Paramount+/YouTube Screenshot from the "Star Trek: Discovery" season 4 trailer in which the bridge of the ship is destroyed
The fourth season of “Star Trek: Discovery” has been in production since November of 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the start of production by several months. When the cast and crew finally arrived on the set to begin filming, the pandemic forced them to shoot in a very different way than they’ve had to in the past, leading to multiple extensions of their planned production timeline.
After almost nine months of filming, the cast and production crew of “Discovery” have finally completed shooting for season four. So, when can fans expect to see new episodes on Paramount+?
Filming is Complete
…and that’s a wrap on S4! A huge THANK YOU to our amazing cast and crew. I can’t say enough about the effort, teamwork, and heart they brought to this challenging season. We’re now turning off the lights and leaving the stages in good hands. Until next time… #StarTrekDiscovery
Michelle Paradise, one of “Discovery’s” showrunners, has been providing fans regular production updates via her Twitter account.
On August 9, she let fans know that she was headed to Toronto to wrap up filming for the fourth season. A few days later, she began tweeting the saga of the traffic cone.
I can’t show you what we’re shooting today. But I can show you what’s NEAR what we’re shooting today. Behold… the set cone!
She joked that while she couldn’t show fans exactly where the “Discovery” crew was filming, she could give a peek. The tweet led fans to start tweeting micro fan-fiction about the traffic cone. Paradise humored them by posting several more pictures of the cone with small peeks at the filming location.
On the 21st, she tweeted that the cast and crew needed to be on set for 6:30 pm, which meant there was “a long night ahead for everyone.” Her tweet seemed to indicate that they were doing a final, hard push to get the filming done once and for all.
Then on the 23rd, Paradise posted that season four was officially done filming. She thanked everyone involved in the show for her hard work and ended the tweet with “until next time…” Her final words seem to indicate that the cast and crew of “Discovery” will see each other again soon. However, the show has not officially been renewed for a fifth season.
There’s Still More Work Ahead
Editing from my hotel room before going to set for the day and I let me just say this… There is NOTHING our actors can’t do. Wow.
Though filming is finally complete, there’s still a lot more work to do before the fourth season is ready to air. The post-production team still needs to edit and mix the episodes before they can be released,
Some of this process happens concurrently with filming. Earlier in August, Paradise let fans know that she was actively editing some of the episodes while at her hotel. The recently shot footage still needs to be edited and mixed, though. So, it will be a bit before the season is truly complete.
That being said, the final cuts of some of the episodes might already be complete.
How Many Episodes Are Ready to Air?
Had our first mix of S4 yesterday – so cool! (402 – we’re mixing out of order) @CenterWillHold killed it, as always. As did our actors (as always!). Awesome script by @acofell & @glenisemullins, great work by our prod & post teams. Can’t wait for you to see it! #StarTrekDiscovery
About three weeks ago, Paradise let fans know that the post-production team and the producers were working on the final edits for some of the fourth season episodes.
The tweet indicated that they’re editing the episodes out of order, so it’s unclear how many episodes are ready to air right now. However, she did say that she was actively working on episode two way back then. So, it’s possible that the first few episodes are already complete.
If that’s the case, then episodes could release quite soon. The post-production team could continue editing the later episodes while the first few episodes air, to get the show out sooner.
So, When Will Episodes Drop?
Even with all these updates about the production process, there still isn’t a firm release date for season four. Throughout 2021, Paramount+ has insisted that “Discovery’s” fourth season would release before the end of the year, even with all the delays the production team experienced.
This timing was confirmed when the trailer for the fourth season dropped in April 2021, though the trailer simply said “New Season Coming in 2021.” It’s unclear whether that means in the fall of 2021 or before the new year.
Either way, there are only a few months left in 2021. So, fans won’t have to wait too long; four months at the most. Fingers crossed that it’s sooner than that!
Follow the Heavy on Star Trek Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!