When discussing Star Trek now vs. decades prior, it can sometimes be like comparing apples to oranges. While the franchise always advocated progressive ideas and technology, it's also grown a massive budget and changed with the times to align with modern trends in streaming. The spirit is still there, though watching Deep Space Nine with my Paramount+ subscription has made me realize the new shows lack something it did well.
As upcoming Star Trek shows, both known and unknown, prepare for streaming, there's a lesson to take from, which, some would argue, was the best show of the TNG era. If there's one way that Strange New Worlds or the upcoming Starfleet Academy series should emulate Deep Space Nine, it's in how it spotlighted non-human species.
Deep Space Nine Thrived On Fleshing Out The Bajoran, Ferengi And Other Species
While other Star Trek shows thrived on space travel and exploring new planets, Deep Space Nine stayed put. Being stationary at a base parked outside a wormhole certainly took away some opportunities from the series, but staying put gave it one big advantage. We were able to learn much more about the people on the ship, and the cultures they came from.
The Bajoran and Cardassian conflict alone gave us a deep look at both species, and in fairness the story lends itself to us naturally learning more about them. That said, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine also told us plenty about the Ferengi in a way The Next Generation didn't, even if it made some fans dislike Quark.
Let's be honest, if you've watched Deep Space Nine, you probably know more about Bajorans and Ferengi than you've learned about Vulcans throughout the entire franchise. Part of this is because Star Trek is more about humanity's journey in the future, but it's also because this series does that incredibly well.
Newer Trek Shows Have Introduced Interesting Non-Human Characters, But They Haven't Gotten That Treatment
Watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has made me think about some of the newer non-human characters we've seen in the franchise. Saru is one of my favorite characters of the new era, but I only know about him in the context of his career in Starfleet. Star Trek: Discovery gave us some background on his Kelpien species, but there's not a ton to chew on besides the fact they were a repressed species that lived in fear through most of their existence.
At least, that's compared to all the Rules of Acquisition we learned from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Beyond that, we saw three vastly different Ferengi who all wanted vastly different things in life. Quark wanted the most profit, Rom wanted what his brother had, and Nog wanted something entirely different from what his culture valued. There were three entirely different Ferengi, with three entirely different personalities.
We don't get that kind of variety in the new era of Star Trek, and not just because there are fewer Trek shows in 2025 than previous years. Strange New Worlds is particularly light on alien species, and to its credit, more about telling the story of the bridge crew before James T. Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise. Even so, one would think we could get some additional lore about augments with a direct descendant of Khan on the ship and Number One being outed as one.
I do hope that Starfleet Academy can do this, and with so many cadets coming in from all across the galaxy, it feels like the perfect setting for it to happen. This is especially true with the series being set several centuries beyond the other shows, so we can get a little history lesson on how each major species has changed. Don't worry, Robert Picardo will still be there as the EMH for anyone who starts to miss the TNG era too much.
Why It May Be Harder For Newer Trek Shows To Do What Deep Space Nine Did
While it would be great for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds or Starfleet Academy to include deep looks into non-human species in, I do wonder if this is something that a modern show could pull off. One of the biggest reasons I think it's hard to do so is because of the low episode count in seasons, where the standard has now become ten episodes.
In addition to removing filler episodes, fewer episodes means that modern Star Trek shows have to stick to the main plot of the story. While Deep Space Nine was able to make Bajoran relations a main part of the story, I'm not sure either Strange New Worlds or Starfleet Academy could do the same. Then again, maybe I'm underestimating the writers and just thinking purely in the context of what past shows did.
After all, Strange New Worlds has essentially written the playbook for how Star Trek can have serialized storylines while still delivering episodic adventures. Serialized character arcs could allow for more storytelling to happen with alien species, assuming the show introduces characters from different species we haven't seen a lot of yet. It feels like a problem that can be easily remedied if the right storyline is put in place, so maybe we'll still see that happen in either series.
Ultimately, all Star Trek shows present and in the future can benefit from emulating Deep Space Nine, and despite its popularity, few have really done so in a meaningful way. So far our most notable references were the crossover episode in Lower Decks and the Dominion War plotline in Picard Season 3. Maybe we could even get another series set with the cast, but with no firm plans in place mentioned by the powers that be, we can only cross our fingers and continue to hope it'll happen.
Until that day comes, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is available to stream in its entirety, along with other shows in the franchise over on Paramount+. Of course, there's also new shows on the way, though we're still waiting on updates of when they'll arrive and when we'll get more adventures with Starfleet.
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