Star Trek: Lower Decks is now a Hugo Award winner, over 30 years since Star Trek: The Next Generation won the prestigious prize. Since 1953, the World Science Fiction Society has awarded the best in science fiction and fantasy. Previous Star Trek Hugo winners were Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “The Menagerie” and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s series finale, “All Good Things…”
Star Trek: Lower Decks ended its five-season run on Paramount+ in December 2024. Mike McMahan’s beloved animated comedy was nominated for two Hugo Awards for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, “Fissure Quest,” and Star Trek: Lower Decks’ series finale, “The New Next Generation.”
Star Trek: Lower Decks creator and showrunner Mike McMahan took to Bluesky to address the show’s Hugo Award win for Lower Decks’ series finale, “The New Next Generation.” Lower Decks beat out Doctor Who, Fallout, and Agatha All Along for the Hugo, which is an even more impressive feat for the animated comedy. Check out Mike’s posts below:
Here’s Mike McMahan’s entire statement on Bluesky about Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Hugo Award win:
Winning a Hugo is my dream… So my dad surprised us and passed away in 2003, due to complications with childhood polio. He was the best guy in the world. After I lost him, I was pretty messed up. Part of that was I couldn’t remember any novels I read. I read A LOT- and I was finding that I couldn’t retain anything anymore. Except for sci-fi books. For some reason, sci-fi old and new was sticking with me. I could actually remember what I had read.
Then I started rewatching TNG on DVD at the same time- sci-fi became my comfort zone, and Trek was a big part of that. (And Firefly, Battlestar, etc, but mostly Trek). I was reading EVERYTHING that won or was up for a Hugo. Obsessed with the new nominees each year and celebrating when novels went mainstream or hit it big by getting adapted to shows or movies. I read the Hugo lists constantly and voted for a couple years.
To win a Hugo, the same year as the amazing [Ryan North]- and both of us for Star Trek: Lower Decks… I literally could not be happier. It means so much to me. So thank you, Hugo voters!! An army of talented people made Lower Decks possible, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished. Thank you to everyone who has watched and shared and said kind things about the show.
What Lower Decks’ Huge Award Win Means For Star Trek
Image via Paramount+
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ Hugo Award win was the first for the Star Trek franchise since Star Trek: The Next Generation took home a Hugo for its classic series finale, “All Good Things…” in 1994. Lower Decks’ triumph with its own series finale is a beautiful symmetry since Mike McMahan’s animated comedy is a continuation of and loving homage to TNG‘s 24th century stories and aesthetic.
Adding prestige to Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Hugo wins is that this triumph comes after Star Trek: Discovery’s Hugo Award nomination in 2018 for season 1’s “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ two Hugo Award nominations last year, including for season 2’s “Those Old Scientists,” Strange New Worlds‘ crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks directed by Jonathan Frakes.
Impressively, Star Trek: Lower Decks also won another Hugo Award for IDW’s interactive graphic novel, Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, written by Ryan North with art by Chris Fenoglio.
Our Take On Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Hugo Award
Image via Paramount+
Given what fans feel was an unnecessary cancelation of Star Trek: Lower Decks by Paramount+, since the animated comedy could have potentially run for years, these Hugo Awards are a sweet validation for Star Trek: Lower Decks. Mike McMahan’s series was firing on all phaser banks in season 5, and the two Lower Decks episodes nominated for Hugos were among the best the series ever produced.
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ future is up in the air, but animated shows like Futurama have been canceled and revived multiple times. Star Trek is under new ownership with Paramount-Skydance, which is looking to bolster Paramount+’s streaming service. Perhaps Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ Hugo Award win could provide Mike McMahan with the boost he needs to mount a comeback for the show.
Source: Bluesky
Star Trek Lower Decks
- Release Date
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2020 – 2024-00-00
- Writers
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Gene Roddenberry
