Star Trek: Enterprise writer Mike Sussman and star Scott Bakula have reportedly developed a pitch for a spin-off show, Star Trek: United. According to TrekMovie, the pitch revolved around Bakula’s character, Jonathan Archer, and his later life as President of the Federation. Mike Sussman could confirm one thing about the spinoff that made it seem more like The CW’s Superman & Lois.
Out of all the Superman iterations, Tyler Hoechlin’s version of the Man of Steel was definitely a standout and received immense praise for it. The focus of the show was not to show him as invincible or to show him going up against far more terrifying villains. Instead, the focus was on his family life with Lois Lane, played by Elizabeth Tulloch.
Similarly, in Archer’s return to the Star Trek world, we will probably see him juggling his life as president of the United Federation of Planets and a father of four. Sussman revealed the idea for Bakula’s character during his appearance on the All Access Star Trek podcast.
In his pitch, which now needs approval from the new Skydance team at Paramount, Sussman gave Archer four kids, inspired by actor Bakula, who has four kids in real life. Sussman shared that these four kids have developed a sense of service after growing up around their father’s life of diplomacy. Sussman shared:
Archer would be in a place in his life where Scott kind of is right now, where Scott is a family man. He’s got four adult kids. And so I gave Archer four adult kids, and the story is as much about them as it is about him, because he [Archer] lived this life of diplomacy … his family sort of grew up with this sense of service.
Sussman even detailed what each of these kids is now up to. He shared, “So he’d have these adult kids, one of whom is part of the diplomatic corps, another is in Starfleet, somebody else is in Federation Intelligence.”
Interestingly, an earlier version of this script was turned down at Paramount because the studio was already developing a similar premise in Starfleet Academy. The new show from the franchise will be out in January 2026. Bakula and Sussman later worked on their spinoff pitch to remove such similarities.
The Focus of Scott Bakula’s Star Trek: United Would Be on the Younger Cast
Mike Sussman made it clear that he did not intend to make a sequel to the earlier Star Trek: Enterprise show. When Scott Bakula’s original show was cancelled after four seasons in the early 2000s, many fans were hugely disappointed. While these fans would likely see many of their favorite characters in the spinoff, it might not be their stories anymore.
According to Sussman, Star Trek: United would be a different show, and the focus of the show would be some of the younger characters. These characters would probably be in their early 20s or 30s. He shared that while they could hopefully bring back some of the legacy characters, the show would be about these characters. He shared:
It’s not just getting the whole [Enterprise] gang back together every week. Now we might see them—I would love to see everybody in one form or another, maybe even some of them in regular roles, but this would be a different show…
It would be about these younger characters who would be in their 20s or early 30s, at most. And so you have the opportunity to bring in some legacy people, but it would largely be about this new cast.
So, who are these legacy characters from the original show? The story of Enterprise focused on the core trio: Bakula’s Archer, Connor Trinneer’s Trip Tucker, and Jolene Blalock’s T’Pol. Sussman also shared that he would love to see Jeffrey Combs as Shran in the spinoff. He shared:
The issue with returning cast is, you can’t have Jeff Combs [as Shran] just show up at a meeting and say, ‘Right on Mr. President,’ and then disappear. They have to be integral to the story. That said, I’d love to get everybody back one way or another.
Enterprise also featured Dominic Keating’s Malcolm Reed, Linda Park’s Hoshi Sato, Anthony Montgomery’s Travis Mayweather, and John Billingsley’s Phlox.
Star Trek: United‘s Potential Connections to the Previous Shows
Enterprise was a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series and started off with standalone episodes that touched upon several familiar Star Trek themes. Later, it took a more serialized approach in seasons 3 and 4. Because of its sudden cancellation, fans were robbed of certain important storylines. Mike Sussman promised that these storylines would be addressed in Star Trek: United.
Sussman intends to show the Romulan War in some form in the new show. He shared, “I’d want to open this show by showing a scene that we never got from an Enterprise season 7. It would be during the height of the Romulan War.” He shared that he got feedback from fans, saying they never got to see the Romulan War. He further shared:
I would want to show [some of] that, and a particular pivotal moment that’s not just pure fan service. The scene would actually introduce a very important character for the show moving forward.
He also wanted to explore some of the intriguing questions in the franchise while also maintaining the consistency of The Original Series. He shared about the several opportunities:
It almost seems like the Federation, or the people of Earth as well as the Romulans, don’t want the Vulcans to know who they are. And why would that be? I think that’s a very intriguing question. I’ve certainly got my ideas.
Sussman admitted that his pitch is not yet “a real television show” and is still “just a delightful little fantasy.” However, he is hopeful about the spinoff with all the new developments pertaining to Star Trek at Paramount.
What do you think of Scott Bakula’s Star Trek: United pitch? Let us know in the comments below!
Star Trek: Enterprise is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
