‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Wilson Cruz & EP Tease Season 5’s ‘Fun Quest’ & ‘Different Kind of Stakes’ (VIDEO)

Star Trek: Discovery has always been fun, but it sounds like Season 5 could be a tad lighter than the Paramount+ drama has been in the past.

Series star Wilson Cruz (who plays Dr. Hugh Culber) and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise sat down with Andrea Towers in TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine‘s studio at New York Comic Con 2022 to tease the upcoming fifth season — which they’ve been filming since June — and share their excitement over finally getting to share a look at it with the fans. (The trailer debuted as part of the Star Trek Universe NYCC panel.)

After the heaviness of the third (following the jump to the future) and fourth seasons, “we talked a lot about doing a tonal shift. Those were the first things that [co-showrunner] Alex [Kurtzman] and I talked about at the start of the season, so I feel like people will be excited for that because there’s certainly an action-adventure, light component to it that was very deliberate, and I think the adventure of the season is pretty fun,” Paradis teased. “It gives us a chance to go to some different places and meet some different people. It’s a fun quest.”

Added Cruz, “And it’s been exciting and fun for us to play, to have this new adventure to focus on as opposed to the end of the world and the universe and the galaxy.” However, he was quick to note, “We’re still Discovery and there’s still high stakes, don’t get us wrong, but they’re different kind of stakes.”

Something that Star Trek has always celebrated is diversity, and Discovery has continued that tradition since the beginning. “To be half of the first gay couple on Star Trek TV in the beginning was overwhelming enough for Anthony and I. To do it together with Anthony Rapp [who plays Paul Stamets], who has been my friend for almost 30 years, this actor that I respect so much, has been amazing,” Cruz shared.

He went on to point out how far Dr. Culber has come and how we’ve seen him come into his own. “It’s ironic that it took his death for him to start figuring out what was important to him, what kind of life he wanted to lead, what he needed to put aside and what he wanted to focus his life on,” he said.

Watch the video interview above for more from Cruz and Paradise on Discovery and Culber.

Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, TBA, Paramount+