carol kane star trek interview

‘Strange New Worlds’ Star Carol Kane Discusses Her Character’s ‘Unique’ Accent and Why She’s Never Seen ‘Star Trek’

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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When Carol Kane was approached about joining “ Star Trek : Strange New Worlds” for its second season, the celebrated 70-year-old actor had to make a confession: She’d never watched a single minute of the venerated franchise.

“The science fiction world has not really been attractive to me for some reason,” Kane says. “Now that I’m in it,” she adds with a laugh, “I’m very excited about it. It just wasn’t on my path until now.”

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Despite her enduring career — she made her professional debut onstage in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1966, the same year “Star Trek” premiered on NBC — Kane says she still felt like “the new kid in school” when she joined a reading of the season-premiere script over Zoom. That’s also when she asked to try out her take on Pelia’s loopy elocution for the first time.

“You know, I’m not a very confident person, unlike Pelia,” she says. “I was terrified that at the end of it, they would say, ‘No, we want you to regular voice,’ but they didn’t. They said, ‘Go for it!’ I think that was brave of them.”

More challenging were the thick gobs of “Star Trek’s” signature technobabble that Pelia had to rattle off without breaking a sweat. “That’s the hardest part,” she says. Kane credits the show’s cast and crew for explicating to her why Pelia would, say, request that the Enterprise vent plasma out of the warp nacelles.

“I like to know as much as I can about the made-up science,” she says. “But to be very honest with you, I am not a science- or math-oriented person. So I don’t understand all of it, even though they explain it to me. But I do the best I can. Everybody’s quite patient.”

As much as one can, Kane is also preparing herself for how the galaxy of “Star Trek” fans will respond to her. “I’ve been told that when you become part of the world, you will experience a reaction from the fans, which I guess are called Trekkies,” she says. “I don’t know exactly what it will be like, but I’m kind of bracing myself for it, and also excited about it.”

Despite her enthusiasm for joining the franchise, Kane has yet to watch any “Star Trek.” “Well, the writers said that they liked the fact that I didn’t know it — they felt that that would be useful for my character,” she says. “I think I will now.”

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Carol Kane on Joining the Enterprise and Who She Plays in Season 2

"When they called, I thought, 'They must have the wrong number,' because I thought, 'Of all people to be on Star Trek!'"

Joining the Star Trek universe can be an incredibly daunting feat, but fortunately, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Myers ’ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes place almost an entire decade before Star Trek: The Original Series . While it does still boldly explore the backstories of characters from the original series, Strange New Worlds also introduced fans to brand-new crewmembers, like Bruce Horak ’s Chief Engineer, Hemmer. Season 1 raised the stakes with Hemmer’s death, but the Enterprise can’t go long without an engineer, and before Season 2 premiered on Paramount+ , Collider’s Steve Weintraub was able to speak with actress, Carol Kane , who will play Pelia this season.

Kane isn’t only the newest – and possibly oldest – Starfleet member aboard the Enterprise, but a well-known actress who’s graced the screen in countless roles across film and television, including The Princess Bride , Annie Hall , and When A Stranger Calls . During their interview, Kane admits that prior to taking on her new role as Pelia, a Chief Engineer who’s “been alive for centuries ,” and mentor to the late Hemmer, she’d never watched Star Trek before. In fact, she tells Weintraub she was pretty sure the producers had the wrong number. So, how did she prep for the part ? You can find out in the video or transcript below, as well as what about being on the show surprised her most, and more.

In addition to Kane, Strange New Worlds features an ensemble cast of characters, including Anson Mount ’s Captain Christopher Pike , Rebecca Romijin as Number One, Ethan Peck as Spock, Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura, Babs Olusanmokun as M’Benga, and introducing Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas and Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh. Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Season 1 is available to stream on Paramount+ or for free on YouTube .

CAROL KANE: You have one of my sons you're wearing there. Did you ever see a movie called The Sisters Brothers with Joaquin Phoenix and [John C. Reilly]? Oh, they're both so great, but anyway, it's fun that you're wearing him!

COLLIDER: Speaking of, I have a lot of Star Trek to talk about, but you have a fantastic resume. If someone has actually never seen anything that you've done before, what is the first thing you'd like them watching and why?

KANE: Oh maybe… I don’t know maybe Hester Street because it's so great, but I don't know. There's so many. And why? Because that was such a well-rounded role, you know? It wasn't just comedy, it was just a very well-rounded character.

Jumping into Star Trek , this is a little generic, but were you a fan of Star Trek before the role or how much were you like, “Oh, I need to watch a lot of Star Trek all of a sudden?”

KANE: I had not really seen it, and I told that to the producers when they called. And when they called, I thought, “They must have the wrong number,” [laughs] because I thought, “Of all people to be on Star Trek.” I didn't ever imagine such a thing, but it was so much fun. But I really was not in the Star Trek world, and to tell you the truth, I didn't watch a lot of it because I just kind of wanted to stay where we were in Strange New Worlds , so I just wanted to be present with that and not compare it to other things.

Sure. I've seen the first six episodes; I don't want to spoil anything of Season 2, but what are you allowed to say about your character?

