Summary
- Star Trek: Lower Decks is an animated, half-hour comedy set in the Star Trek universe, focusing on the junior officers of the USS Cerritos.
- The main characters include Lieutenant Beckett Mariner, Lieutenant Brad Boimler, Lieutenant D’Vana Tendi, Lieutenant Sam Rutherford, Lieutenant T’Lyn, Captain Carol Freeman, Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant Shaxs, Dr. T’Ana, Chief Engineer Andy Billups, Dr. Migleemo, and Peanut Hamper.
- The show has included guest appearances from several Star Trek legacy actors, including Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, John de Lancie, Robert Duncan McNeill, James Cromwell, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor, Jeffrey Combs, and George Takei.
Here is who provides the voices on Star Trek: Lower Decks and where you’ve seen (or heard) them before. Created by Mike McMahan (Rick & Morty), Star Trek: Lower Decks is the first animated, half-hour comedy set in the Star Trek universe. Lower Decks charts the voyages of the crew of the California Class USS Cerritos, one of Starfleet’s “least important ships”. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, the heroic Ensigns of the Cerritos received promotions to Lieutenant, junior grade, a higher rank that still keeps them proudly Lower Deckers.
Set in the fan-favorite 24th-century timeframe of Star Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Lower Decks centers on the junior officers who do the bulk of the dirty work aboard the Cerritos. In addition, the Cerritos has a unique Starfleet mission since its crew specializes in Second Contact, which involves the less-glamorous and more troublesome hassles of bringing new worlds into the United Federation of Planets. Star Trek: Lower Decks currently spans 4 10-episode seasons and lovely homages every aspect of the Star Trek franchise, as well as crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. Here’s who’s who in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Tawny Newsome as Lieutenant Beckett Mariner
Undisciplined but awesome at being a Starfleet Officer, Beckett Mariner is Starfleet royalty. Her mother is the USS Cerritos’ Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her father is Starfleet Admiral Alonzo Freeman (Phil LaMarr). Mariner has a storied Starfleet career that is mysteriously robust for someone of her age, and she is an irrepressible force of chaos who nonetheless embodies everything great about Starfleet. Tawny Newsome has appeared in 2 Broke Girls, Superstore, Space Force, and she played Mariner in live-action in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Newsome also joined the writer’s room of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
Jack Quaid as Lieutenant Brad Boimler
Bradward Boimler grew up on a raisin farm in Modesto, California, and he was inspired in part to join Starfleet by a recruitment poster featuring Number One (Rebecca Romijn) of the 23rd century USS Enterprise. Boimler is a die-hard Starfleet fanboy and dreams of becoming a starship Captain – a destiny he has the qualities to achieve once he overcomes his anxiety and tendency to overthink things. Jack Quaid is best known as Hughie Campbell on The Boys, and he has also starred in Scream 5 and Oppenheimer. Quaid played Brad Boimler in live-action in Lower Decks’ crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Note: Jack Quaid also voices Brad Boimler’s transporter accident-created doppelganger, Lt. William Boimler, who joined Section 31 in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3.
Noël Wells as Lieutenant D’Vana Tendi
Big-hearted, loyal, and excitable D’Vana Tendi was originally part of the USS Cerritos’ medical team before she found her calling as a junior Science Officer. The first Orion in Starfleet, Tendi is ashamed of her species’ reputation as space pirates and tries to show a better side of Orions while downplaying how she is known on her homeworld as the “Mistress of the Winter Constellations.” Noel Wells was a Saturday Night Live cast member, and she played Rachel on Master of None.
Eugene Cordero as Lieutenant Sam Rutherford
An engineering genius, Samanthan Rutherford may be the nicest person on the USS Cerritos, which is a far cry from his previous life as a Starfleet delinquent before an accident led to his gaining a cybernetic implant. Rutherford is resourceful, loyal, and perpetually upbeat. Eugene Cordero appeared in Ghostbusters 2016, Kong: Skull Island, and The Good Place.
