Star Trek Discovery mini-episodes begin next month and include a Saru prequel and the return of Harry Mudd

This is exciting. Star Trek Discovery mini-episodes are on the way and, not only are they going to bridge the gap between now and the second season in 2019, they sound like fully-fledged, super-interesting tales in and of themselves. There’s a Tilly short, a Saru prequel, the return of Harry Mudd, and even an episode based around a brand-new character – here’s when you can watch them and what to expect.

Starting from October 4, the ‘Short Treks’ will debut on the first Thursday of every month on CBS All Access. There’s no word yet on whether fans in the UK will be able to watch them on Netflix, however. Here’s hoping so, though, because they sound brilliant. 

The first episode, titled Runaway, sees Tilly come face-to-face with an ‘unexpected visitor’ on board the Discovery, while the second episode (out November 8) features a new face entirely, as we’ll get our first look at Craft, a character that’ll presumably crop up in Star Trek Discovery season 2.

It’s the latter pair that seem like the most interesting, though. The December 6 episode, the Brightest Star, is a whole Star Trek Discovery mini-episode based around Saru’s early years on his home planet of Kaminar. Finally, January 3 has Harry Mudd ringing in the new year as Rainn Wilson returns to con another set of gullible spacefarers. You can watch the (extremely) brief trailer above.

This all sounds like a far cry from the mid-‘00s trend of webisodes that never really added much to the main series. In fact, these sound like both the perfect accompaniment to Star Trek Discovery and a possible hint at when the second season could start airing. It’s currently set for ‘January 2019’ but having Harry Mudd’s episode immediately lead-in to the second season premiere a week later on Sunday January 14 sounds about right to me.

Need to scratch that Trek itch? Take a gander at the best Star Trek episodes ever to help pass the time.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.