‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Explains Why Modern ‘Star Trek’ Shows “Are S***”

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Andy Weir’s latest movie, Project Hail Mary, is a major success, earning the highest opening weekend box office numbers of any film released in 2026. With the success of his previous hit, 2015’s The Martian, Weir has become a leading author in the science fiction genre. Fans are already hoping for a Project Hail Mary sequel, and there are plans to adapt his novel Artemis for the screen as well.

Andy Weir, the author known for his original science fiction, once tried to develop a show within the Star Trek universe. He shared on the Critical Drinker podcast that he pitched an idea to Paramount and spoke extensively with executive producer Alex Kurtzman and other showrunners. While he found Kurtzman to be a pleasant person, Weir expressed his dislike for the direction of the newer Trek series, bluntly stating they were ‘bad.’ Ultimately, his pitch wasn’t accepted, and he didn’t hesitate to express his disappointment.

The original Star Trek series first aired in the 1960s. After the film series brought the franchise back to popularity, Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, revitalizing it for a new audience. This success led to several more shows in the 1990s and 2000s, including Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Enterprise. The franchise experienced another resurgence in 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery, which paved the way for newer series like Star Trek: Picard (a continuation of The Next Generation), the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, the children’s show Star Trek: Prodigy, the episodic Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Although Starfleet Academy was canceled after its first season, the remaining episodes are still expected to be released next year.

Recent Star Trek shows, starting with Discovery, have sparked a lot of debate among fans. Will Jordan, known as the Critical Drinker, believes that everything from Enterprise onwards shouldn’t be considered official canon. Actor Jonathan Weir responded, saying Jordan’s view was harsh. As a fan himself, Weir shared his own opinions: he enjoys Strange New Worlds, found Enterprise a bit odd, and thought Lower Decks was fun. He’s happy to see the rest of the newer shows go.

Weir agrees that recent Star Trek shows have lost sight of what made the original series special. He recalled an analyst pointing out that nearly all modern science fiction owes a debt to the original Star Trek, but the current Star Trek shows don’t seem to be among them. He was also pleased to hear that Starfleet Academy was cancelled, exclaiming, “It’s gone! It’s all gone.”

For almost ten years, the newer Star Trek series have sparked a lot of debate among fans. A common complaint is that the shows are too focused on inclusivity and social issues, and not enough on action – a criticism that feels a bit strange considering the original Star Trek was also groundbreaking in terms of inclusion and social commentary. For example, it famously featured one of the first interracial kisses on television, between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura, which caused controversy at the time.

Besides the upcoming second and final season of Starfleet Academy, we can also look forward to two more seasons of Strange New Worlds. What happens with Star Trek after that is still unknown, but there are plenty of possibilities for the future.

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2026-03-29 19:23