15 Best New Star Trek Characters Introduced In 2023

2023 has introduced many remarkable new Star Trek characters. From the logical or poignant to the devastating or chilling to the hilarious or unusual or just plain cute, the past twelve months of Star Trek on Paramount+ have provided something unique and memorable for everyone. With Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Lower Decks going from strength to strength, the abundance of new and familiar faces grows ever creatively enriched. And with each contribution to the series making a significant and lasting impact, Star Trek‘s best new characters prove that a universe of possibilities remains open to everyone.

From the dangerously adorable and wide-jawed Moopsy in Star Trek: Lower Decks to Star Trek: Picard‘s most menacing Ferengi gangster, to a new generation of assimilated Borg, and a genetically manipulated Changeling bounty hunter that radiates a vengeance-seeking hatred and smug humor, and even musical-and-mad-about-it Klingons in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, there’s no limit to the creativity and complexity of characters Star Trek showcased in 2023. Here are the 15 best new Star Trek characters introduced in 2023.

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15 General Garkog (Bruce Horak)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ first-ever musical introduced the sensationally choreographed K-pop singing and dancing Klingon commander, General Garkog (Bruce Horak), whose K’t’inga-class ship was affected by a quantum uncertainty field inadvertently created by the USS Enterprise at a subspace fold. Outraged at the dishonor, Garkog planned to destroy the fold. Though the Enterprise crew successfully (and tunefully) collapsed it without necessitating violent destruction, the Klingon commander and his ship’s arrival in the system resulted in their inclusion in the musical finale when Captain Pike hailed their battle cruiser. Horak previously played Lt. Hemmer, whose grizzly Gorn-related end foreshadowed the season 2 finale and made a bold impact as the hilariously indignant musical Klingon.

14 Moopsy

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode 2, “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee”

Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) visit Narj’s Miraculous Menagarium and come across the tiny, adorable Moopsy. Despite its deceptive appearance and frequent utterances of “Moopsy,” the small alien animal is a predator capable of ‘drinking bones.’ Quietly released, the Moopsy causes havoc by devouring other inhabitants in mere moments and clambering onto consoles in the control room. With a voracious appetite, the adorable yet alarming alien is reminiscent of Star Trek’s earlier Tribbles (though significantly more deadly). Ultimately, Mariner and Ransom entice the Moopsy back into its enclosure with a trail of Ransom’s teeth.

13 Sera (Adelaide Kane)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 3, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”

Sera (Adelaide Kane), a Romulan temporal agent surgically altered to appear human, seeks to change the timeline by disrupting Earth’s history through destruction and assassination. Calculating a series of actions that negate the formation of the United Federation of Planets, Sera’s cynical and manipulative scheming leads to large-scale war in a newly formed alternate reality. Stranded on Earth for 30 years and frustrated by the timeline’s ever-updating variables, Sera leads Strange New Worlds’ Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and the alternate-reality Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) to the young Khan Noonien-Singh (Desmond Sivan). But it’s Sera’s attempt at emotional manipulation, arrogance, and murder that results in her downfall.

12 Sneed (Aaron Stanford)

Star Trek: Picard, Season 3, Episode 2, “Disengage”

Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) meets with M’Talas Prime’s villainous Ferengi crime lord Sneed (Aaron Stanford) in Star Trek: Picard season 3. A vicious drug dealer and arms trader, Sneed takes a moment to show off his retro trinkets and their renewing value. Dedicated to lucrative potential, Sneed has no qualms about taking drastic actions regarding security or profits. Coercing Raffi into taking drugs to win his trust, Sneed then produces the decapitated head of the Romulan she bluffed she was working for. Notably darker thematically than Star Trek‘s usual encounters with the Ferengi, Sneed fulfills Gene Roddenberry’s original villain vision and establishes an exciting, menacing renewal of the capitalistic race.

11 Sevet (Michael Benyaer)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 5, “Charades”

The Vulcan husband to T’Pril (Ellora Patnaik) and father to T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), Sevet (Michael Benyaer), is presented as a logical yet generally calm, cordial, and tolerant character open to new experiences and ideas, in contrast to the traditionalism and stringent conduct of his wife. A long-time associate of Ambassador Sarek (James Frain), Lt. Spock’s (Ethan Peck) father, Sevet attended the ceremonial V’Shal dinner aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Though generally opting to align with his wife, Sevet’s countenance was markedly more inclusive. Sevet’s differences with T’Pril offer a fascinating insight into the varying perspectives of the Vulcan psyche and their differing approaches to culture, family, and duty.

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10 T’Pril (Ellora Patnaik)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 5, “Charades”

T’Pril, T’Pring’s mother, is preceded by a reputation for being frustrating, challenging, and proud. With Spock and T’Pring’s V’Shal engagement ceremony is relocated to the Enterprise, T’Pril is impatient, critical, opinionated, dismissive, and prejudiced – considering Spock handicapped because of his heritage. A staunch Vulcan traditionalist, T’Pril is domineering in her views but believes that she upholds essential cultural values and, in doing so, aids others to better themselves. Though protective of her family, T’Pril’s commanding persona and impossible standards cause discomfort for Spock and the Enterprise crew.

9 Ambassador Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 8, “Under The Cloak Of War”

A former Klingon General in the Federation-Klingon War, Ambassador Dak’Rah was known as the “Butcher of J’Gal”. Dak’Rah defected and, seeking redemption, embarked on a career in diplomacy. Ambassador Dak’Rah appears reasonable and repentant of the Klingon War’s atrocities, but his arrival on the USS Enterprise triggers the PTSD of the war’s survivors, especially Dr. Joseph M’Benga. Dak’Rah’s efforts to befriend M’Benga bring forth the revelation of who the true Butcher of J’Gal was. Dak’Rah’s character and death by M’Benga’s hand in Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War,” provide an allegorical lesson on the destructiveness of warfare and the multi-layered futility and necessity of redemption.

8 Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton)

Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Ensign Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton), played by the real-life daughter of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Geordi La Forge actor LeVar Burton, is the on-screen daughter of the TNG’s chief engineer. Alandra follows in her father’s engineering-focused footsteps, stationed at the Fleet Museum on Athan Prime. As events towards the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3 take a turn for the worse, Alandra and her younger crew-mates become assimilated by the Borg’s new organic technology. Taken over, Alandra and the similarly affected Titan crew seize operational control of the ship. Visually mimicking Geordi’s mannerisms as well as his engineering prowess, Alandra is a chip off the old block.

7 Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 2, “Ad Astra Per Aspera”

The character of Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki) builds on a previously seen but unexplored alien race from Star Trek: Enterprise. With First Officer Una Chin-Riley’s (Rebecca Romijn) arrest in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in 2259, her estranged childhood friend is enlisted to defend her. Neera Ketoul, an Illyrian civil rights attorney, steadfastly works to repeal the restrictive laws affecting her people. With the Illyrian race banned by the Federation for practicing genetic engineering, Una and Neera reveal personal and familial persecution due to their racial identities. Ketoul’s success in clearing Una was pivotal for her cause and one that she rightly viewed as a first step toward meaningful change.

6 Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut)

Star Trek: Picard season 3

Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), Commodore Geordi La Forge’s eldest daughter, was the helmsman of the USS Titan-A. Like her sister, Sidney is following in her father’s footsteps – assigned to pilot the ship despite her less than reassuring Starfleet Academy nickname ‘Crash La Forge’. Sidney is instrumental in the Titan’s efforts to defeat the Shrike in Star Trek: Picard season 3, although she is temporarily assimilated by the Borg. At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, Sidney is promoted to Lieutenant and is at the helm of the newly christened USS Enterprise-G.

5 Captain James T. Kirk, Alternate Timeline (Paul Wesley)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 3 “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”

Captain James T. Kirk from an alternate reality finds himself back in Earth’s past with Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh to reset time. Initially unsure of the idea of saving La’an’s timeline at the expense of his own, Kirk demonstrates considered and objective reasoning while simultaneously demonstrating the ways he both is and is not the James T. Kirk of the original timeline. Invaluable in restoring the future, Kirk meaningfully forges a friendship – and blossoming romance – with the rigidly independent and insecure La’an. Wesley’s effortless embodiment of Kirk’s gentility, personality, and impressive reach reflect the episode’s exploratory theme of connection and meaningful choice.

4 Commander Pelia (Carol Kane)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2

After the death of Lieutenant Hemmer, and bored with her current role in Starfleet, Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) joined the USS Enterprise as Chief Engineer. An extremely long-lived Lanthanite, Pelia has seemingly lived on Earth since the time of Pythagoras, and Pelia has served in multiple positions inside and outside of Starfleet. An Academy Instructor and then a Chief Fleet Inspector assigned to Operational Support Services before transferring to the Enterprise, Pelia had a varied and interesting background resulting in useful contacts and knowledge. The eccentric and unpredictable Pelia is unlike anyone else on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ USS Enterprise, and she demonstrates uniquely valuable insight and experience.

3 Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers)

Star Trek: Picard Season 3

The significance of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) to the Star Trek universe is difficult to overstate. The son of Admirals Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Jack has a rightful home in Starfleet – but he’s more than what he seems. Inheriting organic Borg technology from Picard’s time as Locutus, Jack’s childhood was plagued by visions and voices. In a later attempt to confront the source of the messages, Jack is assimilated by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) in Star Trek: Picard season 3, becoming Vox of Borg, literally the voice of the Borg. Jack Crusher embodies the ‘next generation’ of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his future as a Starfleet Ensign aboard the USS Enterprise-G has drawn the interest of Q (John de Lancie), just like his father.

2 Vadic (Amanda Plummer)

Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Instantly emerging as an all-time great Star Trek villain, Vadic (Amanda Plummer) is a victim of an appalling past that speaks of Federation-authorized genetic experimentation and Dominion War atrocities. A Changeling altered by Section 31’s cruelty, Vadic is agonizingly weaponized, and yet – despite her determination and ruthless energy, still somehow withered, and vulnerable. Vadic murders the scientist experimenting on her and her siblings, taking on her appearance as a reminder of her own hate. Plummer’s casting and creatively rich portrayal lend a weighty gravitas to the character that effortlessly works to heighten her already considerable menace. Amanda Plummer, the daughter of the late Christopher Plummer, who played General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, takes their family’s legacy of Star Trek villainy to another level.

1 Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick)

Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Captain Liam Shaw’s (Todd Stashwick) abrasive but interesting outlook lent emotional depth and intrigue to an unexpectedly resentful commanding officer. As Captain of the USS Titan-A, Shaw confirmed his unfriendly reputation with his reception of Admiral Picard and Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Shaw was both entertaining and uncomfortable, outwardly cynical and disillusioned, yet inwardly vulnerable and daring. Shaw’s prickly defensiveness and quick dismissal masked a deeply ingrained trauma and Liam’s decent and genuinely soft heart. Fatally wounded in an attempt to fight off assimilated crew members, his final act meaningfully recognized his troubled First Officer, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), as the Captain who would follow in his footsteps. Shaw’s 180 from loathed to beloved is a testament to Todd Stashwick’s performance, which turned Captain Liam Shaw into the best character Star Trek introduced in 2023 – and who hope to see resurrected in some way if Star Trek: Legacy happens.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Picard are available to stream on Paramount+.