KANE: Well, I could say who I am, that I have taken over being the engineer on the ship from Hemmer, who was my student, years ago, and I guess I could say that I've been alive for centuries. So I have quite a background, and I know a lot about everyone there, and I know my job, and I think I'm very opinionated because I have been around much longer than anyone else, and I think I claim that territory. I get pretty straightforward and opinionated.

Yes, I agree with everything you just said.

KANE: So you saw Episode 6?

I have, I've seen the first six, but I'm trying to be spoiler-free.

KANE: What a good man you are!

Yeah, I'm trying to be good. I don't want to hold the interview for eight weeks from now. I am curious, what did you think it was going to be like making Star Trek and being on the set of Strange New Worlds versus how it actually was? Were there any surprises?

KANE: Well, it presents itself when you read it at first as a lot of very difficult technical language, you know, involved, right? So I think the surprise for me was sort of the emotional layer that is there, which there's kind of a profound emotional level for a lot of the characters, and that surprised me. I didn't expect that.

Season 2 is 10 episodes, do you have a favorite of the 10 episodes?

KANE: No, because I haven't watched them. I'm waiting until they come out and watch one at a time like everybody else.

It's probably smarter than what I did. I watched all six back-to-back basically, and it was fantastic.

KANE: Did you have a favorite?

I can't say it because it would spoil things.

KANE: You're so good!

I've been doing this a long time.

KANE: You’re so careful, that’s very nice.

I'm trying to be good but, listen, I already have to wrap with you, I'm already getting the signal. I'm just going to say, again, been a fan of yours for a long time. It's really cool to get to talk with you. If I had more time I would have brought up Princess Bride .

KANE: Oh, thanks so much! I appreciate that, Steve.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 debuts on Paramount+ on June 15. Check out Collider's interview with Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun below.

Star Trek's Most Shocking New Character Could Change Canon — If She Wants To

In Strange New Worlds Season 2, Carol Kane’s Pelia has a big secret — and the Trek timeline will never be the same.

Comedy legend Carol Kane never expected to get the call to be in Star Trek. But, as revealed in the season 2 premiere of Strange New Worlds — “The Broken Circle” — her character, Pelia, has suddenly cemented herself into the franchise for a very, very long time.

Here’s what Carol Kane says about getting part of the latest Enterprise Chief Engineer, what she added to the role, and why she never even realized the implications of the character’s backstory. Spoilers ahead for Strange New Worlds , “The Broken Circle.”

Carol Kane as Pelia in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

“Okay, so I didn’t audition,” Carol Kane tells Inverse . “I was called. And I was shocked. I was stunned . Never in my life did I imagine myself on Star Trek.” In the context of the show, the famous actress — whether you remember her from The Princess Bride or Kimmy Schmidt — brings charming off-kilter energy to the Trek ethos, in a way no character has done before.

But, she oddly has big Starfleet boots to fill. Following the death of Chief Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak) in Season 1, the Enterprise needs a new person to watch over the warp engines — and the time of Scotty is not yet upon us. Enter, Pelia, a woman who appears human, but is really a centuries-old Lanthanite. After Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) identifies the accent, Spock and the crew realize the new ad-hoc Chief Engineer of the Enterprise possesses memories of Starfleet that predate all their lives and the Federation itself. And when faced with the prospect of helping Spock (Ethan Peck) steal the Enterprise , Pelia is hilariously ecstatic.

Kane plays all of this with flourishes of whimsical, absent-minded indifference, which, might be because her Star Trek knowledge was close to zero when she was hired.

“I must admit — and I told the writers and producers right away that I really hadn't seen any Star Trek,” Kane says frankly. “But they kinda liked that idea! They liked the fact that I was coming to it fresh and now, and I like it too. I'm certain I'm learning. The jargon is not easy. It’s good for the brain because it's like a crossword puzzle in some ways.”

Pelia’s species revealed, in Strange New Worlds .

Although Kane maintains much of the character’s quirkiness was simply written that way by the Strange New Worlds team, she did convince showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers to let her give Pelia a unique accent. And it’s this accent which tips off Uhura about her true identity as a hitherto undisclosed nearly immortal alien race.

“I'm so grateful to them for allowing me to do it because it was a leap for them,” Kane reveals. “The accent. That wasn’t written. But they said, ‘Go ahead.’ It frees me up a lot and they could have gone much safer and just said, no. And that would've been okay, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun for me. And therefore, not nearly as much fun for the audience, I think.”

For fans who are thinking about how Strange New Worlds fits into the larger timeline of the entire canvas of the whole Star Trek story, Pelia is something of a game-changer. Because she’s been alive for hundreds of years, it means she’s suddenly in the backstory of Enterprise , but, also, that she could potentially be around in any Trek series, at any time. Is Pelia alive in Picard’s time? What about Discovery’s 32nd century? Could Carol Kane now become one of a handful of characters who could appear in any Star Trek, forever? Would she be up for those crossovers?

