Star Trek Teased A Much Better Idea Than Strange New Worlds’ Captain Kirk Spinoff

Published Aug 3, 2026, 12:33 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. While Strange New Worlds teased a potential spinoff centered on Captain Kirk, the Star Trek franchise installment also hinted at a much better potential continuation of the show’s story. Readers could be forgiven for assuming that the Star Trek franchise has explored every possible angle in 2026. Admittedly, there are currently no new Star Trek TV shows in production for the first time in a decade, and this is likely due to the sheer number of shows and spinoffs the franchise has created since 2017. From Discovery to Short Treks to Picard to Lower Decks to Prodigy, there has been no shortage of new takes on the familiar Star Trek setup in recent years. If anything, the success of the prequel Strange New Worlds might prove that the franchise needs to get back to basics to win over viewers, instead of trying ambitious experiments. After all, Starfleet Academy’s attempts to offer the first YA Star Trek series impressed critics, but proved divisive among the show’s online fandom. That being said, there is such a thing as playing it too safe. By actively playing into James Kirk’s dynamic with the show’s new versions of Spock, Scotty, and Uhura, all stars of Star Trek: The Original Series, Strange New Worlds has unofficially built up the possibility of a spinoff series centered on a young Captain Kirk. Since one could argue that this series already happened 60 years ago, and was called Star Trek, the show should instead offer viewers a more promising, exciting spinoff in the form of Division 12. Division 12 Is A Much Better Star Trek Idea Than A Captain Kirk Spinoff Image credit: Paramount+ Not to be confused with the execrable 2025 TV movie Section 31, Division 12 is a team of Starfleet analysts who investigate “unexplained phenomena” throughout the galaxy. Mentioned in the season 4 premiere of Strange New Worlds, this division could be central to the show’s best possible spinoff. Effectively a version of The X-Files set in the Star Trek franchise, Division 12 could follow the eponymous characters as they catalog all the weird anomalies found throughout the galaxy. This premise would be much better than another show about Captain Kirk and the Enterprise, as it would be a genuinely fresh, original setup for a Star Trek spinoff. Throughout the last decade, the series has been consistently committed to reinventing the franchise’s image, with the comedy of Lower Decks, the kid-friendly animation of Prodigy, and the YA teen drama of Starfleet Academy. However, the paranormal police procedural format would be uniquely well suited to the world of the franchise. Many of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series focused on the ship’s crew coming across strange alien races and other anomalies in the galaxy, while the success of The X-Files and its spiritual successor Fringe proves that this premise has plenty of further potential. While supernatural cop shows like Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grimm, Lucifer, and Evil have all explored this concept through a fantasy/horror lens, Division 12 could be the first blend of the paranormal police procedural format with a space opera setting. Can Division 12 Become A Real Star Trek Spinoff? Image credit: Paramount+ Sadly, it is tough to see how Division 12 could happen in 2026, since the cancellation of every existing show in the franchise makes it clear that Paramount isn’t eager to expand the Star Trek brand right now. That said, if the idea catches on with fans, it could be developed when Paramount+ finally decides on Star Trek’s future direction. The popularity of the cop show format means Division 12’s premise alone will always be an easy sell, even to executives who are historically known for their reticence around experimenting with risky spinoffs. The fact that The Next Generation’s best episode was as much a legal drama as a sci-fi outing proves that the franchise flourishes when given room to experiment, which is exactly why Division 12 would be a better addition to the Star Trek franchise than a Kirk-centric spinoff of Strange New Worlds. Release Date 2022 - 2027-00-00 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman Directors Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman Writers Onitra Johnson Franchise(s) Star Trek Creator(s) Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet