RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Totter, EileenYR 2022 T1 Star Trek: Lower Decks and utopian queer intimacy JF Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture, VO 7 IS Rethinking Marginality in New Queer Television SP 55 OP 67 DO https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00068_1 PB Intellect, SN 2055-5709, AB While the Star Trek franchise is synonymous with diversity, queerness has been unfortunately interpreted more as a tragic plot device rather than presenting fully realized queer characters in series such as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. However, the more recent programme Star Trek: Lower Decks appears to embrace Gene Roddenberry’s utopian ethos in that diversity is default in the future through multiple queer and queer-coded women. This article analyses how bisexual protagonist Ensign Beckett Mariner eventually finds support over the course of the series through her relationships with the characters Captain Amina Ramsey, Ensign D’Vana Tendi and Ensign Jennifer Sh’reyan. Unlike previous attempts at queer plots, the focal points in these moments emphasize character and community instead of violence and drama. This article proposes that Star Trek: Lower Decks signals a more positive shift in how queer characters are interpreted in the science fiction utopian franchise., UL https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/qsmpc_00068_1