“Oh, I hadn't thought about that!” Kane says with glee. “But, I love the idea. That's fantastic.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is streaming on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is upending canon for its new engineer

Carol Kane plays the the mysterious, hilarious chief engineer Pelia

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As season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds comes to Paramount Plus this week, most things about the show are the same. It’s still the Enterprise as helmed by Captain Pike , Kirk’s predecessor. It’s still a return to the episodic Trek formula of yesteryear. And it’s all the same cast — except for one.

With last season’s heartbreaking death of chief engineer Hemmer, there’s a space to fill on the Enterprise roster. And as it’s still a little too early for Montgomery “Scotty” Scott to show up, that role has fallen to an original character: chief engineer Pelia, played by legendary actor and comedian Carol Kane.

Given that she’s brand-new, there’s very little anybody knows about Pelia — but in the season premiere, “The Broken Circle,” she’s already upending everything we know about Star Trek’s alternate history of humanity.

[ Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the season premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2.]

The usual sign that a character is human rather than one of Star Trek’s innumerable humanoid aliens is that they’re not wearing some kind of facial prosthetics. And you won’t find a pointed ear or ridged forehead anywhere in Kane’s show wardrobe. But, as “The Broken Circle” reveals, Pelia is definitely not human. The first hint we get is when she casually refers to being more than 100 years old. In the same scene, Uhura, the ship’s polyglot, takes note of Pelia’s accent and asks if she is “Lanthanite,” to which Pelia replies, “Guilty as charged.”

Which is very interesting, because there’s no analogous Star Trek species to that name. In the episode’s final scenes, Spock drops one more tantalizing, explosive line about Lanthanites in conversation with Pelia: “I’ve always been fascinated by your people. That you managed to live on Earth among other humans undetected until the 22nd century is remarkable.”

This is brand-new information for Star Trek canon, and it would mean that somewhere in the 2100s — a century that includes the founding of the Federation, the obsolescence of money, and the events of the Star Trek: Enterprise series — humanity discovered that there had been aliens living among them. And this is something that everybody in Star Trek has just... known this whole time, but not mentioned until now? Buck wild.

When Polygon spoke with Kane, the first thing we asked was how she’d reacted upon realizing her character was an alien who’d lived secretly among humans for potentially centuries.

“Just thrilled,” she replied, “because you can let your imagination run wild and it’ll work. Also, I like the fact that I get to be the one that knows the most — in my opinion. And I probably do,” she quipped, “because of the time I’ve been on the Earth and in space.”

Kane said she relishes playing an older character, not unlike the original series’ Dr. McCoy, who’s doing cool space stuff right alongside all the young folks. “I like that at my age, which is Pelia’s age, that I get to be on the ship and embraced by the other people, so I’m not solitary. I like that. I relate to that.”

Kane couldn’t tell us anything about Pelia or the Lanthanites that wasn’t already revealed in “The Broken Circle.” All we can say for now is that they appear to be a completely new addition to the galaxy of species that make up Star Trek canon, and that chief engineer Pelia has a friendly history with Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson. There’s no telling when Strange New Worlds is planning to reveal more, but we, for one, eagerly await more answers about the aliens living among us.

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How Carol Kane Crafted Pelia's Accent For Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A t the end of the first season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," the U.S.S. Enterprise had lost its chief engineer, Lieutenant Hemmer (Bruce Horak), to a Gorn egg that had been implanted inside his body. At the beginning of the second season, audiences were introduced to a new character named Pelia (Carol Kane) an engineer who had no intention of serving on board the ship. After a merry misadventure, Pelia decided she liked the Enterprise and its crew and signed onto a senior role on the ship. Pelia was unlike many of the more rule-oriented characters on "Strange New World," rarely abiding by protocol, hoarding strange art artifacts in her room, and generally ignoring orders. She was a wonderful addition to the show, and a worthy successor to the already-great Hemmer. 

Pelia is a Lanthanite, a humanoid species that lives literally thousands of years. It's their longevity, perhaps, that informs Pelia's devil-may-care attitude as well as her tendency to be a packrat. When you live for millennia, one would indeed accumulate a lot of keepsakes. She's also long-lived enough to outlive the statute of limitations on some crimes, meaning she can no longer be prosecuted for pilfering several of her better-known artworks. 

Pelia also speaks with a unique, peculiar patois, nailed immediately by the linguist Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). The Lanthanite accent doesn't quite resemble anything on Earth, and Kane admitted that she merely invented her accent for the role. Kane said in an interview with Wil Wheaton  on an episode of the show "The Ready Room" that she was grateful to have been given the creative leeway to play Pelia with a unique voice, as she felt the character should reflect a certain confidence that comes with many centuries of life. 

Read more: Celebrities You Didn't Know Were In Star Trek

The Ease Of Wisdom

When asked what she wanted to most bring to her character, Kane replied: 

"A comfort, an ease with her wisdom, her knowledge, and her power, you know? A comfort. A comfort with that. And a voice was born out of that, too. That's a different voice. And that was really wonderful to do and have them accept that I would do that, because they could have said to me, 'No, no, we don't want that. We want just your regular voice.' But they took the leap with me and I'm grateful for that." 

