A musical episode of Star Trek was a long-held dream of writer and producer Ronald D. Moore, who had proposed such an idea for both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. However, he was met with opposition from the production teams on both Trek shows. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, and Henry Alonso Myers have no such qualms about doing a musical episode, and it feels perfectly in keeping with SNW's embracing of a diverse range of genres. So far, SNW has done fairytale episodes and recently blended live-action and animation in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode.
n the promotion for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, the cast teased some "big swings" when it came to genre. Now that the musical episode has been revealed, it's easy to see what actors like Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn were referring to. Christina Chong told Screen Rant that Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9 was based on an idea that she had way back in season 1. When she discovered that the SNW writers' room was also considering a musical episode, she "pushed it further", until Akiva Goldsman eventually confirmed they would do it in season 2.
Christina Chong is a talented singer in her own right, with her first EP, Twin Flames due for release in August. Meanwhile, Celia Rose Gooding won a Best Musical Theater Album Grammy for the Alanis Morrissette musical Jagged Little Pill, for which she was also nominated for a Tony award. With two incredibly talented singers on the cast, it seems like a no-brainer for Strange New Worlds to finally do the long-awaited Star Trek musical episode.
The main problem facing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode is the fact that it's no longer a unique idea. When Ronald D. Moore first pitched a musical episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was pre-Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In Buffy season 6, the show changed the game with its musical episode, "Once More With Feeling". Since then, multiple shows such as The Flash, Fringe, Lucifer, and even Grey's Anatomy have followed in Buffy's footsteps.
Spock and Number One's love of Gilbert & Sullivan, combined with the musical talents of Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong, suggest that a musical episode is a good fit for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The more episodic nature of Strange New Worlds allows it to be much more experimental than the likes of Star Trek: Discovery. This gives SNW plenty of ground to cover when it comes to genre and forms of storytelling. As long as it makes sense within the context of the USS Enterprise then there's no harm in placing the crew under the influence of strange, musical energy in "Subspace Rhapsody".
