Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 casts non-binary and transgender characters

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 casts non-binary and transgender characters.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is boldly going further than any of its predecessors. In a franchise first, the show has added transgender and non-binary characters to the cast for its upcoming season.

StarTrek.com announced that transgender actor Ian Alexander (they/them and he/him) and non-binary (they/them) debutant Blu del Barrio will be joining the cast when the show returns on October 15.

Alexander made a splash with his role on Netflix’s The OA, where he played young Buck Vu, a transgender teenager. Star Trek: Discovery will be del Barrio’s first television acting role, but they have been acting since a young age.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is breaking new ground.

Star Trek, as a franchise, has always pushed the boundaries of representation—from casting Nichelle Nichols as a bridge officer in the original Star Trek show to adding a same-sex couple in the main on Star Trek: Discovery, many underrepresented communities have found a home in Starfleet.

At the recently concluded SDCC@Home, the cast of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 reiterated how much work was left to be done when representing the many identities of the real world. With Alexander and del Barrio’s dual casting, the show takes a step closer to embracing reality.

While casting diverse actors is a significant step forward, it is equally important that the roles they play are well-written. Michelle Paradise, co-showrunner and executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery was quoted as saying:

"“We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy.”"

This casting has been long overdue, as previous Star Trek shows have chickened out of fully exploring the multitude of gender and sexual identities of the world. Fans have often been disappointed by how conservative the franchise remained, while still breaking the mold. It’s good to see the franchise has finally come of age.

According to TVLine, Alexander is playing recurring guest character Gray, an ‘empathetic and warm’ person whose dreams of becoming a Trill host takes an unexpected turn. Del Barrio’s Adira is another season regular who finds a new home on Discovery and “forms an unexpected bond” with Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz).

Alexander and de Barrio will join new cast member David Ajala and the returning main cast of Star Trek: Discovery, including Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Hugh Culber), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Michelle Yeoh (Georgiou), Tig Notaro (Jett Reno), Emily Coutts (Detmer), Oyin Oladejo (Owosekun), Patrick Kwok-Choon (Rhys), Ronnie Rowe (Bryce), and Sara Mitich (Nilsson).

How excited are you to see Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 adding more diverse representation to the franchise? Let us know in the comments.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 will premiere on CBS All Access on October 15, 2020.