The Lower Decks premiere set to explore Star Trek's comedy frontier

Animated, adult comedy is certainly not what people think of first when imagining Star Trek. The bright-eyed, genuine speculative fiction of Star Trek is as far as you can get from the bawdy chaos of modern hits like Rick ‘N’ Morty; they’re like opposite poles of the geek world.

But that’s what makes Star Trek: Lower Decks (which premieres its first episode today!) so exciting to think about. Diehard Trek fans will be more aware than anyone of the show's many quirks, inconsistencies and campy elements. But we love it all the same, and often that trivia becomes an inside joke between veteran fans.

That’s exactly the feeling which Mike McMahan is aiming for on Lower Decks. As a lifelong Trekkie who also happens to be head writer and executive producer on Rick ‘N’ Morty, he’s in the perfect position to decide just how much of that show’s subversive, irreverent spirit to sprinkle in while still making Lower Decks feel like Star Trek.

Rather than undermine the beloved characters from the crews of Kirk, Picard, Janeway et al., the comedy takes place somewhere beneath their feet, among the recruits, redshirts and petty functionaries who keep Federation ships running in the background. It’s easy to imagine that the “everyman” of Star Trek would stumble into messy, awkward comedy setups even if - like Jack Quaid’s Ensign Brad Boimler - he imagines himself leading the bridge one day. 

Boimler is the likable straight man of Lower Decks, a role Quaid showed he can pull off as Hughie in the TV adaptation of The Boys. But where that show set out to murder the optimistic portrayal of superheroes with all the gore and sleaze of prestige TV, the cast has been adamant that Lower Decks is more about laughing with classic Star Trek than laughing at its expense. 

As Quaid explained about his experience working with McMahan: "He is a die-hard Star Trek nerd… He wanted to make a show that, if anything, were to be kind of lightly poking fun at some of the weirder aspects of Star Trek. Fans would get it... and they would be like, 'Oh, yeah, I've noticed that, too.' The show isn't taking a shot at anyone who's a big fan of this insanely incredible and long-running franchise."

Obviously we’ll have to wait and see whether Lower Decks is able to pull off such a balancing act and find a thread of good-hearted comedy to tug at without unraveling this revered sci-fi universe. But at least we can rest assured that its heart is in the right place.

Chinese giant rocks the internet with $10B live streaming merger

Video live streaming services like Twitch have grown from a niche hub for online gamers to… well, still a hub for online gamers, but one which registered over 1.5 billion hours of viewership in just the last month.

Amazon-owned Twitch has historically dominated the global streaming market. Despite significant attempts to unseat it as market leader, its brand loyalty and first-mover advantage have proven unbeatable in the same way that social media brands like Facebook and Twitter were able to ice out competition.

Even Microsoft was forced to abandon its competing service Mixer last month, despite poaching Twitch’s biggest names with $50 million contracts. Those streamers are now forced to negotiate a possible walk of shame back to their previous platform, as the community wonders whether any star is powerful enough to tempt their audience outside of the Twitch bubble.

But before any Twitch executives could start planning their vacations, massive news arrived from reporters watching the Chinese media goliath Tencent. The conglomerate has a history of studiously buying up large stakes in video game publishers and services around the world, like League of Legends developer Riot Games and pioneering battle royale shooter PUBG. In addition to influencing the most popular streaming games, Tencent part-owns all of China’s major homegrown streaming platforms - which remain dominant among local audiences and drew an estimated $3.4 billion in revenue last year.

Tencent usually refrains from wielding its financial influence too openly among the companies it invests in, but it seems that its powerful directors are tired of competing against their own money in the streaming market. Sources at the two leading Chinese platforms, Huya and DouYou, say that a merger is imminent, with Tencent becoming the largest shareholder in the combined entity. That company would assume control of a total 300 million users and a global market value of $10 billion, making it a powerful competitor to Western leaders Twitch and YouTube - though potentially bigger than both in the gaming market.

Despite the rising scrutiny surrounding Chinese tech companies in the U.S., Tencent continues to gradually consolidate its control over the broader gaming ecosystem with little fear of oversight at home. Critics have cited incidents of pro-China political censorship in gaming - such as Blizzard Entertainment banning Hearthstone players for promoting Hong Kong independence - as signs that its influence already extends much further.

Fast fandom

As always, there is a ton going on in the interconnected world of pop culture and fan media. Here are a few of the stories that caught our eye:

Disney asks customers to pay twice for Mulan as it prepares for box office disappointment

When it was originally announced, Mulan seemed like it would be one of the biggest draws on Disney’s list of live-action remakes. Beloved by audiences when it was released a generation ago, with a story which plays to both modern feminist ideals and the influential Chinese market, the company clearly expected a box office hit. With a $200 million budget, they would need it to be!

Unfortunately, the coronavirus had other plans for Mulan. Now, after postponing the release only to see the pandemic continue and darkening political sentiment towards China in the U.S., it seems the proposed blockbuster will instead make a quiet debut on Disney’s own streaming service next month. But not without clawing back at least some of its expenses.

Disney has announced that it will cost $29.99 to watch Mulan at home, even though Disney+ subscribers are already paying $6.99 a month to theoretically access its content. The announcement confirmed that there are no plans to make this a regular practice.

Marvel builds up intergalactic villain as possible successor to Thanos

The world has been collectively catching its breath ever since the titanic conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, and with it the first great cycle of Marvel’s cinematic universe. With a new cast of characters to debut, Kevin Feige and co. will be hoping fans are ready to see individual heroes and villains clash again over more mundane stakes. But the MCU is planned out way in advance, so they must eventually have a replacement for Thanos.

Upcoming comic The King In Black is hinting at a leading candidate - the God of the Symbiotes, Knull. The skin-covering race of symbiotes has been a huge fan favorite ever since the first appearance of Venom. Knull, ruler of these terrifying aliens, is claimed to be “older than the Big Bang” and “wages war against life itself”, with powers capable of utterly destroying even big-name heroes who stand in his way.

The King In Black intends to show what happens when this elder god arrives on Earth - which may foreshadow the plot for Marvel’s next mega-crossover movie in a few years.