Star Trek: Discovery, the American web television series created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman in 2017 is finally taking a new direction. On Wednesday, CBS All Access announced that the third season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will feature non-binary and transgender characters, the first in the franchise’s history.
“‘Star Trek’ has always made a mission of giving visibility to under-represented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” Michelle Paradise, co-showrunner and executive producer, said in a statement.
Blu del Barrio, a non-binary actor (whose pronouns are they/them) will play Adira, “an intelligent and self-assured non-binary character who joins the U.S.S. Discovery”. Ian Alexander, a 19-year-old actor who has appeared on Netflix’s “The OA”, will play a character named Gray, “a warm and eager transgender character who longs to fulfil his dream of being a Trill host”.
“When I got the call that I’d been cast as Adira, I hadn’t yet told the majority of my friends and family that I was non-binary,” Blu del Barrio told GLAAD about their connection to the character. “I had only recently discovered the word and realized that it described how I’d felt for a long time. I knew I wanted to tell my friends and family, so when this (role) happened, it felt like the universe saying ‘go ahead.’ ”
According to CBS, Alexander is the first out transgender Asian-American person to act on television. “I’m extremely excited,” Alexander said in an Instagram post shared when the casting news was released.
“We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy,” Paradise added. According to DEADLINE, Star Trek: Discovery has been actively moving the needle with inclusivity since the first season. “Sonequa Martin-Green made history as the first woman of color to lead a show in the Star Trek franchise. In addition, the aforementioned Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz play the first openly gay characters who are in a same-sex marriage in the franchise,” DEADLINE adds.
The third season of the TV series debuts on the 15th of October 2020.
