New Worlds" season 2 now looks like this:
- Thursday, July 27 – Episode 208
- Thursday, August 3 – Episode 209
- Thursday, August 10 – Episode 210 (Season Finale)
So if you're a perfectly normal and functioning "Trek" fan who builds their week around when they can watch the latest episode as soon as possible, please take note.
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" has consistently proven itself to be the best "Star Trek," well, the best "Star Trek" anything in literally decades, and "Those Old Scientists" finds it walking yet another tricky tightrope. Blending animation and live-action, and bringing animated characters into the "real" world, could've been a disaster. But director Jonathan Frakes (himself a seasoned "Trek" veteran both behind and in front of the camera) and writers Kathryn Lyn & Bill Wolkoff somehow combine both shows without missing a beat, with Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome bringing their "Lower Decks" characters to brilliant life non-animated life. Did you think I was joking when I called this episode more important than Barbenheimer this weekend? Nah. Let's feast, fellow Trekkies.