It certainly makes the character unique. In a separate interview with Variety , noted that she wanted her character to sound a little implacable so that no one could quite nail where she had come from. Her origins, through her voice, would remain somewhat mysterious. 

Of course, having an unknown origin is also one of the central jokes of Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, the character Kane played on the 1978 sitcom "Taxi." Simka was said to come from the same country as Latka (Andy Kaufman), and his home country was deliberately never specified. It was perhaps somewhere in Eastern Europe, but when he spoke his native language, it was clearly not any kind of Earth language. /Film's own Danielle Ryan once posited the theory that Pelia -- because she is so long-lived, and because she, too, possesses an accent of indeterminate origin -- is in fact the exact same person as Simka. Nothing in "Strange New Worlds" has yet contradicted this.

It certainly makes "Taxi" more interesting, pondering that two of its regular characters are, in fact, centuries-old Lanthanites hiding out among humans. It would also explain why they refer to their home merely as "the old country," and why their language sounds so odd. 

Read the original article on /Film .

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Published Jun 21, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Showrunners on Approach to Storytelling, Comedy, and Kirk Brothers

Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers peel back the curtain on Season 2!

Getty Images / StarTrek.com

The sophomore season of the hit series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is here, and the cast and creatives cannot wait for fans to embark on a new set of adventures with the crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise , under the command of Captain Pike.

We previously chatted with the ensemble cast ahead of the season’s premiere; now, StarTrek.com welcomes co-showrunners and executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers aboard the bridge to talk about this season’s comedic tone, special guests, the Kirk brothers, and more!

Their Not-So-Secret Formula for Storytelling

What’s most essential to the co-showrunners and their approach to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that they’re inviting longtime fans as well as new ones. “The truth is we like to be welcoming to all,” remarks Goldsman. “We make the show for fans and new viewers alike. That’s really important to us because it keeps our storytelling fresh and authentic. As best as we can, we don’t rely on anybody bringing anything to it. Although we are delighted when people do, and they should sit back and have a good time.”

This Season on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 2 Sneak Peek

“A hundred percent,” echoes Myers. “Watch the show if you’ve never seen Star Trek before. We’re trying to make it for you as much as we’re trying to make it for the people who’ve seen it all.”

This season takes bolder and bigger swings tapping into different genres such as the courtroom drama as well as a franchise-first, the highly anticipated crossover episode with Star Trek: Lower Decks . Goldsman credits the ensemble cast with their ease and success, “We try to honor The Original Series in that way, with how the show moves through genre. It’s a great gift for us because we can use the flexibility of our actors, which was unexpected.”

StarTrek.com

“We were very lucky to get folks who were so good at drama, comedy, naturalism, and sort of more hyperbolic performative stuff. They can move back and forth, which allows us to move back and forth through genre. We use genre as a kind of carnival mirror to show human and sometimes alien emotions because ultimately our show is just about relationships. It’s relationships in space.

The Infusion of More Comedy

Last year, Myers expressed the desire to inject more comedic swings for its second season. On the ease or difficulty of balancing a comedic tone with a deeply rooted science fiction series, Myers firmly notes, “It never takes away from the sci-fi elements. We are making a show for human beings to watch and experience in human being ways.”

“One of the things that we were delighted to discover was that we have a cast that’s really good at comedy,” elaborates Myers. “In Season 1, we did more pushing them in that direction, and with Season 2, we realized, ‘Oh they’re really good at this. We should try a little more. We should push them a little harder because they seem to be really into it.’”

“We try to be sort of shepherds rather than rulers,” adds Goldsman. “We have at our disposal, shamelessly, this extraordinary wealth of talent. We watch, we listen, as well as we make. When you see something delightful in life, chase it. They’re delightful at being charming and funny just as they are delightful at being dramatic and meaningful. Why not have all these things?”

The comedic tone was certainly welcomed by the series’ cast. “For me, it was a tremendous amount of fun,” states Anson Mount. “I don't always get to use my comedy chops. It's been an enormous amount of fun, and I think it's important for our show. It's important for action, adventure, and drama to know when to not be so deliberate. Otherwise, we don't get a chance to breathe.”

Praising the creative minds, Melissa Navia raves, “One of the many things that Strange New Worlds does well, and again it’s all thanks to the writers and our showrunners, is that we found this beautiful balance of light and darkness. That’s so difficult to capture in a show. It’s difficult to get all the nuances of life in one show, and we’ve managed to do that. We opened up as a cast and what we’re able to do as actors; being able to play the dark sides of life, and then all those moments of life that makes it worth living. The moments of joy is at the heart of what makes Star Trek so lovable and so enduring that we can go back to these stories. We’re looking at characters we love, that we want to hang out with, that we want to learn more about, and that we see ourselves in. What Henry, Akiva, and everybody have been able to do is really bring that to every single episode. Especially in Season 2, we have some huge genre shifts that definitely push the envelope.”

“It’s absolutely wonderful,” Ethan Peck concurs, on the importance of comedy. “We take things really seriously on the Enterprise . In my opinion, Nurse Chapel’s got some amazing zingers and one-liners, as well as comedic situations, and Ortegas as well. It’s a blast.”

