Star Trek United: is the Archer series still possible?

Many Trek fans are worried that Star Trek United is no longer happening. My view is that there's still hope, and a short reply from Michael Sussman to a disappointed fan is a big part of why. To be clear, United was never technically a thing. It was an idea, a vision from Michael that we wanted to bring to life. It exists in our hearts and minds, but it isn't a tangible thing on paper yet.

United would bring back Jonathan Archer, the captain Scott Bakula played in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). Whenever this series comes up, the Trek community shows more support than I've seen for almost any other Trek topic.

Star Trek United would make Jonathan Archer president of the Federation

United is a proposed series from Michael Sussman in which we'd see Jonathan Archer as the president of the Federation. I don't speak for Michael, but what got me excited is that it isn't the ship hopping we see with most crews in Trek series and movies. To me, this would be more of a political drama, a political thriller.

I always compare it to the vibe of Andor from Star Wars. It's slower and methodical. It's political, it's detective work, it's visceral. It's darker, grittier and more real, if you will. That's the idea I loved about United. We'd get to see how the Federation comes together: how you bring all these planets and species together, and maybe the inner turmoil and the politics that go into that. It would be a grittier version of Trek.

There's another reason it matters to me. Enterprise didn't get the final farewell it should have. Seeing Jonathan Archer come back, with Scott playing him, would be absolutely amazing.

Michael Sussman and Scott Bakula's new Paramount show isn't United

I've talked to Michael a couple of times, and he's been a big supporter of the coverage and the community around it. Then the news came out that Michael and Scott are getting together, but not for United. It's for another show, a detective show or a crime drama thriller. I don't remember its name, but it's with Paramount. That's awesome. Scott gets to act and Michael gets to write.

The immediate assumption was that United was done. These two will now be booked up for the next couple of years, and if the show goes well, who knows how many seasons it runs. That would put United on the back burner as an idea. Technically, yes, that's true. But there's more to it than that.

Why working together at Paramount could be good news for United

If you look at the glass as half full instead of taking the pessimistic view, Michael and Scott will be working together almost daily. I'm assuming here. I've never been involved in anything like that, so I don't know. But I assume they'll be close again while they work on this show, which means bouncing ideas off each other and building that energy and flow.

And guess who they're working under? Paramount. They're in the bubble. Not in a starship, but in the bubble together with the company that would greenlight United, if it ever got greenlit. Those are positives. It's all about how you perceive things.

Michael Sussman's "have a little faith" reply on X

Then came a post on X. A fan wrote that he was extremely disappointed there would unlikely ever be any kind of follow up to Star Trek: Enterprise. He added that maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing, because he could always appreciate the show for what it is, and it wouldn't be ruined by a future project.

Right below that post was Sussman, with an "intensifies" meme playing on the song from the Enterprise intro. You either love the intro of Enterprise or you hate it; there's no middle ground. Alongside it he wrote "have a little faith," with the Vulcan hand gesture.

What I read into the reply, and what I don't

It's a meme. It's a post. I'm not speaking for Michael, he hasn't responded to me, and I didn't ask him about this. But if there were no chance of United, if it were dead and buried, if Michael had moved on to greener pastures, if he felt Paramount would never give it a chance, or if he had no hope or optimism left, I don't believe he'd be replying to fans with "have a little faith."

Is it anything more than that? No, it isn't. I'm not saying it's cryptic, or that you need a tinfoil hat, or that Michael is secretly telling us something. What I'm saying is that he wouldn't dangle golden carrots in front of true Trek fans if he didn't have a little faith himself. The post and the reply mean a lot without meaning a lot, if that makes sense.

To have a little faith, you need to show a little faith. If there's no faith at all, the project truly is dead, and that's what people are worried about. Then the person who would be creating it tells you to have a little faith. That's where I land.

The Andor style United I'm hoping for

What I want from United is the Andor feel we've been describing. It's very different from the whimsical, cosmic chasing vibe that Star Wars and Trek often go for: we're on a ship, on a five year mission, seeing a new alien and a new dilemma each week. This would be far more grounded, and I have a feeling it would be far darker too.

It wouldn't focus only on Archer. It would focus on his family and on the inner workings of how the Federation comes together, and what that looks like. I'd assume it would probably be messy. That's how it was with Andor. There were inner workings on either side, there was sacrifice, and there were decisions with no good answer. That's what made that show work, and that's the vibe I want for United.

No green light, but reasons to stay patient

Does this mean Michael has the green light, or that Paramount has secretly handed him the keys to the kingdom? No. Absolutely not. It doesn't mean that at all.

But when the person at the top of the idea keeps saying have some faith and puts his memes out there, it means he hasn't given up. There are many factors that could still make this happen. So let's be patient, and don't give up on Star Trek United. Like Michael says, have a little faith.