EXCERPT: Strange New Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers Interview in Star Trek Explorer #4

We have tons to celebrate in the universe of Star Trek! With the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, now streaming, and the 35th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation a week away, there are so many areas of the Alpha Quadrant to explore.

With today's release of Star Trek Explorer #4, you can revel in several pockets of space. From the exclusive interview with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Anson Mount reflecting on Captain Pike's journey through the first season, to Strange New Worlds' executive producer/co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers revealing all, to 'The Definitive Guide to the 35 Things that made TNG Great,' get in on all the behind-the-scenes insights for the creative forces and talent who bring the final frontier to life. Star Trek Explorer #4is now on sale! You can grab a copy at your preferred retailer.

For Henry Alonso Myers, producing and co-showrunning Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the culmination of a lifelong love of Star Trek – which makes him the perfect person to help guide a show that has one eye on Trek’s past and the other on the franchise’s future. With Season 1 of Strange New Worlds in the rear-view mirror, Myers casts an eye of the triumphs, challenges, and surprises of that inaugural season, and hints at what’s in store for Season 2.

STAR TREK EXPLORER: What was your goal for the first season and, if you can be at all objective, how close do you feel you came to achieving it?

HENRY ALONSO MYERS: My goal was to just get through the season. Honestly, Akiva [Goldsman, Executive Producer, co-showrunner, and Strange New Worlds co-creator] and I had this same goal, which was to do a Star Trek show that we liked as fans. We’re both big Star Trek fans. I thought that I was a medium Star Trek fan and then I got into conversations with people. I’d say, “No, that’s a Romulan disruptor.” Then I had this realization, “Oh wait, maybe I’m a little bit more deep into this than I thought.” We wanted to make a show that we enjoyed as fans, and I think on that level we succeeded. I hope people had the same reaction.

STAR TREK EXPLORER: What was the biggest surprise for you as Season 1 evolved? What storyline started clicking and had you deciding, “Let’s go further”?

HENRY ALONSO MYERS: The strength of our cast. I wouldn’t say that was a surprise, but it was a delightful realization, just how good they were. There was a powerful La’an [Christina Chong] story that we told about dealing with trauma. There was an encounter with the Gorn in the first half and a very memorable encounter with the Gorn in the second half of the season. What were the other big surprises? How much could we push the edges of Star Trek? The other thing that was a pleasant surprise was discovering how funny our cast can be. It was important for me to bring humor into this. I’ve worked on a lot of shows that have humor in them. The original show has humor. Anson [Mount – "Pike"] is an unbelievably talented comic actor, as is Ethan [Peck – "Spock"]. Everyone is good at that, so it was easier to pepper into the show than I expected. Part of the fun of this was to try different tones, and show that you could do that with Star Trek.

STAR TREK EXPLORER: You basically recreated “Balance of Terror” for the season finale, “You basically recreated “Balance of Terror” for the season finale, “A Quality of Mercy.” Take us through and how you did so.

HENRY ALONSO MYERS: I love that episode. We called it internally, “The Ghost of Pikemas Future.” The goal was… a unique way to do a finale that would put our cast in the situations of a TOS episode; recreate them, but with Pike and our new people in those positions. It didn’t change where it goes because of that. That was one of those episodes that was a Star Trek fan’s delight. There’s a whole sequence from “Balance of Terror” that we recreated shot by shot, which you didn’t have to know to enjoy the episode. But for fans who knew it, they’re like, “Oh my God!” We went so far.

That episode was shot by Magdalena Górka. We had two DPs, Glen Keenan and Magdalena. She recreated this amazing splash eye light that they did on TOS. The Bridge had the same feel. We got to introduce the Romulans, go to their ship and see that side. The fun of that was, we were quite literally doing what the central message of the show is. If Gene [Roddenberry] was doing this today, what would it be? That’s how we approached it, and with big effects, the types of characters you’d see today, characters who are recognizable to a modern audience, a modern approach to visual effects, costumes, and everything. We got to do it.

Read the full, exclusive interview in Star Trek Explorer #4, now on sale, to discover what Myers has in store for Season 2; how he walks the line with the Star Trek continuity; and more! Plus, Anson Mount on Captain Pike's Strange New Worlds Season 1 journey; two new and exclusive Star Trek short stories; Star Trek stars reveal the aliens they'd love to play; and much, much more!