Reflecting on the season at large, Christina Chong reveals, “For me, Season 2 was just me laughing for the majority of it, on- and off- camera. That’s due to Carol Kane being hilarious, and me giggling in all of her close-ups, off-camera. Also, Paul [Wesley] and I, just every scene we filmed, every shot we filmed, we were making each other laugh.”

The Addition of Carol Kane, Tawny Newsome, and Jack Quaid

The instant infusion of a more comedic tone can be seen from the second season inclusion of the prolific Carol Kane as the Enterprise ’s new chief engineer, as well as Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid bringing their Star Trek: Lower Decks animated roles, Beckett Mariner and Bradward Boimler , respectively, into the live action world.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Meet Pelia: The Enterprise's New Chief Engineer

Speaking on the casting for Commander Pelia , Myers explains, “We were trying to think about all the ways in which we had seen an engineer and how could we just take it in another direction, just try something that hadn’t been seen before. Carol Kane came up from our brilliant casting people who were, ‘What about her? She might be perfect.’ Then Akiva and I looked at each other and were, ‘That’s exactly right. That’s exactly what we want.’”

The blending of Lower Decks ’ over-the-top style of comedy required more from the creatives. “It was probably more complicated than we anticipated just in terms of tone,” acknowledges Goldsman. “The focus on it allowed us to get something pretty lovely. We were served in the best possible way by Tawny and Jack, and Jonathan Frakes, who was directing. We have funny people there.”

“He just likes to make it a party,” interjects Myers. “It’s a fun place to hang out and everyone started bringing new stuff into it; that’s great to watch. We really wanted to show and have it feel like Lower Decks . We had to find a way to touch on that for people who like both shows.”

“Ultimately, it is a Strange New Worlds episode with Lower Decks joining,” Goldsman crucially notes, “It’s not a Lower Decks episode.”

As for any complications of blending animation and live-action? Goldsman explains, “I read this on Twitter and thought, ‘Well, that’s very smart.’ Someone said that animated characters don’t know they’re animated. That’s just the way they’re presented, and that’s correct. There’s no distinction between toon and not-toon. That’s not a thing we’re doing in this. They’re presented so that we believe our characters are our characters, and they’re just presented in different forms on the different shows.”

The Kirk Brothers

As fans await the first meeting between James T. Kirk, in the present timeline, and Spock, there’s another dynamic we can’t wait to witness. Sam Kirk , as seen in the first season, serves under Pike’s command; will we get to see any more brotherly interaction outside of The Original Series’ “ Operation: Annihilate! ” when Lt. James T. Kirk boards the Enterprise again?

“We do see them,” answers Myers. “We seem them together. That sort of touches on the fundamental thing of what we are trying to do when we’re using elements from the past.”

[ RELATED: Strange New Worlds 101: The Kirk Family ]

“James’ brother was initially just a one-shot of him being dead with a mustache on [in The Original Series],” Myers elaborates. “We never knew anything more about them except some brief things, in some of the books. We wanted to take a moment, ‘Okay, he’s got a brother. What’s their relationship? Why is their relationship like this? What’s it like to be connected to the two of them?’”

“When Akiva wrote the pilot, he put in this [Sam] Kirk thing and tossed it in the air saying, ‘Okay catch. Anyone who wants to catch it, catch it,’” concludes Myers. “That’s what it was; to find moments for them, deepen it, understand what this relationship means. It wasn’t a concern for The Original Series, but how cool is The Original Series now that you know there is actually depth to their relationship?”

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Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation Starship.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Carol Kane And ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Showrunner On Lanthanites And Just How Old Pelia Is

| June 21, 2023 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 55 comments so far

The season two premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introduced a new mysterious character with Academy Award-nominee Carol Kane playing Pelia. Now the actress, and co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, are offering a few more details about the character, and her species — the long-lived Lanthanites.

Pelia is really old – designed to be the flip side of Hemmer

“The Broken Circle” introduced Carol Kane as Pelia, a Starfleet Academy engineering instructor who ended up taking the position of chief engineer, replacing Hemmer who sacrificed himself in the penultimate episode of season 1. Speaking to Collider , Carol Kane talked more about her character’s background, including identifying a connection to Hemmer:

I have taken over being the engineer on the ship from Hemmer, who was my student, years ago, and I guess I could say that I’ve been alive for centuries. So I have quite a background, and I know a lot about everyone there, and I know my job, and I think I’m very opinionated because I have been around much longer than anyone else, and I think I claim that territory. I get pretty straightforward and opinionated.

The premiere episode also revealed that even though Pelia looks human she is a Lanthanite, a race Spock described as living “on Earth among other humans undetected until the 22nd century.” Uhura also spotted her distinct accent as Lanthanite. Kane noted above she has lived for hundreds of years, which was also stated in the episode. In a video about Pelia released by Paramount+ (below), Kane reveals Pelia is even older than that:

As an actor, I just love to jump into my imagination and different worlds and that is one of the great gifts we get being actors. One day you are a bank teller and the next day you are a surgeon and the next day someone thousands and thousands of years old… My character Pelia is thousands of years old. She comes from a tribe called Lanthanites.

