Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Soap Opera Episode Guest Stars Look So Familiar

Published Sep 4, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 7 - "Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds beamed in a pair of special guest stars for its soap opera episode, with a returning comic genius and an icon of daytime television. Directed by Anna Dokoza and written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, "Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass" is a pitch-perfect ode to soap operas, complete with soft lighting and heaps of contrived melodrama. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 7, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) awakens with amnesia and learns that reality has been changed. Everyone aboard the USS Enterprise behaves as if they're in a soap opera... because they are. Pike and his crew turn out to be unwilling participants in Trelane's (Rhys Darby) school project to explore the heightened drama of humanity. Trelane's "body cleansing theatre" is a checklist of soap opera tropes, from Pike having amnesia, Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) believing she's Pike's long-lost daughter, Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) needing his evil twin's heart to save his life, and Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) suffering from "space madness." However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' soap opera wouldn't be complete without perhaps the biggest name in daytime TV guest starring in it. Diedre Hall Plays Dr. Eleanor Chivers In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Image via Paramount+ Three-time Daytime Emmy nominee Diedre Hall plays Dr. Eleanor Chivers in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' soap opera. Hall is a living legend best known as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of our Lives, a role Diedre has played for 50 years. Dr. Eleanor Chivers, a Starfleet therapist, is obviously based on Marlena. Diedre Hall was a series regular on The Young and the Restless in 1973 before she joined Days of our Lives in 1976. Hall played Electra-Woman in the Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl segments of The Krofft Show. Dierdre also starred in Our House, played herself in Never Say Never: The Diedre Hall Story, and cameoed as herself on HBO's Hacks. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' soap opera, Dr. Eleanor Chivers is assigned to counsel Captain Pike, an appointment he regularly avoided. After Trelane's "fever dream" over the Starship Enterprise lifted, Pike finally accepted Chivers' help and begins to work through his grief of losing Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) and his daughter, Juliet (Anna Mirodin), his family in an alternate reality future. Dr. Eleanor Chivers is also a retcon by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that Starfleet did have counselors aboard 23rd century starships. The concept of a ship's counselor was introduced by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Chivers joins a short list of Star Trek therapists that includes Troi, Lt. Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer), and Dr. Migleemo (Paul F. Thompkins). Rhys Darby Returns As Trelane In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Image via Paramount+ Rhys Darby returns as Trelane, a role he originally played in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 2, "Wedding Bell Blues." Darby is best known for starring in a pair of classic HBO comedies: Flight of the Conchords, where Rhys played band manager Murray Hewitt, and Our Flag Means Death, where Darby portrayed Captain Stede Bonnet. New Zealand-born actor, comedian, and filmmaker Rhys Darby has worked with frequent collaborator Taika Waititi on the feature films What We Do In The Shadows and Next Goal Wins. Darby starred in Yes Man, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and the upcoming Jumanji: Open World. Rhys has also voiced characters on The Simpsons, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and The Sheep Detectives. ​​​​​​​Star Trek: Strange New Worlds established that Trelane is a member of the Q Continuum. Darby took over the role of Trelane, a god-like prankster revealed to be a child, from William Campbell, who played the self-styled "Squire of Gothos" in Star Trek: The Original Series. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds established that Trelane is a member of the Q Continuum, that he's now 8021 years old, and his father is Q (John de Lancie). The good news for the USS Enterprise crew is that Trelane's academic Proctor (Diane C. Johnstone) was impressed by his project about the human "ants" and gave him a B- grade. It remains to be seen if Rhys Darby will don Trelane's regal coat for a third time in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' fifth and final season. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere Thursdays on Paramount+ 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