Copyright Screen Rant
20 years after Star Trek: Enterprise ended, fans are clamoring for Star Trek: United, a comeback TV series starring Scott Bakula as President Jonathan Archer that doesn't exist. Created by Star Trek: Enterprise writer-producer Michael Sussman, with Bakula's input and blessing, Star Trek: United is one of the biggest surprises of 2025. Star Trek fans certainly didn't expect that Michael Sussman and Scott Bakula had been percolating a President Archer TV series for the past few years. After the news that Sussman and Bakula were plotting Archer's comeback unexpectedly dropped at STLV: Trek to Vegas in August, Star Trek: United has caught fire. Michael Sussman plans Star Trek: United as a political thriller and family drama, and it's aimed to be a prestige series that could become Star Trek's equivalent of Star Wars: Andor. Breaking free of Star Trek's usual motif of exploring strange new worlds, Star Trek: United has a new and intriguing premise for the 60-year-old franchise. Star Trek: United's momentum has warped beyond Star Trek-dedicated websites and YouTubers. Mainstream outlets like TV Insider, as well as ScreenRant, have reported on the desire for Star Trek: United and the provocative details revealed by Mike Sussman. It's clear fans want Star Trek: United to happen as much as its creators do. Star Trek: United Has Captured Fans’ Imaginations The main reason fans are clamoring for Star Trek: United is the massive desire to see Scott Bakula return as President Jonathan Archer. Bakula's star has never dimmed after Star Trek: Enterprise ended in 2005, and esteem for Scott's performance as Captain Archer has only grown in the last two decades. After Patrick Stewart reprised Admiral Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard (which prompted Michael Sussman to ponder Scott Bakula's comeback as Archer) and Kate Mulgrew returned as Admiral Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy, fans feel that it's 'Scott Bakula's turn' to play Jonathan Archer again, in a new phase for the former Captain of the NX-01 Enterprise's life. As Michael Sussman reveals more about Star Trek: United's story, characters, and setting, the idea of exploring the late 22nd century and the turbulent galactic politics that could topple the still-young and vulnerable United Federation of Planets is also provocative. As is Sussman's desire to portray President Archer as a family man and bring Jonathan closer to the real-life Scott Bakula. Numerous Star Trek legacy characters have returned in Star Trek on Paramount+'s various series, but only Jolene Blalock from Star Trek: Enterprise made a canonical comeback as T'Pol. (Connor Trinneer previously voiced Trip Tucker in a non-canonical Star Trek: very Short Treks episode). Fans feel Star Trek: Enterprise needs its long-deserved comeback moment as well. Most of all, the groundswell of sentiment is that Scott Bakula's return to Star Trek is an idea whose time has come. Bakula has re-embraced Star Trek in recent years, and the fans have lovingly welcomed him back at STLV: Trek to Vegas. Michael Sussman and Bakula have also developed a fascinating plan for Star Trek: United that begs for the show to be made. Star Trek: Enterprise Is More Popular Now Than It Was 20 Years Ago Part of the growing interest in Star Trek: United comes from two key factors: Star Trek: Enterprise has only become more popular in the 20 years since United Paramount Network canceled the show, and the overall sentiment from fans that they and Enterprise were robbed by the prequel only lasting four seasons. Enterprise was the only Star Trek series from executive producer Rick Berman's era that ran for just four years instead of the expected seven that Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager enjoyed. Adding insult to injury is that Enterprise became a much better show in seasons 3 and 4 before it was cut off at the knees. Star Trek: Enterprise faced scorn during its UPN run, with longtime fans not warming up to the prequel. When Enterprise was canceled, it was unfairly labeled as "the show that killed Star Trek" because there was no new Star Trek television produced for 12 years until Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017. However, time and streaming's binge model have been remarkably kind to Star Trek: Enterprise, arguably more than any other Star Trek series besides the still-relevant Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Fans who skipped Enterprise on UPN, and brand-new audiences, discovered that Enterprise is a high-quality Star Trek series with lovable characters that still holds up and is far better than its reputation. Michael Sussman feels that Trip Tucker's death in Star Trek: Enterprise's series finale may not be what really happened, and Trip's fate is something he has ideas about in Star Trek: United. Although Michael Sussman plans Star Trek: United as a spinoff of Star Trek: Enterprise rather than a direct sequel, he hopes to include as many Enterprise actors and characters as possible if the show gets made. Star Trek: United now emerges as fans' best chance to see Enterprise characters back in live-action and find out what happened to them after their voyages on the NX-01. Will Paramount+ Make Star Trek: United? Michael Sussman presented his plan for Star Trek: United to Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzman's production company that oversees all Star Trek television, and Paramount+ a few years ago. Though Star Trek: United was well-received, the executives felt the premise was too close to the then-in-development Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. However, as the calendar turns to 2026 and Star Trek's 60th anniversary, several things have changed. The biggest being Paramount Skydance under new management, and Star Trek being labeled a priority for the studio to produce new theatrical feature films and more TV shows to stream on Paramount+. Besides Star Trek: Legacy, which fans continue to fervently champion after Star Trek: Picard ended in 2023, no other potential Star Trek project has garnered so much fan support as quickly as Star Trek: United. Scott Bakula returning as President Archer, meeting the expanded Archer family, and the politics of the nascent Federation are fascinating concepts for a new Star Trek series unlike any before. Mike Sussman doesn't feel Star Trek: United is a flagship series, but it's one that could break new ground for the 60-year-old franchise. President Archer's comeback after Star Trek: Enterprise has the ingredients ready for a hopeful green light from Paramount Skydance.