In the Paramount+ video, co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers explained how making Pelia ancient was their way of changing things up from Hemmer:

We needed an engineer because we had lost Hemmer and we just got into a discussion as a writer’s room about would be an interesting, very different energy to throw into our cast… So we had this idea about a race of people who lived among humans for thousands of years unknown to us… Hemmer had this notion of his own purpose as it related to his mortality. So we thought, “What would be a flip of that?” Here’s someone who never really has to face their mortality. How would you see life differently if you were that person?

Long-lived races are nothing new for Star Trek, including Vulcans and El-Aurians, like Guinan. However, the executive producer hinted Lanthanites may be immortal, putting them into the more rarified league of Star Trek aliens like the Q and other super-beings, although there is no indication yet they have any special powers beyond their age. We will likely learn more in episode 3 where preview images indicate La’an and Kirk will encounter a younger Pelia in the 21st century.

Paul Wesley as Kirk, Christina Chong as La’an and Carol Kane as Pelia in episode 203 “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” (Paramount+)

Kane shakes up the cast

Henry Alonso Myers also talked about how they were drawn to casting Kane due to her “completely different energy,” and how this allowed for a new dynamic with the characters. He explains in the Paramount+ video:

When she comes into any scene, she is so much herself in a way that I think is kind of perfect for the crew. It really kind of throws people back on their heels. It makes them think about things differently. It forces them to play things differently.

In the same video, actress Celia Rose Gooding noted that due to Uhura’s strong connection to Hemmer, she is a little “trepidatious” initially with Pelia, but “because of Pelia’s incredible personality and just how warm and exciting she is, I think Uhura can’t help but sort of be attracted to that.”

For her part, Kane was not familiar with Star Trek, telling Collider “I had not really seen it,” joking that she thought the producers had the wrong number when they initially reached out. However, in the Paramount+ video about Pelia, she talks about how easy it has been to join the show.

I never imagined being in sci-fi. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever come close to doing… I must say, being in scenes with this entire cast has been so much fun. Sometimes you feel a little awkward coming in a second season, people have already gotten very-family-like together. And I haven’t felt that for one second. I think the first person I was able to work with was Ethan Peck who is just a doll and so talented and handsome to boot, which never hurts.

Carol Kane as Pelia (Paramount+)

Here is the video with Kane and Alonso Myers talking about Pelia.

And here is the full Collider interview with Kane.

Season 2 episodes drop weekly on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Season 2 is also available on SkyShowtime elsewhere in Europe. The second season will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in South Korea, with premiere dates to be announced at a later date.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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I do wonder if she will only be in season 2 though… Like the Dr. Pulaski of Strange New Worlds…

Maybe it will be like Discovery and how that show has a new chief security officer every season….or Captain. ;)

Oh yuck that suxed for TNG season 1 for the chief engineer!

I hope not, she’s a welcome addition. Was she slated to be in season 3, I admit to not knowing this.

Doubt it. Crusher didn’t die like Hemmer. Also Kane is a pretty big name and talent.

Does she know Flint?

I predict a Flint connection.

Indeed. The references to “other humans” and a “tribe” suggests that they are human, if only long-lived.

So, basically a “Highlander” crossover.

Knowing these writers……yes, there is a connection.

True. 8:) This is getting ridiculous. So the Enterprise had a Khan descendant and a Flint tribesman a decade before they met Khan and Flint? Come on….

So maybe Peila was Mona Lisa?

Maybe Pella was Carol Kane?

Being trained and mentored by her would be one way to make SNW Scott more interesting than TOS Scott.

It’s unfortunate she’s not an El Aurian, since this character’s premise is similar to Guinan. Long-lived, hiding among Humans for centuries, and wise.

That would certainly have precluded the need for the accent. I love Kane, but that’s a bit distracting and affected.

Kane is relatively normal in Hunters, but this is a long running schtick, as it were

“From the dawn of time we came…moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you… until now.”

If anyone starts chasing Pelia with a sword, we’ll know why…

There can be only one.

I was about to make a Highlander joke, you beat me to it. Like you said lets hope no one starts chasing her with a sword.

That notorious Spaniard, Sean Connery

She may not have done sci fi before but she was in Princess Bride as Valerie, Miracle Max’s wife. Pretty close to a fantasy setting.

Year, she did Ray Bradbury and tons of fantasy stuff like Transylvania 6-5000, Scrooged, Adams Family and Gotham.

Gotham? Was she Penguin’s mom?

Yes, I believe so

She was the best thing about Scrooged!!

Carol Kane was a great casting choice. I hated the episode but did enjoy her performance. She was the bright light of the episode.

Yeah, Kane is always a pleasure to watch, regardless of the role. As for the episode itself, for my money it frankly wasn’t interesting enough to hate.

I’m always gobsmacked when I see an actor, producer, director, etc., say, “I don’t know ‘Star Trek’, I never watched ‘Star Trek,'” etc. Seriously? The show is such a fixture of the US and even the world that the original Enterprise model is in the Smithsonian, and you never got curious about what the fuss was all about? Is this some kind of posturing that folks need to do in order to feel like they’re taken seriously?

