Mike McMahan Teases What's In Store For Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 - Exclusive

When it comes to the blending of sci-fi and comedy, there's one name that's been dominating the conversation on the television side of things. 

Mike McMahan developed his acumen writing for "Rick and Morty" before going on to create something for one of the largest franchises of all time. "Star Trek: Lower Decks" was unlike anything that had come before. Sure, there had been "Star Trek" cartoons in the past, but nothing merged comedy with space operas quite as well as "Lower Decks." This was something squarely aimed at adults, for both those who had grown up with "Star Trek" and those who were newcomers to this galaxy of ideas. 

Clearly, the idea worked well, as the show has completed two seasons already and has a third on the way. During an exclusive interview with Looper, McMahan discussed what he hopes to bring to the future of the TV series. That included giving readers a tease into what they can anticipate moving into Season 3.

For being a sci-fi comedy, "Lower Decks" Season 2 ends on a pretty despondent note. Boimler faces a near-death experience, and just when they thought they were in the clear, Captain Freeman ends up getting arrested. As expected with such a development, Season 3 will kick off a continuation of these proceedings, with Mike McMahan offering a little taste of what we'll see out of the four main crew members. 

Obviously, Beckett Mariner doesn't handle the capture of her mother all too well, but her friends have problems of their own. McMahan went on to mention, "Season 3 sees Boimler taking this different path where he becomes a little bit more confident, our Boimler. It earns him some respect, but it also takes him into some tough spots too." Then there's Rutherford, whose cybernetic implant has gotten him into plenty of rough spots over the last couple of seasons, and according to McMahan, "You'll be learning more about the backstory of how he got [the implant] this season in a really fun way."

Of course, we had to ask about Tendi, and McMahan promises she'll take on a more Spock-like role moving forward. As he says, "She's got this new gig, which is instead of being full medical, she's been swapped over into senior science officer training." If there's one thing "Lower Decks" has proven itself adept at, it's finding ways to surprise the audience. Don't be taken off-guard if there are a few unexpected twists thrown into Season 3, too. 

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on July 12 with over an hour of bonus features, including exclusive featurettes, animatics, and Easter eggs.