Gabrielle Ruiz as Lieutenant T’Lyn
Introduced in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, T’Lyn served in the Lower Decks of a Vulcan starship but was deemed “too emotional” and “out of control” by her superiors. T’Lyn joined Starfleet as a provisional Ensign, but her excellence saw her quickly promoted to Lieutenant, junior grade. Although T’Lyn seeks to convince the Vulcan High Command to take her back, she fits in well aboard the USS Cerritos. Gabrielle Ruiz is best known for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and she voices Rio Morales on Spidey and his Amazing Friends.
Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman
The USS Cerritos’ commanding officer fights two constant battles against her disappointment that her ship isn’t considered one of the best in Starfleet, and trying to keep her daughter, Mariner, from getting court-martialed. However, under Captain Freeman’s leadership, the Cerritos has gained a reputation as the “Enterprise of the California Class” starships. Along with her prolific voiceover work, Dawnn Lewis starred in A Different World, Hanging With Mr. Cooper, and The Secret Life of an American Teenager.
Jerry O’Connell as Commander Jack Ransom
The First Officer of the USS Cerritos, Commander Jack Ransom is capable Number One and a workout freak. To his chagrin, Captain Freeman placed Ransom in charge of keeping Lt. Mariner in line, and they’ve developed a dysfunctional love-hate relationship. Jerry O’Connell’s extensive career includes starring in Sliders, Piranha 3D, Scream Queens, and Billions, and he is married to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Number One, Rebecca Romijn.
Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs
The Cerritos’ burly Bajoran Security Chief is loved and feared in equal measure by the crew. Shax sacrificed his life to save the Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1’s finale, but he soon came back to life. Shax is also old friends with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). Fred Tatasciore has voiced hundreds of animated films and TV shows like Scoob!, Batman: The Killing Joke, and Young Justice: Outsiders.
Gillian Vigman as Dr. T’Ana
The Cerritos’ Chief Medical Officer, the gruff Dr. T’Ana is a Caitian and has a bedside manner that leaves a lot to be desired. Dr. T’Ana and Lt. Shax struck up an unusual romantic relationship that they don’t want the crew to know much about, and the feeling is mutual. Gillian Vigman stars in Life Sentence and appeared in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, among her numerous roles.
Paul Scheer as Chief Engineer Andy Billups
Lieutenant Commander Andarithio “Andy” Billups hails from the rennaisance fair planet Hysperia but he turned his back on his royal destiny to become a Starfleet engineer. Billups is hero-worshiped by Lt. Rutherford, who considers him the greatest engineer in Starfleet. Paul Scheer has appeared in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Good Place.
Paul F. Tompkins as Dr. Migleemo
Dr. Gabers Migleemo is the USS Cerritos’ Counselor, although some consider him the worst Counselor in Starfleet because of his constant use of food metaphors. A member of an ornithoid species, Migleemo may not be great at his job but he remains a part of the Cerritos’ crew. Paul F. Tompkins is a comic and prolific voiceover actor who also appeared in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
Kether Donohue as Peanut Hamper
Peanut Hamper was an Exocomp who briefly served on the USS Cerritos before she betrayed Starfleet at the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1. The sociopathic and megalomaniacal Peanut Hamper returned in Lower Decks season 3, but was imprisoned in the Daystrom Institute on Earth where she swore revenge on the Cerritos. Kether Donohue has appeared in Pitch Perfect and You on Netflix.
Star Trek Guest Stars In Star Trek: Lower Decks
Several Star Trek legacy actors have voiced their characters on Star Trek: Lower Decks, including Jonathan Frakes as Captain Will Riker, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, John de Lancie as Q, Robert Duncan McNeill as Lt. Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager, James Cromwell as Dr. Zephram Cochrane from Star Trek: First Contact, Armin Shimerman as Quark and Nana Visitor as Colonel Kira Nerys from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Jeffrey Combs as AGIMUS, and George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu.