She was aware of it, but never found it appealing enough to watch more of it than a few minutes. I don’t find that hard to belive. Most people who know who Shakespeare is have ever seen a single play of his.

Yeah sometimes it’s just not someone’s cup of tea.

I also think that maybe you are taking “don’t know” as if she’s not aware of it at all. My guess is she could probably give you the basics like most people – Kirk, Spock, Picard, starship, Klingons, Vulcans. But she probably just means she never actually saw it or decided to watch it. I know plenty of people like that. And in the younger generation, it’s not surprising at all if they don’t even know Kirk and Spock. But with someone with the age and experience of Kane, I imagine she at least knew who several of the main actors were and probably could identify the Enterprise – if nothing more than the ship from Star Trek. But it doesn’t surprise me at all that she hasn’t actually taken time to get into it.

I’m sure she was aware of it, it would be crazy for her not to heard of it unless she’s 12 lol. I think she just mean she’s not familiar with the universe other than maybe knowing a few of the character names, etc.

But not surprised she’s never seen it. I have friends and relatives whose never watched a single episode or movie to this day.

I mean lets be real. Everyone knows who Kirk, Spock, Enterprise, Luke, Han, Leia, Khan, Milleniem Falcen, Darth Vader, Superman, Batman, Iron Man, Frodo, Harry Potter, etc… are LOL. Whether you have chosen to familiarize yourself with yourself with them with it is different lol.

So are soap operas, but a lot of people don’t watch them and have no idea who the characters are. If Star Trek isn’t your thing, there’s no reason for you to know anything about it. I couldn’t name more than five or six NFL teams or NBA teams, and I have no idea who’s currently playing in any sports league at all. Sports are popular, but I couldn’t possibly be less interested in it, and thus it’s off my radar. Trek fans like to think we’re mainstream, but we are certainly not.

She had to be aware of Trek, Christopher Lloyd as working Trek III the last year both of them were on Taxi. It just wasn’t her thing, that’s okay.

I’m guessing I’m in the minority with this view (like that would ever happen? lol), but I was not convinced that I’m going to like this character given her intro in Ep 1 (which otherwise was a very good ep). Her character reminds me of a silly, juvenile character that is played for laughs — like we would get on Lower Decks.

I hope that this first impression of mine is incorrect as I get to know the character better in the coming eps.

You’re not alone. I don’t think I’m going to enjoy her either. I’d have preferred to keep Kemmer or get Scotty. She seems like a goofy Guinan.

Honestly I don’t know how I feel about her. I like this show very much, but there are things sticking out that feel out of place. Pelia is one of them. If I was a dog my head would be tilted… Like Nomad said: There is much to be considered… I must re-evaluate.

Nor am I. The accent was just too over the top, much more so than even Pavel Chekhov’s, and I hope they tone it down a notch. (That’s what Marina Sirtis eventually did with Troi’s accent, which didn’t bother me.) I do think the character could be a fresh take if she doesn’t descend into parody. Unfortunately, given what we’ve seen from NuTrek, I’m not optimistic that will be the case.

I’d never seen TAXI before Carol Kane was cast, and I watched an episode or two after the announcement.

RIght now, she’s basically recreating her TAXI role as Latka and superimposing a Starfleet engineer’s uniform over it. I get that she’s not the first actor to be typecast. Still, she may have been hired to put the “crazy” into season 2’s craziness.

Oh, and another thing. If Lanthanites truly blend into human society (as opposed to segregating themselves along the Amish model), they shouldn’t have a distinct accent. Accents aren’t genetic. They should speak in the same way as others in their community.

I like the character so far but based on what we know and seen so far, I don’t know why they just couldn’t make her an El Aurian? Maybe there will be something distinct about what the species do or some type of special power?

Yep. Leave it to the Secret Hideout crew to use an existing alien they shouldn’t and not use an existing one that has many of the traits this new alien has.

“So we had this idea about a race of people who lived among humans for thousands of years unknown to us…”

No they didn’t. They recycle an idea and then claim it came in some brilliant epiphany. They are taking credit for a lot of things on this show that didn’t originate with them.

I’m not seeing the big diff either but frankly after the S Show that was PIC season 2 I’m not really sure what an El Aurian is anymore either.

Now give us that Simka Gravas spinoff.

If she was going to do sci-fi like she is now, what better place to start than Star Trek?

She’s a great addition to the cast and it’s nice she has history with Hemmer.

Calling it now, Guinan/Peila 21st century episode of Bar Rescue!

Sorry, but I found the character just a little annoying. And why would the cast need to be “energized” after only one season? Hopefully the character will grow on me, but I do think it would be cool if they changed engineers each year until Scotty comes along.

I’ve loved Carol Kane in everything I’ve seen her, which is why I was surprised that Pelia was an absolute misfire for me. For now I’m choosing to believe it was a directing issue and she’ll win me over in the coming weeks.

Same. She’s a legend, and I love a brilliant eccentric performance, but sometimes you do have to really workshop it to not feel like it’s half-formed and improvised.

