AlthoughStar Trekhas long had significant LGBTQ+ representation in its fandom, representation on-screen has been harder to come by, thanks to network standards and practices and the timidity of the show’s producers.Kate Mulgrewwanted to address that when she captainedStar Trek: Voyagerfor seven seasons, but she was turned down by the show’s producers.
Mulgrew broke new ground for women when she became the first-ever female-lead captain on aStar Trekseries in 1995, but ultimately wasn’t able to steer the franchise towards representing the LGBTQ+ community. Said Mulgrew at Fan Expo Boston this weekend, at a panel moderated byCollider’sMaggie Lovitt, when asked aboutVoyager’s representation:
“I wanted a gay character on that bridge with me! But they couldn’t be pushed. ‘Good enough to get a woman in the seat,’ you know? As it turned out, Genevieve Bujold was offered the role, and she lasted 24 hours. She said ‘This is impossible.’
I went to Rick Berman and I said ‘It’s a good cast. It’s a very good cast. But we need a gay character. I want this known, that this is my preference and my choice.’ But there wasn’t any room, they felt at that time. Things changed quickly.”
However, despite that disappointment, Mulgrew remains optimistic about the future of representation onStar Trek:
“But I think, all things considered, Star Trek has come and gone all the way towards advancing representation. It’s nothing if not of the people, by the people, for the people. It’s for everyone. It will continue to be that.”
When Did the First LGBTQ+ Characters Appear on ‘Star Trek’?
The inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes inStar Trekhas come in fits and starts. In “The Outcast,” a 1992 episode ofThe Next Generation, theEnterprisevisits a planet of androgynous aliens and meets one alien, Soren, who wants to live as a woman. However, as the crew is forbidden from interfering in their culture, they are forced to surrender her to the authorities, where she is reconditioned to fit into their society.Jonathan Frakes, whose character has a romance with Soren, pressed for the producers to cast a male actor in the role, although they ultimately went with actressMelinda Culea.
Openly gay writerDavid Gerrold, who penned the classic episode “The Trouble With Tribbles,” wrote “Blood and Fire,” a proposedNext Generationepisode that would have addressed the AIDS crisis and depicted a homosexual couple on board theEnterprise; it was rejected for its then-controversial content.Star Trekdidn’t have its first explicitly queer character until 2016’sStar Trek BeyondwhenEnterprisehelmsman Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) wasrevealed to be gayas a nod to his original actor, gay activistGeorge Takei.
Since the revival ofStar Trekas a TV franchise in 2017, several gay characters have been introduced to the series, including Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), Jett Reno (Tig Notaro), and Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) onStar Trek: Discovery; Raffi Musicker (Michelle Hurd) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) onStar Trek: Picard; Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) onStar Trek: Lower Decks; and Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) onStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Voyagercan be streamed on Paramount+, and Mulgrew’s Kathryn Janeway will return in the second season ofStar Trek: Prodigy, which will premiere on Netflix on July 1. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
