How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online right now — release date and time, trailer and cast

Rebecca Romijn as Number One, Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
(Image credit: Paramount via StarTrek.com)

You can finally boldly go to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online with Paramount Plus. And when you do, you'll see if a series of special appearances are truly a good bellwether of a whole new series.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds release date and time

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episodes 1 premiered today (Thursday, May 5).
Time — 3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT
• U.S. — Watch on Paramount Plus
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

Strange New Worlds, which exists because of how much fans liked Anson Mount (as Captain Christopher Pike), Rebecca Romijn (as Number One) and Ethan Peck (as Spock) in Star Trek: Discovery's second season, sits as a prequel of sorts. It's telling the story of Pike's years as the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The trailer for Strange New Worlds, which you can see below, positions it as sort of return-to-form for Star Trek. While Pike does seem to have some of the standard charm required for the chair that Kirk would one day sit in, we don't know a whole lot of what will make him or Strange New Worlds stand out. Maybe that's not the point, though? Maybe this is just supposed to be a good Trek. 

If you had to ask us the stuff we're most excited about, it's getting to know a younger version of Spock. It appears that T’Pring — the Vulcan woman he bonded to as a child — will be in the series as well. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — which we at Tom's Guide think looks like the most compelling new Trek show in ages — is being so well-received by the powers that be that a second season has already been announced. It began filming in February 2022.

Here's what you need to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online. 

How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online anywhere on Earth

Just because Paramount Plus isn't available everywhere doesn't mean you need to miss Star Trek: Strange New Worlds if you've traveled to a place where you can't access it. Watching along with the rest of the internet can be pretty easy. With the right VPN (virtual private network), you can stream the show from wherever you go.

We've evaluated many options, and the best VPN is ExpressVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. It's also affordable at $12.95 per month. (Signing up for longer periods of six months or a year reduces the cost even more.)

ExpressVPN

Our favorite VPN service, <a href="https://go.expressvpn.com/c/4550836/1330033/16063?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.expressvpn.com%2Foffer%2Ftomsguide%3Foffer%3D3monthsfree%26a_fid%3D744" data-link-merchant="expressvpn.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ExpressVPN, really shines thanks to its safety, speed and simplicity-to-use. It's also compatible with loads of devices - from iOS and Android to Roku, Apple TV and PlayStations. 

How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in the US 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode 1 debuted today (Thursday, May 5) at 3 a.m. ET. It is streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.

Season 1 consists of 10 episodes, which will be released weekly on Thursdays.

Paramount Plus

<a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/221109/175360/3065?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountplus.com%2F" data-link-merchant="paramountplus.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Paramount Plus combines what used to be CBS All Access with even more content from ViacomCBS partners. Includes Survivor and Big Brother episodes, as well as originals like Star Trek: Discovery, 1883, The Good Fight and the upcoming Halo series.  You can try Paramount Plus with a <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/221109/175360/3065?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountplus.com%2F" data-link-merchant="paramountplus.com"" data-link-merchant="paramountplus.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">7-day free trial.

And in other TV news, the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer is finally here, and it's teasing the grudge-match of the year. Also, it's almost time to watch Tehran season 2 online and see if Apple's espionage show gets better with the addition of Glenn Close.

How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online in the UK 

We've got some bad news for the Brits who want to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. This Paramount Plus series will wait until June 22 to launch in the U.K., as that's when Paramount Plus debuts in the U.K. and Ireland.

So, as you might expect, the next best thing available for those who want to watch along with us in the U.S. is to grab a VPN service such as ExpressVPN to work your way around the Paramount Plus geo-restrictions.

How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online in Canada

Unlike the situation across the pond, our neighbors to the north don't need to wait to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus. It debuts on the same day as it does in the U.S.. Paramount Plus costs $5.99 CAD in Canada.

How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online in Australia

Good news! Since Australia is one of the growing number of regions where Paramount Plus is available, you can watch the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds down under. There, it costs AU$8.99 per month or AU$89.99 per year. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer

In the trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, we got a glimpse of how Captain Pike interjects himself into moments of chaos. More simply put, the trailer is kind of a montage of sorts. And we're not sure why Pike would tell Number One that he doesn't love this job.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast

Anson Mount leads Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, reprising the role of Captain Christopher Pike, which he first played in Star Trek: Discovery. Also reprising their roles from Discovery are Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock.

The full announced cast is as follows:

  • Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike
  • Rebecca Romijn as Number One
  • Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock
  • Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel
  • Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh
  • Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura
  • Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas
  • Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga

VPN terms of service

(Image credit: Future)
Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.