A showcase for a unique talent, Carol Kane. She can turn it off, mostly, in Hunters,but she’s going for the broad comedy here and uh, why not? It all still tracks with canon. Great storytelling potential, and a running gag of meeting her at earlier and earlier times – you know that is going to be its own episode.

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The Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner will be portraying “Pelia” in  Strange New Worlds Season 2, and is described as “highly educated and intelligent, this engineer suffers no fools; Pelia solves problems calmly and brusquely, thanks to her many years of experience.”

In addition to the new casting,  Star Trek Day also brought a new clip from next season’s long-awaited episode focused on Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), as the helm officer prepares to join an undercover landing party headed to an alien planet.

With the large regular cast, the Ortegas character did not get a spotlight episode in  Strange New Worlds’  first season — but as promised, Season 2 is going to deliver “more-tegas” to the pilot’s devoted fanbase.

Strange New Worlds  is in post-production now and a specific Season 2 date was not announced during the  Star Trek Day presentation, however it is expected to arrive on Paramount+ in the first half of 2023.

Along with regions where Season 1 has already debuted, the first season of the show is expected to arrive on Paramount+ in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria “later this year.”

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Adds a Comedy Legend to Its Cast

Oscar nominee carol kane is joining season 2 of the paramount+ series in a recurring role..

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds brought a first-look clip for season two and some exciting casting news to its segment of Star Trek Day. Carol Kane (whose dozens of credits include The Princess Bride , Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , Scrooged , and Broadway’s Wicked ) is coming aboard the USS Enterprise .

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A Star Trek press release described the role as “recurring;” the character, Pelia, is described as “highly educated and intelligent, this engineer suffers no fools. Pelia solves problems calmly and brusquely, thanks to her many years of experience.” You can see Kane in character at the top of this post in the first official photo, and watch the first-look season two  clip right here:

Today’s Star Trek Day discussion featured cast members Rebecca Romijn (Number One), Celia Rose Gooding (Cadet Nyota Uhura), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh), Melissa Navia (Lt; Erica Ortegas), and Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga). The big names not present were Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike) and Ethan Peck (Science Offier Spock)—but they, along with new cast member Kane, will be present and accounted for when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns for its second season, expected to arrive next year.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power .

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‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Adds Carol Kane, Plus Watch Season 2 Clip (VIDEO)

Well, it looks like  Strange New Worlds is going to continue to be the most entertaining Star Trek  series, if the new sneak peek of Season 2 is any indication.

As part of Star Trek Day, the anniversary of the  Star Trek: The Original Series pilot and celebration of the franchise’s enduring legacy, Paramount+ unveiled a look at the upcoming season — which will include a crossover with  Lower Decks — and announced that Carol Kane will recur as Pelia. “Highly educated and intelligent, this engineer suffers no fools,” reads her character’s description. “Pelia solves problems calmly and brusquely, thanks to her many years of experience.” Check out a photo of Kane in character above.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Stars Carefully Tease Season 2

In the clip, which you can watch below, Lt. Erica Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ) is excited to get off the  Enterprise and be part of the landing party with Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ), Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh ( Christina Chong ), and Dr. M’Benga ( Babs Olosukomun ). But then Spock ( Ethan Peck ) offers an update that changes their plans.

“Maintaining stability will require piloting Enterprise by hand,” Pike informs Ortegas — meaning they need her on the ship. As for who will be flying the shuttle, that would be Pike. “I may not be Erica Ortegas, but I was a test pilot, remember?” he reminds her. Watch the clip to see Spock trying to get Ortegas to accept it’s “illogical” to blame him.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Pike manned the helm of the  Enterprise , following him, Spock, and Number One ( Rebecca Romijn ) in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. It also stars Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel and Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura.

The show is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers serve as co-showrunners. The series is created by Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, who also serve as executive producers along with Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Aaron Baiers.

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Exclusive Interview – Christina Chong on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

March 17, 2024 by Ricky Church

At the Toronto Comicon, we spoke with  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ‘ Christina Chong on what it’s like to join the massive  Star Trek  franchise, her favourite episode to film and the potential fate of her character La’an Noonien-Singh. Watch our interview below…

In Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, confronts increasingly dangerous stakes, explores uncharted territories and encounters new life and civilizations. The crew will also embark on personal journeys that will continue to test their resolve and redefine their destinies. Facing friends and enemies both new and familiar, their adventures will unfold in surprising ways never seen before on any Star Trek series.

SEE ALSO: Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Christina Chong discuss Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Spock) and Rebecca Romijn (Una Chin-Riley), Jess Bush ( Skinford ) as Nurse Christine Chapel, Celia Rose Gooding ( Jagged Little Pill ) as Nyota Uhura, Babs Olusanmokun ( Dune ) as Dr. M’Benga, Christina Chong ( Black Mirror ) as La’an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia ( Billions ) as Erica Ortegas, and Carol Kane ( Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ) as Chief Engineer Pelia.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently filming its third season in Toronto.

Ricky Church – Follow me on  Twitter  for more movie news and nerd talk.

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