‘Star Trek’ Launches New ‘Very Short Treks’ Series With George Takei & More

Star Trek Day is right around the corner and this year’s event comes with a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Animated Series. September 8 marks 50 years since the debut of Star Trek‘s first animated series and 57 years since the debut of Star Trek: The Original Series. In that time the franchise has spawned several spin-off shows, multiple movies, and even two new animated series with Lower Decks and Prodigy — Lower Decks acts as an adult-oriented workplace comedy while Prodigy introduces a new generation of children to the wonderful world of Star Trek. Now, to celebrate Star Trek‘s rich and growing history of animation, Paramount is launching Star Trek: Very Short Treks.

Short Treks debuted back in 2018, with episodes acting as little glimpses into the Star Trek universe as supplemental short films with stories ranging from hilarious to heart-wrenching. Now Very Short Treks will see characters from across the franchise go on comedic adventures in even less time as five new promotional spots celebrate The Animated Series as you’ve never seen it before. Unlike the two seasons of Short Treks, these Very Short Treks are being marketed as “anything but canon” allowing director Casper Kelly to deliver a handful of wacky, out-of-this-world stories that celebrate the franchise without changing its trajectory.

Earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sat down with Kelly to talk about the upcoming shorts. Kelly previously worked on the Short Trek “Too Many Cooks,” which is a delightful episode featuring Archer star H. Jon Benjamin and the origin of Star Trek‘s adorable and unstoppable Tribbles. During their chat, Kelly spoke to Collider about striking the right balance with the upcoming shorts, saying:

“I’m writing them along with these two other writers, Claire Friedman and Aaron Waltke. I write them and then I’m directing them basically along with Awesome Incorporated, the animation studio. And I think the challenge is this isn’t something new I’m making myself, it is a beloved thing with a storied history. So it is negotiating, but you want, you want to push limits. So what’s the right limits to push? What’s not right? What feels good? What makes this not feel like Star Trek anymore, and just figuring all that out because it is a show about optimism and hope for the future. But it’s also a show that does not take itself too seriously.”

Check out a new poster for Star Trek: The Animated Celebration below and keep scrolling for more details on when you can watch Star Trek: Very Short Treks.

‘Star Trek: Very Short Treks’ Features Talent From the Entire Franchise

Back in July, it was announced that Star Trek legends Jonathan Frakes, Armin Shimerman, and Doug Jones would be reprising their roles as Will Riker, Quark, and Saru, respectively, now we’ve learned that even more familiar voices will be heard in the upcoming episodes. In addition to Frakes, Shimerman, and Jones, Very Short Treks will feature appearances from Ethan Peck as Spock, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura, Connor Trinneer as Trip Tucker, Bruce Horak as Hemmer, Noël Wells as Tendi and Original Series star George Takei as Sulu. In bringing back so many iconic characters, Kelly also shared his fear that “the talent would say, ‘wait a minute, you can’t have my character doing this,'” so it sounds like we’re in for quite a trip.

The first Very Short Trek will air at 1 p.m. ET on September 8, with the remaining four shorts airing at the same time each Wednesday through October 4. While the plot of these shorts has not yet been revealed, the titles (in order of air date) are “Skin a Cat,” “Holiday Party,” “Worst Contact,” Holograms, All the Way Down,” and “Walk, Don’t Run.”

Watch the teaser for Star Trek: Very Short Treks below and keep an eye out for “Skin a Cat” on StarTrek.com as part of this weekend’s Star Trek Day celebrations on September 8.